Military Helicopters That Fly Low Over an Urban Area

Low-flying, noise-polluting military helicopters have been a problem to residents adjacent to Katella Street in Orange County since August, 1973, when the Armed Forces Reserve Centers took over the Los Alamitos Air Base.

In the beginning, their activities were minimal, but with each succeeding year, flight activity has increased, compounded by the activity of a dozen other airports using Orange County air space.

An environmental impact statement was presented before the takeover, and despite protests from all but two of the cities that would be affected by the Reserve operation, the statement was approved.

Military helicopters fly the Katella corridor from very early in the morning until late at night. They are most numerous in the evenings and on weekends, when families are home relaxing and using their gardens and patios. The environmental report states that helicopters will not be flying over residences and that their noise will not be a nuisance to any but a very few of Orange County residents. It simply has not turned out that way.

The city of Cypress has formed a citizen’s committee and has been studying the problem for the past three months. Garden Grove appointed Councilman Robert Dineson to monitor the situation. Orange City Manager J. William Little is calling on residents to help solve the problem of noise pollution due to low-flying helicopters, and, recently, the cities of Orange, Anaheim, Tustin, Los Alamitos, Cypress, Garden Grove and Villa Park met with Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) to discuss the situation.

The fatal crash in Japan on July 12 of a Tustin-based Marine Corps helicopter, the second such crash in the past 10 weeks, has led several local congressmen to question the performance and safety of the Marine’s CH-53 “Sea Stallion” helicopter fleet. These copters fly the Katella corridor from Tustin to Los Alamitos. Dannemeyer wants the Marines to stop flying them over populated areas of Orange County because of safety and noise problems. He is compiling complaints for a study showing the extent of the problem.

There is no quarrel with the fact that reservists must practice, but with the scads of air bases around Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties--at least 14, all military--and with all the ocean and desert space relatively free of human habitation, a more appropriate practice area could be found than over Orange County residences.

LILLIAN SEYMOUR

Garden Grove