Airport noise debate continues

Betty Behr loves her home in Newport Beach but hates the noise that comes with it.

Living for the last 24 years in the Park Newport Apartments on Irvine Avenue, the sound of airplanes taking off from John Wayne Airport have ruined her sleep, she said.

“[We] used to live in paradise; not anymore since the planes came in,” Behr said.

One thing’s for sure: She’s not alone with her concerns.

Nearby, homeowners in Eastbluff have started to voice their complaints as well. Jock Marlo, president of the Eastbluff Homeowners Community Assn., has received at least a half-dozen complaints from residents over the last several months concerning increased noise from flights taking off directly over the neighborhood’s 460 homes.

“Before, it seemed like they would make a beeline between the fairgrounds and Balboa Island. Now they seem to be coming over our area more,” Marlo said, then added he is normally not home during the daytime hours to have noticed the increase firsthand.

Much of the discussion at monthly association meetings has equally dealt with the proposed expansion of the airport, which residents in Eastbluff clearly oppose.

Airport officials attribute the possibility of changed takeoff paths to changes in weather and outside forces pilots simply need to be ready for. But all procedures are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said.

“The departure path generally follows the Newport Back Bay,” Wedge said. “However, that path can broaden depending on several factors including wind, when the pilot turns and the rate of their turn as they proceed toward the coastline.”

City Councilman Don Webb, who lives on the other side of the bay, continually reviews printouts provided by the airport of flight paths for the previous months and years in comparison.

From what he has noticed, the data shows a takeoff pattern that fans out pretty evenly over the bay. “The planes don’t follow a single path,” Webb said. “Once they get up in the air there isn’t a railroad track in the sky.

“We’ve had exceptionally hot weather and people have their windows open more.”

. While speculating about the possible reasons residents have noticed more noise, Webb said he has not personally heard any complaints over the last few months.

The airport maintains 10 permanent noise monitoring stations to the north and the south of the runways. The General Aviation Noise Ordinance specifies noise limits at these stations that vary for daytime and nighttime hours.

Three violations for one craft that occur within a three-year period can cause the owner, operator and aircraft to be banned from using the airport for three years, according to the airport’s website.

Residents also have the capability to monitor flight takeoffs themselves via the Internet at www.ocair.com. A live graphics feed displays planes as they take off and depart from John Wayne and can be viewed by anyone. The number of passengers using John Wayne Airport in July increased compared with the same month in 2006, the 10th straight month passenger levels have climbed.

In July, a total of 913,172 people traveled through the airport, which was 4.2% more than in July 2006, according to airport statistics. The total number of aircraft operations — all takeoffs and landings — last month was 19,462, a decrease of 6.6% over the same month of 2006.

For more information on how to report noise violations call the Airport Noise Abatement Hotline at (949) 252-5185.