Complaints about aircraft from October to December 2012 in the area of
Central Park, Ormond Beach, Florida which is south of the airport.
Here is a email sent from a resident to a group email list and after it, the
response from the Ormond Beach City Manager
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To whom it
may concern,
Beginning on October 15th, the day after this year’s Wings and Waves Air Show took place, there has been a sudden appearance of flight training planes over my neighborhood. As a longtime resident of Ormond Beach, over 30 years, I have never witnessed any such aircraft flying over and around this area until two months ago. From early in the morning until late at night (7AM until past midnight), these planes are flying around in various directions, angles and altitudes making it almost impossible to get anything done because every five to ten minutes I am being disturbed by the extremely loud noise coming from the engines of these planes in addition to the terrifying thought that at any moment an aircraft may come plunging out of the sky crashing into the ground below causing who knows how many casualties.
At 2:07 PM on October 24th, I called the number provided by the city’s website to contact the local airport in order to lodge a complaint about the numerous amount of planes flying low overhead but didn’t get an answer so, I left a brief message instead and it appeared as though someone received it because later that night at 8:39 PM, when being able to get a clear view of the aircraft was impossible, one of the pilots decided to fly directly over my home at an extremely low altitude causing my whole house and the contents within to shake. This was clearly a violation of Florida Statute 860.13; however, flight schools and their students apparently don’t care and find it appropriate to try to intimidate those who are displeased with them by employing these sorts of scare tactics.
On October 29that 7:52 PM, another call was placed by me to the airport and once again no one answered and the planes continued to buzz over and around my neighborhood non-stop into the night, past midnight. Calls were placed, again, on October 30thand November 1st with no answer or reply. It wasn’t until November 2ndthat I was finally able to get someone to pick up the phone and when they did it didn’t seem to do much good as Mr. Lichliter acted as though he didn’t care and never called back, like he said he would. Moreover, the training flights over my neighborhood continued as before even though the city has a map posted on their website showing that the planes are supposed to being turning north or west shortly after take-off which would bring them nowhere near this area.
Just this past weekend, I called the airport’s control tower about the planes flying around my neighborhood without getting someone to answer the phone, yet, once again, as soon as night fell, I had an airplane buzz my home in what I take as another attempt by the airport staff and the flight schools to scare me into being quiet.
These planes are not only a nuisance but also a threat to public safety and if the city disagrees then why did they issue waiver forms for parents, whose children were participating in activities at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex, to sign so that when one of these planes crashes into the playing fields the city wouldn’t be held liable? Does this mean the residents living in the Central Park area of Ormond Beach as well as those who come to enjoy it also need to sign some sort of agreement to put the city’s mind at ease so when the day comes when one or more of these planes crashes they won’t have to worry about being held responsible even though they continue to do nothing about these pilots flagrant disregard for the flight paths and procedures they agreed to as well as the safety and security of the people below?
If I were to open a school that instructs people on how to ride Harley motorcycles and we went riding around town driving erratically and revving our engines not only would we be cited for reckless driving in addition to violating noise ordinances but my school would more than likely be shut down and possibly locked up in jail. This type of behavior is not only a public nuisance but also a threat to our safety. So, why is it that these flight schools are still in operation?
For years the city has been going through ordeals involving the airport and flight schools, yet, everything continues on as if the wants of a handful of people trumps the rights of the majority of those who permanently reside in Ormond Beach. You set up a committee and still have meetings every so often regarding safety and noise issues with the airport but nothing has seemed to change other than where these planes are sent to fly in what appears to be an attempt to delay what inevitably needs to be done for the sake of the people’s safety and property values which is the termination of any and all flight training taking place in the skies over or anywhere near the residential neighborhoods of Ormond Beach.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
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Response from the Ormond Beach City Manager:
Dear Mr. XXXXX,
Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns regarding aircraft noise issues. Although I believe that there has been significant progress addressing the issue of aircraft noise in Ormond Beach, I certainly understand that the issue of aircraft noise remains a concern for some residents, and that parts of some neighborhoods continue to experience heavy air traffic, irrespective of activity at the Ormond Beach airport. It is important to note that many aircraft pass through the skies above Ormond Beach en route to and from other airports in the area. Much of the north/south travel we see is traffic going to and from Daytona Beach, for example.
Staff has worked with our air traffic control tower and the local flight schools to investigate your observations of aircraft activity in the months since the Wings and Waves air show. Other than some additional use of the north-bound runway at the Daytona Beach airport, no changes in traffic patterns or flight activity have been reported as a result of the air show. Staff will continue to monitor and respond to concerns via follow-up with our air traffic control tower, local flight schools, and airport tenants. We have attended weekly flight school meetings, provided noise abatement procedures to the flight schools, posted noise abatement signs along the taxiways, airport gates, and airport tenant offices, and we have met with other local airport managers to discuss their approach to reducing aircraft noise in their local neighborhoods. Staff also endeavors to keep the community aware of special conditions that may affect air traffic, such as launch activity at the Kennedy Space Center, or the presence of banner-towing planes overhead during special events such as Bike Week.
Although we will never completely resolve the issue of aircraft noise, the aviation community has been both receptive to our concerns and willing to cooperate with reasonable procedures designed to reduce the perceived impact of aircraft noise. Since staff began implementing the recommendations of the Aircraft Noise Abatement Task Force, the City has witnessed a large reduction in the number of noise complaints.
As part of the five-month aircraft noise abatement community meeting process in 2010, we discussed the limits on authority the City has on aircraft in flight and in directing air traffic. Control of planes flying around the airport is regulated solely by and in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The City of Ormond Beach, as the airport sponsor, has no authority over the FAA to promulgate laws or regulations regarding air traffic. As a result, the City’s noise abatement procedures and those of other airport sponsors in the area have been and must be of a voluntary nature. Staff will continue to work with the aviation community and explore all available means to mitigate aircraft noise on behalf of the residents of Ormond Beach.
Attached for your review is an excerpt of Aviation Noise Abatement Policy 2000, as recorded in the Federal Register. Section 3.2 addresses the legal responsibilities of state and local governments with respect to aircraft noise abatement. Section 3.3 addresses the same topic with respect to the more general category of airport proprietors. Here is a link to the complete document:
Also attached is a copy of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990.
If you have any additional questions, please give me a call. Thank you.
Joyce Shanahan, ICMA-CM
City Manager
City of Ormond Beach, FL
Phone: 386-676-3200
Cell: 386-341-8931