Lincoln Journal
May 8, 2002

Aircraft noises plague resident

To the editor:

About 1 a.m. March 13, I was awakened with a pounding heart by an aircraft that sounded as though it was about to crash into Battle Road Farm. Once fully awake, I realized that the horrific noise was on the ground and coming from Hanscom Field.

When one lives with an increasingly busy air field in one’s backyard, one becomes unhappily accustomed to noise, but the March 13 noise was much louder and more intense and lasted longer than any I had ever heard. Even though I know that the Noise Complaint Line for Hanscom is monitored only by a machine, I called it in the middle of the night because I had to do something, and I couldn’t go back to sleep for several hours. The noise would diminish and even go away for a while and then come back full force. This went on for more than an hour.

Over the next few days, I talked to neighbors about their experiences, most of which were the same as mine. One neighbor was awakened by her barking dog. Because the aircraft noise was so loud and because her dog never barks unless someone or something is approaching her house, she thought that a plane was in trouble and circling right overhead, and she called 911. The 911 dispatcher seemed annoyed and asked her why she was calling them. Later someone from Hanscom called her and said that there was no activity on the runway. At least, this person did acknowledge that there had been other calls about the noise.

I found my neighbor’s experience much more disturbing than my own. Should she have staggered to her phone book and tried to find the right number to call at Hanscom? I thought the point of 911 was the coordination of emergency services. And shouldn’t someone at the airport have been aware of what was going on at the airport? While it didn’t occur to either of us that this was a terrorist attack on Battle Road Farm (or, more likely, Hanscom Air Force Base), the cavalier response did give us pause about what might happen if such an event ever occurred.

Which brings me back to the noise complaint itself. Last week, I received the following reply to my complaint:

"You reported noise that was generated by aircraft maintenance run-up.

"Hanscom is home to many businesses that maintain and service aircraft. Hanscom’s fixed base operators are FAA Certified Repair Stations, and provide full maintenance support to small, medium and long range business aircraft and helicopters. Shuttle America performs aircraft maintenance on its aircraft at Hanscom. One of Hanscom’s oldest tenants, East Coast Aero Tech School, offers a curriculum that certifies graduating students as FAA Aviation maintenance technicians.

"Aircraft maintenance is one of the most critical components of aircraft safety and requires periodic engine run-up for testing the various components and systems. Although most run-ups occur during the day, there are instances where run-ups occur in the evening or at night. In this case, Massport requires that maintenance personnel notify airport operations staff prior to the activity. This allows Massport to discuss the importance of avoiding the nighttime hours if possible and to direct the run-up to a location which will be the least disruptive."

For several reasons, I am fascinated by the third paragraph. 1) Substitute "automobile maintenance" for "aircraft maintenance," and the absurdity becomes clear: if an auto mechanic revved up a car engine for a considerable stretch of the middle of the night close to where people were sleeping, the auto mechanic would undoubtedly be visited by the local police. 2) If maintenance personnel notify "airport operations staff" prior to nighttime activity, why didn’t the person my neighbor talked to at Hanscom know anything about "the activity" taking place on March 13? 3) Finally, I ask you to consider the last sentence and then imagine for yourself the impact of the conversations between Massport and aircraft maintenance companies about whether middle of the night run-ups are necessary.

When aircraft take off or land at Hanscom between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., there is the possibility that the owners will be fined; there seems to be no such incentive for aircraft maintenance companies to do the right thing by their neighbors.

Constance Lewis

South Commons, Battle Road Farm
Lincoln

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