Noise Abatement
Airplanes are noisy. Either on idle power or during a takeoff run, or even with the engines off, and only the Auxilary Power Unit (APU) is running, airplanes still make much noise.
Over the last decades, with the drastic growth
in population and the increasing demand for air traffic services, residential
areas nowadays are closer to airports and significantly affected by noise
pollution, created by various types of airplanes, either small GA planes,
medium or heavy jets.
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| A340 On Final Over Hong Kong |
Academic studies have shown that continuous
exposure to noise pollution may cause significant health issues such as hearing
problems, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal problems.
In addition, noise may cause interference with communication, sleep
deprivation, poor performance at work and in school due to lack of
concentration, and general annoyance. It is estimated that more than ten
million Americans have noise-induced hearing loss, and twenty million are
exposed to potentially damaging noise levels. (Ganic, 2016).
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| Distribution of number of airports in various regions that applied certain Noise Abatement Measures (NAM) |
Due to the increase in noise complaints,
regulators worldwide started to impose different restrictions on airport
operations to reduce the potential noise hazards and complaints. (Falzone,
1999). Various measures have been applied to eliminate aircraft noise, such as
noise abatement procedures, engine run-up restrictions, preferential runways,
airport hours of operation curfews, noise charges, APU operating restrictions,
noise level limits, and more.
Nowadays, the authorities are more restrictive and enforcing these noise restrictions to ensure the airport users adhere to the regulations, as long as it does not compromise flight safety.
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| KSNA Orange County Airport Special Departure Procedure |
An excellent example of a particular noise
abatement departure is California's Orange County Airport (KSNA). Since the
airport is located in proximity to a neighborhood, airplanes must comply with specific
rules to operate flights from Orange County Airport. Besides the restricted
hours of operation, airplanes are mandated to initially climb in a non-standard
pitch attitude to gain the most altitude as soon as possible.
To be proficient in this complex departure
procedure, pilots need to brief the procedure carefully. Some airlines even
require crewmembers to go through KSNA noise abatement special training to
ensure proper compliance with the particular procedure and emergency procedures
in case of an engine failure on climb-out.
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