Hands Across The Water/We Are Not Alone...

Translator's Note:
An Israeli friend gave me a (printed) copy of an Airplane Noise news item from the "ynet.co.il" website belonging to a leading Israeli newspaper.

The URL was
http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/Cda/ArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3728117

Regrettably, the serial-number at the end of this is incomplete or out-of-date: I have not been able to find the actual "Y-Net" post on the Internet just 6 days after it was written on June 8. I did find other articles about the same issue.

The translation to English is mine. I spelled the names as best as I could, at present I do not know if any of them can be found by searching the Net.

The town of Modin or Modi’in,(pronounced Modi'een) is not far from the historical site of where the Maccabee revolt against the Greek/Hellenic ruler Antiochus IV took place in... 167 B.C!

I believe this article has value and relevance to those suffering from the FAA redesign's noise in Fairfield County, U.S.A., for the following reasons:
First, in previous discussions, I mentioned hearing from engineer friends that when the U.S (or any other, I suppose) gov't undertakes a project, it precedes its actual implementation by test-runs, dry-runs, all manner of trial runs. That is probably what we've experienced since the summer of 2007. I suggested that probably the FAA was "being accurate without being truthful" in claiming (or allegedly claiming) that its NY/NJ/PA (sometimes referred to as the NY/NJ/Phila redesign has not yet been implemented. That could be so, but if that's the case, then what we've been subjected to since the summer or fall of 2007 must be the redesign's trial-runs.

Indeed, note that the article says that "Officials confirmed that during the trials of the new approach-path, there were "irregularities" as far as height of fly-overs." And note also that the Mayor of the town that's described in this story, Modi’in, is quoted as saying that

" ...if the approach-path over Modi’in is opened, 190 planes will pass over Modin each week..."

That is identical to the situation in Fairfield County: While discussions speak of what the redesign's effects "will" or "would" be, the actual noise we're hearing suggests rather strongly that the "will" should be changed to "is." The article describes a situation that's probably identical to ours: Amidst all the "will"s, trial-runs are already making noise and causing a major nuisance, so the "foretaste" of the "upcoming" redesign is already "here."

Second, although Israel is a different country and is thousands of miles from the U.S, it has cooperated very closely with the U.S on numerous matters.

I gather that any country hose planes land in the U.S or which wants U.S planes to land on its airports, has to abide by safety and procedural standards that are, basically, those of the F.A.A.

I may be wrong on this, but I heard once or twice that some U.S combat planes are "stationed" in a military base in Israel. In any case, the Israeli Air Force has relied heavily on planes made in the U.S. for over 40 years. So one could say, in a manner of speaking, that in the air, the U.S. and Israel are practically the same "entity."

Which could imply rather convincingly that the goings-on described in this article are not wholly and totally unrelated to what the FAA wants to do in Fairfield County.

Perhaps the Israeli town of Modi’in is experiencing the same reality we are to experience in the not-too-distant future?

As far as I know, all websites discussing the matter are in Hebrew. That may change, so FWIW, 2 of them are:

http://www.modiin.muni.il/ModiinWebSite/ChannelArticleNews.aspx?PageID=2_295&id=614
and

http://www.modiin.muni.il/ModiinWebSite/ChannelArticleNews.aspx?PageID=2_295&id=626

(Clickable Modi'in URL at
http://www.modiin.muni.il/ )

says that implementation has been postponed for 60 days to allow time to discuss solutions.

************************************

Words inside square [ ] brackets are mine.

Security Imperatives: The Planes Will Descend Over Modi’in
An eastern flight-path for approaching to Ben Gurion Airport [BGA] passes over the houses of Modi’in. The Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Administration claims that security is their first priority and there is no alternative. The residents are troubled not only by the noise of 190 planes scheduled each week but also by planes which "scrape the roofs of the houses. This week [week of June 8, 2009] the confrontation in Israel's High Court of Justice [HCJ, in Hebrew it's called "Bagatz."] will continue.

By Zvi Lavi

One day, three months ago, planes began descending over Modi’in houses on their way to BGA. The inhabitants, who did not know what was going on,, were frightened not just by the noise but also by how low the planes were flying. "They nearly scraped the roofs of multi-story buildings," said Eyal Kimche, a local resident, today (Monday).

