Quote of the Week:  "We need to move to larger aircraft," said Port Authority of New York spokesman Pasquale DiFulco commenting on an FAA scheme to increase the numbers of passengers at LaGuardia Airport

Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #410.........................................................................January 7,  2007 Past newsletters can be accessed at: http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm  The PASSUR airport flight tracking system at many major U.S. airports  http://www.passur.com/sites.htm (you must have Java installed to view it). If you want to get the newsletter sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy rockaway@prodigy.net

FAA Wants LARGER Planes At LaGuardia Airport!!!

As Bill Sees It: (Editorial) FAA Pushing For Larger Planes For LaGuardia Airport!!! I see a story this week that the FAA is pushing the Port Authority of New York (who runs the airport) to use larger planes at the airport to "relieve capacity problems." The FAA can't "safely" increase the number of flights at LaGuardia so they want to do (to them) the next best thing...bring in larger planes. The airlines are complaining that this is the government interfering with "their" business. I don't understand why the FAA is so interested in running airports at maximum capacity? Do they have a quota that they have to fill? Do they  get paid more money if they squeeze larger planes into the sky? What these creeps don't seem to understand is that LaGuardia is located in the heart of New York City and almost completely surrounded by densely populated residential areas. Of course this fact as well as the noise impacts is not even mentioned in any proposals. I saw one proposal for bringing in larger planes at LaGuardia on the Whitehouse.gov web site!!! It will be interesting to see if the effort to mandate the use of larger planes in LaGuardia is approved.  Youtube Video Of Concorde Devil Bird Taking Off!!! Just in case you are feeling down about your airport's increasing the numbers of planes flying over your head, I thought I would remind you that it could be worse...and once was for many people. I lived under the JFK fight path of the Concorde and it is good to know that this highly air and noise polluting, dangerous piece of garbage has been relegated to the dust bin of history. It was united community action that prevented this airplane from being built in large numbers. Unfortunately, it wasn't soon enough to stop it from becoming the most dangerous commercial aircraft ever built when it crashed in France. More Collisions And Near Collisions At U.S. Airports: An Air China plane collided with Delta plane at JFK Airport Saturday. The extent of the damage was not revealed as the story (as usual) consisted of an airport press release with no pictures. At Denver airport a cargo plane went on the wrong runway and came within 50 feet of hitting a commercial jet!!! Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport "Wins" Most Polluted Airport Award!!! It's really sickening to read news stories boasting about an airport "winning" the "race" for the title of busiest airport in the nation. I'd rather see  a more accurate title. How about the "Most Polluted Airport" Award?

JFK Airport Chinese Plane Collision Gets Little News Coverage:

France. She says the airline will work to re-accommodate passengers. The Air China flight was headed to Beijing with 213 passengers and 23 crew members. Maintenance crews are currently inspecting the damage to the planes, and the China Air flight may be postponed until tomorrow. http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=1985205&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 

Missing Indonesian Boeing 737 Still Not Found!!! After seven days of intensive air, sea and land search, rescue teams are still unable to locate the wreckage of a domestic airliner that disappeared with 102 people on board in eastern Indonesia, officials said Sunday. "Until this stage, rescue workers are still unable to trace the missing plane," Joko, a rescue official in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone. A six-member team of experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board, who arrived Saturday in Makassar, are helping investigate the puzzling disappearance, while a Singaporean Air Force plane is also involved in the search operation as frantic relatives wait for news of loved ones. Initially, the search concentrated on a mountainous area of western Sulawesi province, but after thousands of rescuers failed to trace evidence of the crash, the operation was extended to a 200- square kilometre area, mainly ocean off Sulawesi Island. 
 http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_7760-ROUNDUP-No-Trace-Yet-Found-Of-Missing-Indonesian-Jetliner.html   

 

NEW YORK: FAA Wants Larger Planes At LaGuardia Airport!!! -- Jet airplanes may be able to defy gravity, but even the most powerful craft can't escape the cruel physics that govern LaGuardia Airport. Squeezed onto a peninsula at the edge of Queens, the 67-year-old airport has long been among the most congested and constrained in the country. In ideal weather, its two 7,000-foot runways can handle a maximum of around 75 planes an hour, or about one every 48 seconds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Still, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey believes it may be possible to move an additional 8 million passengers a year through the airport, and the FAA is considering a range of new regulations aimed at using every ounce of its capacity. The secret, both agencies say, is pressuring airlines to fly bigger planes.  http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--congestedlaguardi0106jan06,0,2485945.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork 

Pilots Saw UFO Over O'Hare Airport!!! January 2, 2007)--Some United Airlines employees, some of them pilots, insist they saw a UFO at Chicago's O'Hare Airport last fall. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that an object without lights was reported hovering over the terminal before shooting up through the clouds.  The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged the incident was reported, but it is not investigating. It says controllers didn't see anything, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary. They're chalking it up to weather conditions. One union official joked "to flylseven million light years to O'Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable."  http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/5061216.htm 

 

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Important Aviation News Stories This Week

 

Delaware: Delco Makes FAA Listen To Airport Mitigation Plan

By: Adele Malloy

01/04/2007

Delaware County Council is holding the Federal Aviation Administration's feet to the fire in a determined effort to have the agency consider mitigation proposals that would lessen the impact of proposed future air traffic over county communities.

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At the Dec. 19 council meeting, Chairman Andrew J. Reilly announced that FAA officials have agreed to consider the county's mitigation proposal that includes a recommendation that FAA require planes departing Runway 27, going west, to stay over the Delaware River until the plane reaches 3000 feet altitude before turning north over the county.
"This requirement should be contained in an FAA directive which makes the requirement mandatory. Right now, this is a 'preferred procedure,' (in the FAA plan), but that's not good enough," Reilly said.
Council wants the abatement alternatives to address the negative impact of the proposed expansion of the runway 17-35, and include mitigation strategies to consider the use of that runway as well.
Since the FAA first released its redesign plan in December 2005, County Council has voiced official objections, hired a former FAA expert to analyze the FAA report, and has met with government officials at federal, state and local levels to make the county's concerns known. Council members have met with thousands of residents and commercial representatives in town meetings to discuss the plan and listen to public opinion.
Backed by strong community support, in late November, Reilly met with FAA Project Manager Steve Kelley who said that Delaware County is one of only five areas in the redesign region where FAA has agreed to consider mitigation proposals.
"Here, in Delaware County, we made our voices heard. We met with the project manager, and he agreed to consider any recommendations we had. We already had those recommendations prepared and handed them to him that day.
"We are still prepared to go to court over this if the FAA does not respond, but the fact that the FAA is considering our proposals is a step forward," Reilly said.
Noise abatement recommendations will also be presented to U. S. Senator Arlen Specter and incoming U. S. Senator Robert Casey in Washington D.C.
In October, Reilly also participated in a hearing chaired by U.S. Representative John Mica, chairman of the Congressional Sub-Committee for the FAA. Reilly also hosted a visit from U. S. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation Maria Cino, to show her the towns that would be impacted by increased air traffic.
"We've maintained for a year that the FAA's plan to redesign the airspace won't fix the problem of flight delays, but it will damage the quality of life for our residents. . . .
"I think we successfully demonstrated to the FAA that their Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the redesign project is seriously flawed and, in fact, won't reduce flight delays, which is their whole purpose," Reilly said.
"Residents who want to voice their opposition are invited to fill out the online petition on our Web site, at www.co.delaware.pa.us, and we will forward those names to the FAA and our leaders in Washington," Reilly said.