The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Chris Gardner

The weather is to blame for the increased noise from San Jose International Airport, officials say.

Airplane noise complaints increase

By Steve Enders

Not all flights taking off and landing at San Jose International Airport this winter head over Sunnyvale, though it may seem like it to residents.

Sunnyvale's community relations officer, Dave Vossbrink, said that within the last couple of weeks Sunnyvale residents have been calling the city asking why there are so many commercial airplanes flying into the airport over their houses.

The answer is in the weather. According to Gary Stowell of the San Jose International Airport noise-abatement department, prevailing winds through the Bay Area change during winter months.

"Eighty percent of the time we get winds out of the north," Stowell said. "Fifteen percent of the time, we get southerly winds. Since planes are designed to take off and land into the wind, they need to sometimes approach San Jose from the north."

This, plus heavy air traffic around the Bay Area, has made it necessary for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to route planes a certain way.

Sometimes--about 15 percent of the time--that means routing them over Sunnyvale.

Usually, planes take off over Santa Clara and land by coming in over downtown San Jose.

They've done it like that for years, Stowell said, and taking into account the changing winds and runway direction, there isn't really a way to reroute air traffic.

He says that there are ways citizens can be heard over the roar of the jets, however. One way is to call the airport noise-monitoring center's hotline at 998-0707 and register a complaint or comment. Another is to attend a quarterly meeting of the Airport Noise Advisory Committee; the next one is set for Feb. 9.

According to Lenora Porcella, the chairwoman of Citizens Against Airport Pollution, cities can do more to influence air traffic. "Cities can sit down with the FAA and ask, 'What can we do, what can't we do?' Maybe the planes can go higher."

Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Roberts says this is the first time he's ever heard of a problem.

"I'll look into it with the city manager and see if we can't come up with something," Roberts said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 21, 1998.
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