Norton town meeting aims to quiet concerns over helicopter noise

For some DC residents, living in the nation’s capital means listening to an excess of helicopter noise. But recently complaints have grown louder that the noises have increased and are occuring at all hours of the day.

To try to address the issue, DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton organized a community meeting May 30 at the West End Library that included a panel featuring representatives of agencies that work with helicopters in DC. Norton pointed out that other cities have restrictions on helicopter flight paths and hours of usage, and expressed her desire to bring D.C. closer to a similar goal.

“Of great importance to me is the aviation committee, where I am a senior member,” Norton said. “I am concerned that however we are treated with respect to helicopter noise, we ought to be able to bring ourselves closer to where everyone else is.”

Residents in attendance from neighborhoods such as Logan Circle and Sheridan-Kalorama said the noise is not the only problem — the craft also now seem to be flying lower.

“Every time one flies over my house, everything shakes,” said one resident at the meeting. “It seems like they are just doing laps.”

Norton wanted to first address why residents have noticed the increase in noise from helicopters. She then allowed the representatives on the panel to discuss their work and how their agencies use helicopters.

Lt. Col. Jonathan S. Ebbert, director of military support for the DC National Guard, said their helicopters are used for natural and man-made disasters.

“We always want to be able to provide faster aid,” Ebbert said. “In doing so, we have to train and know terrain. Our day-to-day activities enable us to provide that support to the District in case of emergency.”

All the panelists confirmed that training purposes are likely the reason behind frequent helicopter noise in the same areas.

“We have a lot of young pilots,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey G. Wingblade, commander of the Army Aviation Support Facility. “You can’t just fly two or three times a week to become a captain.”

Norton suggested she would be looking into simulation training for helicopters to reduce the amount of time the helicopters need to be in the air. She and the residents in attendance pressed the panel to resolve the issue.

“These people aren’t dreaming,” Norton said. “If they say they are hearing more noise from helicopters in the past years, there must be a reason.”

The panelists did not give a direct answer, with many stating that their respective organizations have noted a decrease in noise in recent reports.

Many complaints were directed at Patrick Johnson, pilot for Marine Helicopter Squadron One, responsible for flying the president and vice president to and from their destinations, because they believed those helicopters were the ones causing the most noise. Audience members questioned why the president required such frequent helicopter transportation.

“Because motorcades crush traffic,” Johnson said. “They shut down the streets for blocks.”

Lt. John Matula, commander of the aviation section of the U.S. Park Police, admitted that his helicopters would be the ones most likely to be seen flying over DC.

“We are medevac for DC so we are the guys that if someone is injured on the ground we pick them up,” Matula said.

The U.S. Park Police also use helicopters when dealing with search and rescue, rooftop incidents and criminal-related activities. Matula explained that sometimes the U.S. Park Police has to fly low to avoid conflicting with air traffic from Reagan National Airport.

The consensus from the meeting determined that besides a few safety regulations and primary flight paths, there are few regulations on helicopter traffic as opposed to the many regulations on airplanes. Norton said she will ask the Government Accountability Office to prepare a report on the subject.

“We need to find an answer to this increase,” Norton said. “I want to explore the restrictions on the hours of training as well.”

This article, prepared for The Current Newspapers by The DC Line, also appears at currentnewspapers.com.