Quote of the Week: "I'm opposing this because it's at the end of a runway. This clearly is a public-safety issue." Queens, N.Y. City congressman Gary Ackerman commenting on FAA approval to build a 110 foot high garbage transfer station at the end of a LaGuardia Airport runway!!!
Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #418.........................................................................March 4, 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
How Far Away Can An Airport Be Heard?
As
Bill
Sees It: (Editorial):
How Far Can Airport Noise Be Perceived? When I see glowing accounts from
the news media about how expanding an airport will bring more JOBS to a area, I
wonder if these people really know what an airport brings. Don't they know
that noise impacts from airports can be perceived up
to seventy miles!!! That's about the distance of Newark Airport from 
Woodstock,
New York (Woodstock has people complaining about Newark Airport plane noise). The
FAA never shows that on their noise maps. They only show high noise impact
areas close to the airport...not the low impact areas, The map on the right
(thanks to New Jersey's Robert Belzer) is from the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace
Redesign Project. and shows planned routes and impacts miles from Newark
Airport. However, the actual impacts will go much further!!! I looked to
see if I could find ANY noise map that showed how far the noise impacts of
airports really go. Unfortunately I couldn't find 
one.
Please let me know of any sites that show the REAL impacts of an airport. Giant
Garbage Transfer Tower To Be Located Near LaGuardia Airport Runway!!! Despite
warnings that the height of the 110 foot tower and the seagulls it would attack
would be a hazard to aviation, N.Y. City and the FAA seem to be pushing ahead
with this smelly plan. If it wasn't for the seagulls, I would think that an
airport is an excellent place to bring garbage.
Plan
For Waste Transfer Station Near LaGuardia Airport Runway Stinks Says
Congressman!!!
A federal agency (the FAA) has approved the city's plan
to build a 110-foot-tall marine-waste transfer station a short distance from a
runway at LaGuardia Airport, but the bistate agency that runs the airport is
wondering why. The Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey, which runs LaGuardia, is appealing the Federal Aviation
Administration decision to back the Sanitation Department's proposed waste
transfer tower, arguing that the structure could be hazardous to air navigation.
"We believe it could impact airport
operations," said Port Authority spokesman Pasquale DiFulco. "An
aircraft needs a certain amount of room in terms of its weight, and in terms of
takeoffs and landings. We just want the FAA to take a closer look." The
city first submitted its proposal to construct the marine transfer station in
College Point, off the end of LaGuardia's easternmost runway, in early 2004.
A year later, the FAA determined that the placement of
the facility was hazardous to air navigation, but last September the agency
reversed its decision. http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/497254p-419164c.html
Study
Suggests More Noise Near Reagan National: Residents living along
the flight path for Reagan National Airport say aircraft noise near the facility
has increased since the terrorist attacks of September 2001. The McLean Citizens
Association commissioned an analysis of government data from sound monitoring
stations and flight records. The study suggest an average increase of nearly
four decibels in eastern McLean and more than two decibels at Great Falls. The
study found that total noise level at both locations is 55 decibels. While
the Environmental Protection Agency says anything above that level unhealthy,
the Federal Aviation Administration sets 65 decibels as the acceptable maximum
for aircraft noise. The citizens' group says many pilots still follow a
flight path put in place when the airport reopened following the September
eleventh terror attacks. That requirement was dropped nearly five years ago. Editor's
Note: Of course we all know that the FAA rats know more about what's unhealthy
than the EPA. http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0307/402029.html
FAA
Official Charged With Conspiracy And Fraud: A federal grand jury has
charged a local Federal Aviation Administration official with conspiring to
unfairly award a $4.3 million contract for a new runway lighting system at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Rober Ferrell, an FAA contracting
officer, was indicted Thursday on illegally providing confidential bidding
information to PCL Construction Services and then awarding to PCL a contract to
build a lighting system at Sea-Tac. Vicki Olson, the manager of the FAA's
Acquisition Management Branch in Renton and Ferrell's former supervisor, earlier
this month pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of
procurement fraud in connection with the same contract award. The penalty for
each charge is up to five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003598651_fraud03m.html
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Important Aviation News Stories This Week
Port Authority Balks At LaGuardia Waste Transfer Station
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007/0228/features/019.html
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently approved a city proposal to build a 110-foot-tall marine waste transfer station near a runway at LaGuardia Airport, leaving Port Authority officials shaking their heads and asking, "Why?"
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia, has filed an appeal of the FAA ruling, charging the tower could be hazardous to air traffic. The station would be located in College Point, just off the end of LaGuardia's easternmost runway, more than a half-mile from the airport, authorities said.
"We want the FAA to take a closer look at the proposal," said Port Authority spokesperson Pasquale DiFulco.
An FAA review of the proposal determined that the tower would not present a hazard to aircraft, an agency spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Congressmember Gary Ackerman said the Queens lawmaker begs to differ. Ackerman voiced his opposition to the project in a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and has asked Governor Eliot Spitzer to intervene in the decision.
Ackerman said the FAA determined that birds flying near the waste transfer station would pose a real threat to aircraft leaving and arriving at LaGuardia.
"The Congressman believes approval of the proposal is a public safety issue," the spokesperson said.
Approval by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is the next and final step required to allow construction of the tower, which is slated to begin in 2008.