An investigation found that the source of concern is a flight-path which enables planes to approach BGA from the east. Since then, the municipality and the Airport Authorities are involved in a deep dispute over it. Modi’in's municipality and residents are asking to shift the flight-path to run over uninhabited areas. But the Authorities claim that the current approach-path is a security imperative and the anxiety of the residents is exaggerated. The Municipality appealed to the High Court, seeking an injunction against the inauguration of the new flight-path last April. A mediation-attempt by the Israeli parliament failed, and this week the confrontation will continue in the High Court.

Airport Authority: The New Path is a Must

Kobi Mohr, Director general of the Airports Authority, disclosed to the parliament that the plan for the new approach-path was borne following a "near accident" that occurred in February of 2007, when an El Al (Israel Airlines) plane nearly collided with an Iberia Airlines plane.

By contrast with the western flight-path, where instrument-flying is possible, landing via the eastern path is done "manually," [this probably means VFR] and is therefore vulnerable to human-error. Investigation of the near-collision pointed to the need to construct a system for electronic landing for the eastern path as well.

Mohr explained that "The approach from the east, for planes approaching BGA from the west entails circling in a wide arc, part of which passes over the Palestinian Territories. This is where the Defense Authorities intervened, and imposed on us limitations which compelled us to reduce the radius of the arc, and route the flight-path over Modi’in at low altitude."

"With these imperatives, from the point of view of flight security, there is no alternative route. We studied alternative approach-routes including the one proposed by Modi’in -- to move the path over open land -- and we found these alternatives aren't good for security. In any case, the approaches over Modin will go one for two years, until BGA runway will be extended to facilitate approaching from the north.

Modi’in: And What of the Residents' Safety?
These claims are not accepted in Modi’in. The mayor, Haim Bibas, said he learned of the new approach-path last summer, by sheer coincidence: A document was leaked to one of the town residents. "They [aviation authorities?] were surprised that we knew about it, but they did not listen to us, even after we begged and pleaded that they move the approach-path at least as far as the open land on the town's outskirts. They said the matter is settled and all they care about is the safety of the flights. But isn't the safety of 70,000 residents, 1/3 of whom are children, not important?

Bibas claims that if the approach-path over Modi’in is opened [implemented?], 190 planes will pas over Modi’in each week, 40 during the Sabbath and 150 at other times. "We insist on moving the path to outside of the populated areas, or going back to the original path over the Palestinian Territories which was used before the Defense/security imperatives were dictated. For us it's not a matter of honor or ego, for us it's a matter of life and death."

Officials confirmed that during the trials of the new approach-path, there were "irregularities" as far as height of fly-overs.

Bibas is troubled by these "irregularities," and claims that [during the trials] "three planes vanished from the Control-Towers' RADAR screens. In one case, a plane flew right in between two apartment-buildings. We were told it was a 'finger-error' but never got an explanation as to just what that means." He emphasizes that the residents did not object when planed flew over-head at heights of approximately 2,000 meters. [That's about 6,000 feet] "The flights at heights of near zero are the ones that scare us," he said.

Mohr said that the Civil Aviation Administration had checked and approved the planning and implementation of the new approach-route, and concurs that there is no viable alternative. "Any delay in the implementation of the new approach-path entails the risk that caused the near-collision 2 years ago. Continuing to land planes using the pilots' vision is the most dangerous, in contrast with landing planes using electronic instruments."

"A Monster Outside the Living Room"

Kimche is still concerned. "These monsters have passed right outside my living-room window. WE
sensed that even a slight deviation will cause a massive catastrophe. I fear we will have to evacuate is the flights continue along the same route at the same height. For us this is a question of life and death."

Members of the Parliament confessed they have no means of deciding who is right and who is wrong. Likud Party member Danny Danon asked the Aviation Administration: "If a defense installation's N-Fly-Zone were situated where Modin is now, would you still insist on this new approach-route? Well, are children less important and sensitive than Defense installations?"

Parliament member Yisrael Hassonn (Likud) claims that the imperative which prevent flying over the palestinian territories is inconsistent with agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. According to those agreements, the Palestinian airspace is part of the Israeli air space.

Parliament member Ofir Ekonis (Likud) [The chairman of a committee [dealing with the issue?] called upon the Civil Aviation Administration to re-examine, together with the Modin municipality, alternatives to the new approach-path. The committee recommended having an independent group of experts examine the flight-safety issue.

For information about the "Clear Skies" effort, see


http://h179336wp.setupmyblog.com/?p=210
/ )