FAA Chief Hears Noise Complaints

The Federal Aviation Administration’s top regional administrator on Monday told a standing-room-only audience of south Orange County residents that he is willing to bring his staff to “their backyards,” if necessary, to check if jets are straying from their routes and flying over their homes.

William C. Withycombe made the comment after he was challenged by residents who said that since the closure of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on July 2, jets have been flying low.

Barbara Dresel of Laguna Beach said that she has noticed more planes flying near her home about 7:10 a.m. and again between 9 and 10 p.m.

The FAA’s Dawna J. Vicars said most jets flying over South County are departures from Long Beach airport flying at 15,000 feet and above.

Vicars and other FAA personnel said the noise residents may be hearing may be a result of the warm summer weather. Jets perform better in the colder air of winter, enabling them to climb faster and get out of earshot quicker.

Withycombe, however, skirted the main issue that was on everyone’s mind: Does the FAA think El Toro should become an international airport?

A frustrated Burt Goldstein of Laguna Niguel interrupted the meeting by shouting questions at Withycombe. “Why can’t you make your decision now, saving us millions of dollars [in hearings, legal fees and planning]?”

But Withycombe said that Orange County supervisors must first complete an El Toro master plan before the FAA can hold hearings.

Since July 2, more than 75 callers have protested jet noise from areas never before affected, including Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Lake Forest, John Wayne Airport spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen said Monday.

Because of military operations, airspace around the base had been restricted for 56 years, until the Marines closed the base. County officials are planning to transform the base into an international airport handling as many as 28.8 million passengers a year by 2020.

Supervisor Tom Wilson, who called Monday’s forum, said his office has received dozens of calls and e-mail inquiries regarding an unexplained increase in air traffic in his South County district.

“These do not seem to be random, isolated events,” said Wilson, who lives in Laguna Hills, “but events even I have witnessed in my own backyard.”

One of Wilson’s constituents who complained about the jet noise sent him a letter that logged 16 jets the resident reported seeing during a two-hour period.

But the FAA has denied any change in flight paths, Wilson’s office said.

In the past, FAA representatives said that some airliners may be using the airspace to “cut the corners” on flight paths as they prepare to land at John Wayne Airport.

Recent hot weather also has spurred people to open their windows more and to leave them open longer, the agency suggested.

In the last 12 months, John Wayne Airport has received 1,605 complaint calls about jet noise, including 453 from the same household on Balboa Island, Nguyen said.