More than 840 people in the Pascack Valley region, who have formed the group Taxpayers for Airport Noise Solutions, have signed a petition requesting the FAA to change the flight plans for flights into Teterboro Airport Runway 19, by having them fly over Route 17.
Signers include the mayors of Emerson, Hillsdale, Montvale, Old Tappan, Oradell, Park Ridge, River Vale, Washington Township, Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake. Residents say this route avoids Hackensack University Medical Center and the Pascack Valley region,
"[We] believe there are solutions which can be undertaken that would improve residents’ quality of life while continuing to provide safe and necessary access to air travel in and out of Teterboro Airport, Newark Airport and all others within our vicinity," signees said.
The flight path over Route 17 was briefly implemented in 2016, only to be terminated because pilots felt it was too much work, as reported by Daily Voice at the time. Utilizing the flight path requires pilots manually enter landing waypoint, and according to the FAA, that means more "heads down" time when they're supposed to be flying.
And so, the planes have since continued over thousands of residents, causing noise complaints.
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