New Flights Over Milton Irks Residents

The following was submitted by the BOS Fair Skies Coalition.

With no public warning given to residents or local officials by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Massport, runway 4L that flies over Milton, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Dorchester could become a concentrated highway in the sky as early as this week. It is scheduled to bring thousands of additional low flying flights per year, similar to the other RNAV flight paths that have burdened Milton for the last two years as the FAA sought to narrow flight paths instead of dispersing planes over a wider geographic area.

The Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee president Sandra Kunz, who leads an organization of surrounding communities that works with the FAA and Massport, communicated that JetBlue had been conducting tests through this past September. The Boston Logan Area Noise Study website has posted a preliminary environmental review of JetBlue’s test of using runway 4L.

Per Massport’s data, Milton has seen over 40,000 arrival flights as of September 30th and the town is on trend to have the highest amount of arrivals in 2014 compared to the last few years. Responding to the increase plane traffic, Milton residents have been mobilizing over the past year and the town recently assembled an official committee to work on the issue.

Based on a conversation with Massport on October 28th, “testing of the new 4L flight path is in progress and the runway is being prepared for more planes”. More so, Massport said, they have “no information of the exact date” of when the plane noise and pollution will increase in Milton and Hyde Park.

“There is still information that we don’t know, but what we have learned is concerning for the quality of life for the west side of Milton, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Dorchester residents. We feel people should know that airplanes will fly over their homes for extended, unbroken periods of time similar to the other side of Milton,” said Sheryl Fleitman, co-chair of the BOS Fair Skies Coalition, Milton Chapter. “More so, the FAA and Massport have essentially kept thousands of residents in the dark. It further demonstrates the lack of concern for the health, safety, and property values of our communities.”

RNAVs are flight paths in which planes fly over the same neighborhoods, schools and parks at a medium rate of 1 to 3 minutes apart. Most of arrival flights over Milton generally fly under 3,000 feet. According to recent reports, invisible toxic chemical pollutants, particulates, and known carcinogens (benzene, formaldehyde) emitted at this level tend to remain in the air we breathe. These emissions become lodged in the lungs; the smaller particles are thought to pass through the lungs directly into the blood stream causing significant health problems.

Citizens are encouraged to voice their concerns to local, state and federal officials along with FAA and Massport decision makers and urge that other ways of routing flights be found that will not increase aircraft noise and air pollution over Milton, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Dorchester. A list of contacts can be found on BOS Fair Skies Coalition’s website at www.bosfairskies.com.

Above is the scheduled map for the new concentrated flight path 4L along with the existing 4R runway.