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Retired airline pilot challenges FAA on jetliner noise
by Kevin Cody
"I wasn't
going to speak, but I can't remain silent. I was an airline pilot flying out
of LAX for 20 years. I was required by the FAA to perform risky maneuvers for
noise abatement purposes," Manhattan Beach resident Earl Waggoner told representatives
of the Federal Aviation Administration Monday night.
"Now, I hear the jets flying over my house," Waggoner said.
Waggoner's comments directly contradicted statements earlier in the evening by FAA assistant air traffic manager Dawa Vicars, who said that today's airline routes are no different than in years past.
"From 1979 to 1989, I flew straight out over the ocean to 6,000 or 7,000 feet before beginning the teardrop loop. We were at 13,000 feet by the time we flew back over the airport. No one knew we were there," Waggoner said.
"Now, the pilots turn south 15 degrees at the shoreline. Then, to gain altitude before flying back over LAX, they fly straight up the coast at full power," the retired pilot said. (Airlines going east are required to pass over LAX at 10,000 feet.)
Unlike landlocked airports, Waggoner said, LAX can solve its problem of noise in the air over neighboring communities.
"Take advantage of the ocean. The only reason not to do that is money," he said. The airlines, Waggoner said, contend that the newer jets don't need to fly as far out over the ocean because they are quieter than the jets he flew. But their real reason for the shorter take-offs is to save fuel costs, Waggoner said.
Waggoner's comments elicited loud applause from the approximately 70 fellow South Bay residents who attended the meeting at Palos Verdes High.
When the applause died, Vicar repeated her contention that flight procedures have not changed in recent years.
Monday night's meeting was convened at the behest of Rep. Steve Kuykendall to address issues left unsolved by the South Bay Task Force. The task force was formed in January 1997 at the behest of then Rep. Jane Harman in response to complaints from the Beach Cities and Palos Verdes about noise from jetliners flying overhead.
The task force was disbanded last December.
Throughout Monday night's meeting at Palos Verdes High, LAX deputy executive director Roger Johnson assured residents that the FAA was committed to resolving complaints about noise. He said the task force will be replaced by a new group, composed of representatives from the FAA, Los Angeles World Airways, the airline industry's Air Transport Association, local political leaders and residents. He said he hoped the group would begin meeting by September.
The audience was not mollified.
"I sat with Jane Harman at the first task force meeting three years ago," Hermosa Beach Mayor JR Reviczky told the FAA representatives. "And we're in the same place today. Whether or not airport procedures have changed, the fact is there are planes flying over our homes that weren't flying over our homes three years ago. We will work with the FAA, LAWA and ATA officials. But we want the process to start. And we don't want it to drag out for three more years. Or we will take the next step."
City councils in the three Beach Cities and the four Palos Verdes cities have all expressed a willingness to sue the FAA if it fails to stop the noise from overhead jetliners.
The final Southern California Task Force meeting is Monday, July 31, at 5:30 p.m. at the Proud Bird restaurant, 11022 Aviation Blvd., Los Angeles. ER