New, Quieter Jet Passes Noise Test at John Wayne

A new, quieter passenger jet passed a strict noise test at John Wayne Airport on Friday, possibly clearing the way for an increase in the number of flights operating in Orange County, an airport spokeswoman said.

A Fokker 100 jet, built by Fokker Aircraft Inc. of Holland, took two morning practice flights before completing five test flights around the airport by late afternoon, spokeswoman Kathie Rutherford said.

The procedure was “very, very unusual,” she explained, because aircraft companies rarely test the noise level of their jets at the airport.

Two major carriers are interested in using the jet, she said. One, USAir, is expecting the first of 20 new Fokker jets in July. The other, American Airlines, has expressed interest in using such jets. However, neither airline has said whether it will use the jets in Orange County.

The airlines must perform their own noise tests before the airport will allow them in service, Rutherford said.

The jet registered decibel readings of 78.6 to 85.7 during its takeoffs and landings, she said. By comparison, normal conversation heard 3 feet away measures 65 decibels, and a typical power lawn mower measures 97, she said.

Because the jet’s noise level during the tests never exceeded 86 decibels, airlines could use it at the airport without exceeding daily flight limits.

That limit is 55 flights a day until 1990, she said.

Currently, the British Aerospace BAe-146, used at the airport by USAir, and the Boeing 737-300, used by American Airlines and America West Airlines, are the only other planes that fall into that same low noise range, Rutherford said.

The airport flight limit stems from a 1985 settlement negotiated among the airport, the city of Newport Beach and two homeowner groups. The groups had sued the airport to hold down jet noise by limiting the number of flights.

However, Fokker jets and all other planes operating out of the airport are limited to serving a total of 4.75 million people a year until 1990, an amount also determined by the lawsuit settlement, Rutherford said.

In 1990, the limits will rise to 73 flights a day and 8.4 million passengers a year. In the year 2005, new limits will be set.