WPCNR WESTCHESTER WINGS. May 20, 2007: County Executive Andy Spano notified the Federal Aviation Administration  this week, that its latest proposal to reroute planes operating at Westchester County Airport is still unacceptable and must be changed.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT APPROACH FROM THE NORTH: A noted aviation expert analyzing the FAA rerouting plans told WPCNR there would be more traffic routed over Fairfield County in Connecticut and Northern Westchester from Westchester County Airport,  but more impact on the County would be from rerouting of arrivals and departures to LaGuardia.

Spano criticized the lack of advance notice to review the new plan, charging the FAA failed to release “detailed” information needed to fully understand and comment upon the noise impacts until May 9, two days before the comment period closed. (County consultants informed the county they needed another month to evaluate the “voluminous (new noise mitigation ) data” the county had been given by the FAA May 9.)

Demands new Environmental Impact Study

In his letter, the county executive complains that the FAA is focused on comparing its first plan to its second plan – as opposed to comparing the latest plan to current flight routing. Spano urged the agency to “return to the drawing board and prepare a supplement DEIS (draft environmental impact statement) that addresses and clarifies all relevant issues. He also requests an extension of the comment period – something the FAA has so far failed to do,” according to the county news release.

In a statement, Spano said, “To not issue a supplemental DEIS and to not extend the comment period is disgraceful.”

In April 2007, the release reports, “the FAA issued a Noise Mitigation Report for the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Airspace Redesign project and announced it was  proposing the  “2001 Integrated Airspace Mitigated Preferred Alternative Variation with Integrated Control Complex (ICC)” as its preferred alternative. It allowed one month – until May 11,2007 – for public comment. It has indicated it will not issue a Supplemental DEIS.”

Spano complains – “the proposed reassignment of air traffic could undo decades of hard work, public understanding and good will and is unacceptable.”

Pilot and Aviation Safety Analyst Looks at Plan

WPCNR turned to Peter Katz, national aviation columnist, publisher of the international monthly report on aviation safety issues, Aviation Monthly,  who is a private pilot flying  out of Westchester County Airport, intimately familiar with county airport patterns. He is a former network correspondent, and co-anchors White Plains Week, the incisive hard-hitting weekly news roundup show on Channel 76 in White Plains. WPCNR asked Mr. Katz to clarify what is at stake. Mr. Katz notes this is standard FAA procedure:

“Spano’s position as stated is correct. What the FAA has released is highly complex. The FAA’s pattern typically has been not to allow adequate public comment periods when it makes a proposal. In most cases, when there has been an outcry from those who would be affected by the proposal, the FAA relents and extends the comment period.

Not releasing vital information until two days before the public comment period ends, as Spano alleges the FAA has done, is not tolerable. I have not attempted to independently verify that claim.

Of course, the poetic justice in this is that Spano finds himself complaining that government is trying to shut folks out of the decision-making process and that government needs to be more open with its information and listen to what people have to say. Where have we heard that complaint before?”

Katz on the FAA intent on the rerouting:

“I have tried to review and understand the FAA’s noise mitigation documents. They are complex. You have to look very hard to see if there are omissions, lies, or errors. None of it is written for the lay person.

Understanding from the documents exactly what are the proposed changes in routings for arrivals and departures at all of the affected airports (not just Westchester) is difficult. In some cases, headings (course direction based on the compass) are changed only a few degrees from what is currently being done. In other cases, increased use of less desirable navigational aids is proposed – such as, use of an LDA (Landing Directional Aid) for a certain approach to LaGuardia, instead of the much better ILS (Instrument Landing System).

New Routing over affluent Fairfield County and Northern Westchester

In Westchester’s case, the proposal includes changing certain departure practices to keep aircraft further away from airspace used by Newark. It looks as if more airplanes using Runway 16 (South South East Direction 160 degrees) for takeoff to the south would be turned to the east, then north, then west, (circle to the east, going over a big part of southwestern Fairfield County and northern Westchester County).

Westchester County Airport Approach Into the South (Runway 16): Aircraft taking off South and circling east would fly over the southern shore of Long Island Sound and the communities of southern Fairfield County, Connecticut to the left of your picture Stamford is on the horizon.  Kensico Dam is in the foreground above command console of the aircraft.

Westchester residents also would be affected by changes made to arrival routes into LaGuardia. I think this would be the biggest impact, since the airplanes are larger and more frequent than at Westchester. In the case of Westchester arrivals/departures,  it looks as if there would be little to no effect on overall noise levels, though some noise impact would be shifted from one area to another.”