Plane noise has residents buzzing

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Residents living by the beach are fed up with the

noise from airplanes flying advertising banners along the coast and, with

summer just around the corner, they worrythe problem will only get worse.

“You’re so mad you want to pull out your gun and blow them out of the

sky,” resident Charlotte Melson said.

She hears the buzzing overhead even with the windows and doors shut in

her home in the 200 block of Chicago Avenue. Even carrying on

conversations over the phone can be difficult.

“It’s impossible to hear yourself talk,” she said.

On sunny weekends, resident Don McGee notices as many as 20 planes that

seem intent on destroying his peace of mind.

McGee lives in the Huntington Shorecliff Mobile Home Park on the 20700

block of Beach Boulevard.”I’m a little befuddled as to just how many is

too many and how much is too much,” he said. “And is anyone at this point

going to do anything to put a screeching halt to this insanity?”

City officials look up at the sky with their hands tied.

“We complain about it also,” said Steve Seim, the city’s chief lifeguard.

As long as the planes comply with Federal Aviation Administration

regulations, there’s nothing that can be done, Huntington Beach Police

Lt. Chuck Thomas said.

The city has no proof the planes are breaking the rules, wrote Mayor Dave

Garofalo in a letter to Melson dated March 20.

When they pass over the ocean, planes can’t fly below 500 feet, FAA

spokeswoman Kirsti Dunn said. When they circle back over the beach and

nearby homes for another pass, they have to stay 2,000 feet above ground

and 1,000 feet above the tallest building, she said.

As far as how many can be out there and how many times they can fly over

a specific area, there are no limits, she said. Neither the city nor the

FAA keep records of flight frequency.

The owner of an aerial advertising company says he will continue to fly

with his banners despite the complaints.

“Our intention is not to bother people,” said Robert Scott, owner of

Compton-based Sky Ads. “It’s to get the messages out.”

His business has covered the coast from Los Angeles to San Diego for the

past 10 years, he said. During the summer, the busiest time because of

the warm weather and beach events, as many as 40 ads are flown daily

across the city’s coastline, Scott said, and not all by his company. How

many times each ad passes beachgoers depends on what the customer wants,

he said.

Melson respects Scott’s right to do business over the water but wonders

why the planes have to circle back over land.

“Just go up and down the beach,” she said. “Then they’re going to see

you.”

But Scott points out that turning around over land lets beach goers see

the sign in both directions. If he switched back over the ocean, the

banner would be hidden half the time, he said.

McGee said he’s tired of protesting. He simply wants the “flying leaf

blowers” to go away.

“In my dictionary under inconsiderate, it says, ‘See evil,”’ he said.

“And under evil, it says, ‘See noise.’ And under noise, you guessed it,

it says, ‘See aerial advertising.”’

If people have complaints, they can call the FAA’s local office in Long

Beach at (562) 420-1755.