Airport neighbors wary of Boeing 747-8
By Chris Hawley |
April 13, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE biggest version yet of Boeing's iconic 747 could soon be flying into United States airports that have never seen aircraft that large, raising hackles among some airport neighbors.
Medium-size airports in Toledo, Ohio; Rockford, Illinois, and Huntsville, Alabama, are among those asking the Federal Aviation Administration for approval to receive the massive 747-8 freighter. Boeing expects to deliver the first planes to customers later this year.
The airports are eager to grab a share of the air cargo market, which is growing faster than passenger traffic. But some residents feel threatened by the big cargo planes flying over their homes and doubt Boeing's claims that the new 747 won't be as noisy.
"When the planes come over, you just want to duck," said Mary Rose Evans, president of the Airport Neighbors Alliance in Louisville. Evans said her house is just 150 meters below the flight path of incoming cargo planes.
The 747-8 is the biggest airplane Boeing has built, with a wingspan 11 feet wider and a body 18 feet longer than the current 747-400 model. Despite its size, Boeing says the 747-8 will be 30 percent quieter.
Getting approval for the 747-8 could woo more of the burgeoning freight traffic, said Paul Toth, chief executive officer of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which operates the Toledo Express Airport. "When it comes to smaller airports, we think this kind of gives us a leg up."
But residents have fought airport expansion in courts in Toledo, Louisville, Indianapolis and other cities. Some worry about the damage a large freighter could cause if it crashes.
"Any mention of more planes or larger planes is a concern to us," said Brenda Jay of suburban Indianapolis. She and others lost a lawsuit against the city's airport in 2007.
Medium-size airports in Toledo, Ohio; Rockford, Illinois, and Huntsville, Alabama, are among those asking the Federal Aviation Administration for approval to receive the massive 747-8 freighter. Boeing expects to deliver the first planes to customers later this year.
The airports are eager to grab a share of the air cargo market, which is growing faster than passenger traffic. But some residents feel threatened by the big cargo planes flying over their homes and doubt Boeing's claims that the new 747 won't be as noisy.
"When the planes come over, you just want to duck," said Mary Rose Evans, president of the Airport Neighbors Alliance in Louisville. Evans said her house is just 150 meters below the flight path of incoming cargo planes.
The 747-8 is the biggest airplane Boeing has built, with a wingspan 11 feet wider and a body 18 feet longer than the current 747-400 model. Despite its size, Boeing says the 747-8 will be 30 percent quieter.
Getting approval for the 747-8 could woo more of the burgeoning freight traffic, said Paul Toth, chief executive officer of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which operates the Toledo Express Airport. "When it comes to smaller airports, we think this kind of gives us a leg up."
But residents have fought airport expansion in courts in Toledo, Louisville, Indianapolis and other cities. Some worry about the damage a large freighter could cause if it crashes.
"Any mention of more planes or larger planes is a concern to us," said Brenda Jay of suburban Indianapolis. She and others lost a lawsuit against the city's airport in 2007.
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