Quote of the Week: “As we look forward to the summer and what's about to hit us, we realize that we have to do something to maintain our competitive position” Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's executive director quoted in a story this week
Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #431................................................................................June 3, 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
Another Bad Week For Aviation!!!
As
Bill
Sees It:
(Editorial):
The Plot To Blow Up JFK Airport: The aviation industry
was in the news again this week with TWO major stories about them hitting the
airways. One was about a tubuculosis infected man allowed on an Air France
plane. The other was about a plot to blow up JFK Airport!!! When I heard
about the JFK Airport bomb plot my first thought was maybe it was somebody from
a noise-polluted nearby community that had gotten fed up with the JFK Airport's
1000 plus flights a day. But no, it 
just
a group of ordinary radical Moslem terrorists. While I would like to see
JFK Airport closed down for good, at least at night, I don't approve of anyone
blowing it up, especially if it endangers innocent communities. It looks to me
that this "plot" was in the early stages of development and had a little chance of
success. However, you never know what kind of sophistication even an isolated
group bent on doing a terrorist act could develop. Tuberculosis
On The Plane!!! The story about the Tuberculosis patient
flying on a plane not only shows the weakness of our security system but also
how easily aviation allows dangerous infections to be spread worldwide. That
doesn't seem to worry the aviation industry and their political stooges in
Washington. All they worry about is how to pack more planes into airports and
the sky.
Bush
Administration To Increase Flights With Communist China: Passenger
flights between the U.S. and China
will more than double by 2012 under a new agreement, setting the stage for
fierce competition among carriers for these valuable trans-Pacific routes. U.S.
Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said the bilateral aviation agreement
reached Wednesday could stimulate US$5 billion (euro3.7 billion) in revenue for
U.S. airlines
over the next several years. As part of the deal -- which falls short of goals
the Bush administration laid out last month -- American air cargo companies will
gain virtually unlimited access to China. "We've achieved a breakthrough
agreement that opens the way for more frequent, more affordable and convenient air
service between China and the United States," Peters
said on a conference call with reporters. The accord was announced during
high-level talks between the U.S. and China, led by Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson and China's Vice Premier Wu Yi. Under the pact, U.S. carriers will be
able to operate 23 daily roundtrip flights
by 2012, up from 10 currently. The agreement also allows the U.S. to designate
three additional airlines to fly to China -- at least one of them designated for
cargo, transportation officials said. http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/110546.htm
Editor's Note: It looks like Bush has found a new way to increase the
illegal alien population in America.
N.Y.
Politician Wants Helicopters Banned From Flying Over Manhattan:
Helicopters should be restricted from flying over Manhattan, a New York
congressman said yesterday. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens) said he
will reintroduce federal legislation that would require helicopters to fly over
water at all times while in Manhattan airspace - except during takeoffs and
landings from the city's three heliports. Weiner's bill - originally killed by
the then-Republican-controlled Transportation Committee in 2004 - would also
require helicopter passengers and all baggage to be screened by the federal
Transportation Security Administration. It would not apply to police, medical
and other authorized helicopter traffic. "We are taking a common-sense step
to make New York safer," Weiner said at the E. 34 St. heliport yesterday.
"Right now it is completely legal [for helicopters] to hover over buildings
in Manhattan - that's what we are trying to ban." But Michael Roth, owner
of a Manhattan helicopter charter, said his choppers never hover over buildings.
"He's pretty much trying to beat up on the helicopter tourism
industry," he said. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/06/03/2007-06-03_weiner_eyes_nochopper_flying_zone.html
Editor's Note: Another political con artist politician who lobbies for
increased airport "capacity" (more planes) while sending out press
releases to make it look like he is really fighting for protection against
aviation noise pollution. Weiner took over another political phony's (Schumer)
congressional seat when its former occupant became a senator. He's obviously
learned well from his mentor.
New
Jersey: School Get 12 Million To Soundproof From Newark Airport Noise!!!
The Federal Aviation Administration
will provide a Kearny elementary school with more than $11.8 million to help
soundproof the school from air traffic emanating from Newark
Liberty International Airport, officials said today. Just five miles from
the busy hub airport, the 650-student Lincoln Elementary School has long battled
the noise distractions, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Sen. Robert Menendez
(D-NJ) said in a joint statement announcing the funds.
"Soundproofing the school will allow children to focus and learn
without interruption," Lautenberg said. The school has received funds for
quieter classrooms in the past. In January, the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey announced a $2 million soundproofing allocation for Lincoln
Elementary for 2007, as well as $15.7 million for Kearny High School and
$400,000 for two other New Jersey schools near the airport. For Lincoln, the $2
million came on top of $24 million allocated as part of a more than two
decades-old program
to soundproof schools plagued by airport noise in New Jersey and New York. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/05/kearny_school_gets_12m_to_bloc_1.html
New
York Port Authority Wants To "Speed Up" Airport Takeoffs And
Landings!!! The Port Authority said Thursday it will set up a task force
of government officials and aviation executives to look into ways to speed up
takeoffs and landings at the region’s three major airports. “As we look
forward to the summer and what's about to hit us, we realize that we have to do
something to maintain our competitive position,” said Port Authority executive
director Anthony Shorris. Some of the ideas include improving how aircraft are
routed for their final approaches and making taxiways more efficient. JFK,
LaGuardia and Newark are frequently ranked among the worst in the country when
it comes to on-time flights. Agency officials have blamed heavy air traffic. http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=10&aid=70238
Editor's Note: I wonder if the Port Authority will bother to inform the
people on the ground, or even the FAA, that there is a routing change? I
thought there was supposed to be proposals filed and environmental impact
studies done before an airport makes these kind of changes.
MINNEAPOLIS:
Commission Settles Citizen's Noise Suit--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Metropolitan
Airports Commission (MAC) representatives have reached a tentative agreement
with citizens in a class action lawsuit regarding airport noise mitigation and
are urging the cities of Minneapolis, Richfield and Eagan to support the
proposal. “The proposed agreement builds on the
Metropolitan Airports Commission’s standing as a
world leader in airport noise mitigation,” said MAC
Chairman Jack Lanners. “I support this proposed
settlement, representatives of citizens in the class action lawsuit support this
settlement, and I hope city leaders in Minneapolis, Richfield and Eagan will
support this settlement as well.” The agreement
would provide nearly $65 million in noise mitigation benefits to the more than
4,400 homeowners in the class. On May 31, 2007, the class representatives and
the MAC jointly petitioned the Hennepin County District Court to delay the June
18, 2007 scheduled start of the class action trial pending approval of the
proposed settlement. Judge Stephen Aldrich approved the delay. The mediated
settlement would benefit owners of 4,413 single-family homes located within the
60 to 64 DNL (day-night noise level, a metric used by the Federal Aviation
Administration to measure noise around airports). Included homes would be based
on the projected 2007 mitigated noise exposure map the MAC submitted to the FAA
in November 2004 using a property-specific “parcel
intersect” methodology. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070601005755&newsLang=en
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Important Aviation News Stories This Week