Aircraft noise too much for neighbors

Airplane noise is becoming a nuisance for many Nassau County residents.

In an effort to mitigate the unwanted clamor, the Town-Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee meets on a monthly basis. The committee — whose members represent the Town of Hempstead and surrounding villages — is working with New York state officials, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration and the public to respond to residents’ complaints.

Among the speakers at a meeting on Monday, at Stewart Manor Country Club, was U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy. The longtime Mineola resident said she, too, is bothered by the racket generated by low-flying aircraft.

“I certainly suffer through everything you all suffer through,” McCarthy told the 200 residents in attendance. “I don’t like getting waked up, like I did this morning, at 3:30 in the morning because a plane was coming through.” She added that she can no longer keep her windows open in the summertime because the planes passing overhead are too loud.

McCarthy, who said she has been working on aircraft noise mitigation for years, said she wants to meet with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and committee members to help resolve the problem.

The major question, however, is, what is the best way to suppress aircraft noise? To address it, the committee invited Henry Young, president of Young Environmental Sciences, who is familiar with noise studies that help the FAA recommend and approve flight procedures to reduce noise in congested communities.

“Jet-powered aircraft have become a lot quieter over the last 50 years — I’m sure you’ve all noticed,” Young said, drawing chuckles from the audience. “Aircraft fleet size has increased substantially, however, from roughly 8,000 aircraft in 1976 to over 21,000 today.”

The way sound is measured by the FAA and the way it is perceived by the human ear are different, Young explained, which is a problem. Measured in decibels, aircraft noise has decreased by 90 percent, and that is the reason, he said, why twice as many aircraft are allowed to fly over Nassau County homes today. That 90 percent reduction, however, sounds only half as quiet to the ear, which challenges the FAA to find a new way to measure noise.

Young also suggested a way to mitigate noise at night: institute airport curfews, which are already in effect at some international airports, including Munich and Frankfurt, Germany.

While an FAA noise study would not mandate any changes, Young said, it would be a step in the right direction. But when questioned by Assemblyman Brian Curran of Lynbrook, Young added that one reason the FAA is reluctant to approve such studies is because of the cost.

“If you can get away with doing nothing, that’s certainly cheaper than any other solution that involves effort,” Young said, adding that such a study would be paid for in part with federal funds, “but not entirely.”

Curran said that pressure from elected officials is the “only way” the FAA would be persuaded to conduct a study. He added that, in the short term, pilots should be penalized when they fly below allowable altitudes during takeoff and landing — FAA regulations, he said, that are not being enforced.

“What we should be doing right now is demanding enforcement of the minimum altitude limits for pilots,” Curran said. “If they’re not being enforced, there’s no reason for pilots to obey them.” The minimum altitude at which an aircraft can fly over a congested area, according to the FAA, is 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle.

Aircraft noise will always be a problem in urban areas, Young said, but compromise can help reduce it to an acceptable level.

McCarthy said she would organize a meeting in Washington within a month, so committee members can discuss noise complaints and resolutions with LaHood face to face. Representatives from neither the Port Authority nor the FAA attended the meeting.

The committee’s next public meeting on aircraft noise is scheduled for Sept. 24.