Tweed New-Haven Airport. False prophets decry diversions!

As Tweed-New Haven Airport continues to be thrust into public discussion, one thing is certain…experts on the matter are not in short supply. I use the term “expert” loosely. Take, for example, the recent spat of diversions at HVN that received a great deal of attention in the press.

Recently, HVN area residents were interviewed by a local reporter (familiar with the Tweed story) and directly quoted on the matter. The comments in the article were audacious indeed!

No experience necessary!
One resident interviewed was quoted as saying (in regards to airplanes), “they were coming in fast and low and overrunning the runway”. That sounds scary! Remember, innocent people are reading about the HVN Story.

I realize this particular resident may not be familiar with correct aviation vernacular, but maybe the reporter sharing her words should be? Further, where was her airspeed indicator? Her altimeter? Did she have a speed gun? In case anyone is interested, aircraft have instruments to convey this information to the pilots. It gets better.

Then, the Esteemed Leader of the 10,000 Hawks (never to miss an opportunity in the Press), chimed in with her own “expert” opinion. She is quoted as stating, that a Boeing 737-800 needs 6,000 feet to land. And the correlation to diversions due to low visibility is exactly what?

I’m sorry, but I know how about a half dozen 737-800 Pilots who would beg to differ. I also know what an approved Airplane Flight Manual would say on this matter as well.

Boeing publishes (like all aircraft manufacturers) an Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) with actual “Planning Charts” expressly for this very consideration! Can you believe it? This AFM is used for something called Flight Planning. This seems unbeknownst to our Hawkish Resident “Expert”. It also seems unbeknownst to the local reporter who elevated this person to some authority status. But never mind, look at what Airbus says about their airport planning manuals:

Garbage in, garbage out!

This proud citizen leader is incorrectly using a Reference Document meant for Airport Planners (read: Not Pilots and Flight Dispatchers) to spread highly noxious and false information about aircraft runway requirements. Simply, our resident expert is using an “informational poster” to share “fact” with this reporter…and worse still…with the community. He is lifting her up. Great job!

All this talk of Tweed…and diversions…and runway performance…and fog…brings up a very real need. That need is for experts. The newspaper reporter in question regarding this article clearly chose the wrong experts. It isn’t like experts aren’t available to him. They are.

Further, and in closing, I offer the opinion of another professional in the industry besides my own. His name is Michael T. Giordano. Michael is a many, many years Air Traffic Controller (now retired).

Don’t take my word for it!

Mr. Giordano has worked in a Control Tower. He also worked at the Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in Nashua, New Hampshire. His work desk was a radar screen with dozens of airplanes and thousands of lives inside those airplanes “blipping” on his screen.

If you’re inclined to know, ARTCC is the Air Traffic Control function that handles millions of flights at medium and high altitudes above us all. These are the people who sequence (vector) aircraft to major International Airports…the people who handle diversions…the people who instruct aircraft to enter holding patterns. These are the people who are directly responsible for your safety in the air. These people are experts.

Michael T. Giordano and I have worked together. My airplane has been on his radar scope countless times. Michael T. Giordano has instructed me to enter a holding pattern. Michaels has given me air traffic clearances. Michael has cleared dozens aircraft out of my way when I needed extra airspace to maneuver my airplane around thunderstorms. Countless times we worked together to deliver safety to everyone traveling by air.

Not only are Michael and I interested in the well-being of air passenger safety (that’s our professional responsibility ), but we are both local to New Haven with deep roots to such. If these two reasons are not enough to have a voice, than nothing is. And in my opinion, that is something to decry. In his words…

Mark,

I am extremely disappointed in your reporting from Monday regarding AVELO Airlines' missed approaches and diversions from Tweed New Haven Airport. Specifically, interviewing the neighbors and publishing some of the information that Lorena Venegas provided you, regarding runway length and aircraft performance. Is she an aviation expert?? A trained aviation professional? That information is absolutely bogus.

Did you think to double check with trained aviation professionals? You need to stop accepting the words from these angry neighbors as Gospel truth. Yeah, ya have a slow day and want to interview these people about noise and whatnot, sure go ahead, I guess. But you need to stop including statements about runways, missed approaches and diversions, unless it's from an aviation expert.

On top of it, unfortunately missed approaches and diversions are very common in the industry. Yes it can be a bit startling for some passengers and neighbors below, but.it's not earth shattering news! I’ll guarantee you that the NY Times, Post, and Daily News weren’t interviewing neighbors about missed approaches at LaGuardia during the same time period as Tweed experienced. Or any other time for that matter.

In addition, these neighbors who don’t want Tweed to succeed, should have NO interest or concern where airplanes divert to. Unless they have an arriving passenger to pick up, they should mind their own business. What... one moment they are complaining about how many flights there are and their inability to sleep and function….then the next moment they are complaining about Avelo’s customer service? The same passengers that they don’t want using the airport, now all of a sudden, they are concerned about their well being. Absolutely a joke. Come on, I could go on and on.

If you remember, I’m a retired air traffic controller and we used to chat frequently at the meetings 8-15 years ago. And although I have always hoped for Tweed’s success, I am well aware that they aren’t perfect. No one is. No one ever expected this type of success, and so fast. But I can’t stay quiet when inaccurate information is reported to the public. Especially when it adds fuel to the fire. You can do better. I expect it.

Very Respectfully,
Michael Giordano
East Haven CT/Juno Beach FL