PLEASE FLY NEIGHBORLY
It is time for each of us to reflect on our responsibilities, to each other, in this great country in which we live. Every pilot needs to revisit a topic that we often overlook. The topic I am speaking about is our responsibility to fly neighborly.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has always received complaints concerning low flying aircraft over noise-sensitive areas. You’ve seen the list; open air assemblies of persons, churches, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, noise-sensitive residential areas, National Park Areas, to name but a few. Other organizations like the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Helicopter Association International (HAI) have addressed this issue with handouts and guides such as “Fly Neighborly Guide” published by (HAI) in 1982 and revised in 1991, to help pilots make good sound decisions when it comes to the flight path and altitudes flown. The FAA has published Advisory Circulars, such as, AC 91-36C “Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Flight near Noise-sensitive Areas” to encourage pilots to choose altitudes and flight paths that will minimize their adverse impact on others especially around airports and navigational aids where it is natural to have an increase of aviation activities.
Ask yourself this question; “On my last flight did I take into consideration the effects of my flight on others?” So, what was your answer? Chances are, you did not.
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) give us the “minimum safe altitudes” to start our planning, but all too often we pilots have the attitude that minimum is good enough. While it may be safe to fly at the FAR minimums for a particular flight, it would do the industry a lot of good, in the public relations department, to add a few hundred feet or alter our flight path to avoid needless aggravation to those below us. Flight instructors often practice over the same areas. They do “turns about a point” over the same barn, church, or intersection hour after hour, day after day. It is no wonder this kind of repeated activity solicits phone calls and letters to the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), complaining about the noise and danger of all the aircraft overhead. To add to the concerns of the general public, we have the security issues brought to the limelight after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Heightened concerns about repeated flights over houses and neighborhoods and what “they” could be doing have accompanied the traditional complaints about noise and the possibilities of a crash. So what can we do? Here are a few ideas to help you plan in the future. They are just a few of the many you might come up with on your own so do not feel like this is an “all inclusive” list. Above all, remember to use good judgment and common sense; safety should always be your first concern.