CPA not compromising safety over noise concerns

The Commonwealth Ports Authority yesterday stood pat against proposals to change flight altitude of aircraft flying between Saipan and Tinian because doing so would compromise the safety of passengers, according to Executive Director Carlos H. Salas.

Mr. Salas was reacting on a concern raised by lawyer Michael A. White, who asked the ports authority to require aircraft passing between Saipan and Tinian to fly at a higher altitude to minimize the noise level generated by the altered flight pattern.

“CPA has changed the take off and landing pattern at the Saipan International Airport, this causes them to pass directly over my house, the altitude means considerable noise during their passage, it is disturbing and obtrusive,” the lawyer said.

Mr. White’s complaint involves the preferred left-turn route which has been published since 1995 but was not strictly implemented by the ports authority until recently.

However, Mr. Salas explained that the Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Standards Office requires Saipan-based single engine aircraft to fly between Saipan and Tinian from the closest land masses.

“The practice allowing right hand turns for Tinian-bound aircraft is still being allowed but only when traffic and weather permits,” the CPA official told Mr. White in an April 18, 2000 letter.

Since SERCO, a private contractor of the FAA under the Federal Contract Tower Program, took over the Saipan airport tower, airline and FAA representatives have expressed intention for more stringent enforcement of the left-turn for single engine going to West Tinian Airport.

Therefore, single-engine aircraft are directed to fly the preferred left-turn route as published by the FAA to the extent possible and without causing any undue delay to other air traffic under tower’s control.

This route in Saipan and West Tinian airports was established by the ports authority after a series of meetings with air carriers, following concerns raised by turbo-jet operators and the pilots of single and twin engine aircraft on flight safety separation.

Andy Pellacani, of the Guam-based Aviation Services Ltd. which operates Freedom Air here, pointed out that a left departure turn is required to maintain safety separation without having aircraft crossing each other’s flight path dangerously close.

Mr. Pellacani added that a right turn would require single engine aircraft to fly higher over the channel to maintain safe glide distance between the islands.

“This would place the departing single engine traffic dangerously close to the path of an arriving traffic,” he said, adding that there had already been reported incidents of near misses.