Sound the air raid siren!
We don’t like to say we told you so, but we told you so.
Delaware County officials this afternoon will announce they are filing a federal lawsuit against the hated airspace redesign plan.
You know the one. It’s the brainchild of the Federal Aviation Administration to ease congestion and chronic delays that plague Philadelphia International Airport, and in fact airports all over the northeast. What it means to Delco is lots of planes at low altitudes over the heart of the county.
And that means noise. Interminable, house-shaking, conversation-interrupting noise.
Or, as they say down in Tinicum Township, welcome to our world. With an international airport as their next-door neighbor, Tinicum residents have dealt with this kind of noise for years.
If the feds get their way, a whole host of county residents, in a swath that covers Ridley Park, Upper Darby and Haverford would get a similar taste of the roar of low-flying airplanes.
That’s because instead of the current path in which most flights hug the Delaware River, the FAA would now allow pilots to veer out over Delaware County at low altitudes.
Make no mistake. The airport is broken and it needs to be fixed.
The key here is whether this plan will actually fix it. Local officials insist the FAA’s own records say their solution won’t solve the problem, while making life miserable for a lot of people in Delaware County.
The suit basically will claim that the airspace redesign violates environmental laws. It’s part of a multi-pronged attack. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7, also has been able to convince the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of the process the FAA used in implementing the redesign plan.
At best, both of these measures are likely to delay what appears to be an unavoidable end result. Almost all of these kinds of legal challenges to FAA rulings across the nation have failed.
In the meantime, officials will gather today in Tinicum. It’s appropriate. Planes likely will be going overhead.
Soon a lot more of Delaware County could be subject to similar conditions.
We don’t like to say we told you so, but we told you so.
Delaware County officials this afternoon will announce they are filing a federal lawsuit against the hated airspace redesign plan.
You know the one. It’s the brainchild of the Federal Aviation Administration to ease congestion and chronic delays that plague Philadelphia International Airport, and in fact airports all over the northeast. What it means to Delco is lots of planes at low altitudes over the heart of the county.
And that means noise. Interminable, house-shaking, conversation-interrupting noise.
Or, as they say down in Tinicum Township, welcome to our world. With an international airport as their next-door neighbor, Tinicum residents have dealt with this kind of noise for years.
If the feds get their way, a whole host of county residents, in a swath that covers Ridley Park, Upper Darby and Haverford would get a similar taste of the roar of low-flying airplanes.
That’s because instead of the current path in which most flights hug the Delaware River, the FAA would now allow pilots to veer out over Delaware County at low altitudes.
Make no mistake. The airport is broken and it needs to be fixed.
The key here is whether this plan will actually fix it. Local officials insist the FAA’s own records say their solution won’t solve the problem, while making life miserable for a lot of people in Delaware County.
The suit basically will claim that the airspace redesign violates environmental laws. It’s part of a multi-pronged attack. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7, also has been able to convince the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of the process the FAA used in implementing the redesign plan.
At best, both of these measures are likely to delay what appears to be an unavoidable end result. Almost all of these kinds of legal challenges to FAA rulings across the nation have failed.
In the meantime, officials will gather today in Tinicum. It’s appropriate. Planes likely will be going overhead.
Soon a lot more of Delaware County could be subject to similar conditions.
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