WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Neighbors in northwest DC should hear less airplane noise.
After thousands of complaints, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has changed the flight path for arriving aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
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Neighbors in the Palisades community in northwest D.C. say they have been begging the FAA to do something for nearly a decade.
Being near Reagan National Airport, it’s hard to miss the planes flying overhead. While not everyone sees this as a problem, many people are glad that things are finally changing.
“When we moved here, I knew there was aircraft noise and we lived with it, but it was more scattered,” Ken Buckley said.
Buckley, a member of the Palisades Community Association, said that changed in 2015 when the FAA introduced a new satellite navigation system for aircraft that concentrates flight paths.
“The result of this was more noise in our community,” Buckley said.
Normally, planes follow the Potomac River south to the airport, but in poor visibility, many arriving aircraft follow a radio beacon from Bethesda to the runway.
“Planes would (…) fly over MacArthur Boulevard and people would therefore experience a lot more noise,” Buckley said.
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After numerous complaints, including nearly 7,000 from one household in 2015, the FAA last month changed the flight path for arrivals from the north, allowing planes to use GPS to navigate over the river.
“I’m happy for the people who were bothered by it. But personally, we’ve lived here since 2017 and it just never bothered me,” said Kate DePriest.
While the noise isn’t a problem for everyone, Buckley said it will improve his neighbors’ quality of life.
“Last week was a good test because I noticed that most of the planes were over the river in bad weather last week,” Buckley said.
The new flight path only changes arrivals, not departures. Buckley wants to tackle this problem as well. He hopes that the northern change can also help his neighbors south of the airport.
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The FAA told DC News Now that it is working to resolve the issue for people who are bothered by aircraft noise.
“The FAA is continually working to reduce the number of people exposed to aircraft noise in the communities surrounding airports. Addressing this problem requires collaboration between the FAA, airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, research universities, local communities and elected officials.
If a community is concerned about aircraft noise, the best thing to do is contact the local aviation community roundtable or the airport operator. The FAA can then work with the airport operators to determine if the aircraft noise can be mitigated through changes to air traffic procedures.”
Federal Aviation Administration
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