Multiple simultaneous overflights are continuous
Have you noticed the noise from the low flying aircraft over our local residential neighborhoods? Have you noticed that most of the noise comes from the SAME aircraft repetitively overflying us? Have you noticed the aircraft flyovers; Days starting at 8 AM, nights even 9 PM, 10 PM and occasionally 1AM in the morning?
Lead exposure is cumulative, there is no safe blood level
Please be informed and take action to stop the situation from getting worse and to mitigate the existing detrimental impact on our quality of life and children's health.
Children — and adults — are at a higher risk for lead poisoning if they are within 1500 feet of aircraft operation where leaded aviation fuel is used.
What we know
This Issue is persistent and appears to be growing. If you care about our local Canton community Quality of life and the environment please read on!
“The science is clear: Exposure to lead and Noise can cause irreversible and lifelong health effects in children. Not so great for adults either!
Aircraft that use leaded fuel are the dominant source of lead emissions in our air.”
Some links for reference, please do research for yourselves:
Facts:
- if you notice, the majority of the low flying aircraft are repeated flyovers of the same aircraft
- These aircraft are using leaded fuel, outlawed in cars decades ago. The lead and other exhaust products are contaminating the air in the areas these planes transit. Studies have found elevated lead levels in children living within about 500 meters (≈1,600 feet) of general-aviation airports using leaded avgas.”
- These aircraft transit directly over our neighborhoods, schools, playgrounds and sports fields, often at low altitudes (roughly 100–1,000 feet above ground)
- If you monitor the aircraft flying over and particularly loud, repetitive and intrusive ones: few if any of the aircraft are over Norwood, most are over Canton and some of Westwood. Based on flight-tracking data, these flight paths appear to minimize overflights of Norwood. We ask: who decided this, and why aren’t Canton residents being protected in the same way?
- We ask, are the residents and children of Canton, less important humans than the residents of Norwood?
- Based on first hand observation and flight APP data, the aircraft are separated by less than 2 min, on many occasions, there are 3-5 aircraft simultaneously repetitively flying over our residential neighborhoods, playgrounds and schools. These aircraft are practicing touch and go landings and takeoffs
- Many of these aircraft are owned by a company called "Plane Nonsense" and are operated by East Coast Aero club, helicopters are operated by Blue Hill Helicopter, all are "For profit" businesses.
- ECAC - East Coast Aero Club has current litigation against it by residents in other locations!!! Please see: litigation with ECAC - you can find scroll down this page and find the complaint: https://trellis.law/case/25017/2481cv02938/mccoy-david-et-al-vs-east-coast-aero-club-inc-et-al. ECAC and co-defendants removed the suit to federal court, but Judge Denise Casper returned it to MA Superior Court. We do not have a new docket number yet, but you can read her judgement here: https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/56290134/McCoy_et_al_v_new_england_aeronautics_inc
- We are observing an increase of small helicopters being operated repetitively over our residential neighborhoods as well! We ask, is there a need for this? Can't helicopters easily fly over the non residential areas in our proximity. We ask, why are they flying over our residencies? They cant land on our streets if an emergency occurs, too many power and communication lines!
- We ask: are flight schools, helicopter operations and their associated aircraft at Norwood airport (operated by the town of Norwood) all making money? We ask: without consideration for our Canton residents health and well being, is this at the expense of our Canton residents, piece of mind, health, ability to enjoy our homes and property? We ask: If your working from home, can one be able to be successfully engaged with our careers.
- Numerous Canton residents have complained to the Norwood airport manager. There has been no response from the Norwood Airport management to well over 120 complaints. (FOIA records have been acquired from the town of Norwood to verify the complaint number). This was done more than a year ago, we believe the number of complaints are much greater now.
- To our knowledge, there is no Airport guidance board in existence with surrounding town representation. It appears, the Norwood Airport commission is making all decisions as to Airport operations and its effects on the surrounding communities.
- To our knowledge, the noise abatement policy has not been updated in over 20 years (1997) and does not consider Canton or other surrounding towns
- We dont know if a health impact report or other information covering lead and other carcinogens exposure to our neighborhoods was ever performed. We ask shouldn't there be one?
- To our knowledge, the Airport is closed and the control tower is unmanned at night, yet, pilots are allowed to practice landing takeoffs and low level passes over Canton residential areas late at night, 9, 10 PM and even at 1 AM in the morning.
- We live in an area with Highways, golf courses, industrial parks, shopping malls, car dealerships. Plenty of Non-residential areas to overfly. We ask: what are the reasons training flights, noise and lead contamination have to be over our Canton neighborhoods. If Proximity to the runway or landing area is a reason, all of the above are closer to the airport than our residential neighborhoods. Aircraft cannot land on our residential streets or school yards! Our local hi-ways were designed to be able to handle aircraft landings and take offs!
- Additionally the Norwood Airport is adjacent to the Neponset River Watershed, a sensitive environmental wetland that flows into Boston Harbor. Wont the the proposed expansion project add more impermeable material, more pollution to wetlands and increase global warming?
NOTE: Monitoring the aircraft is easy with any of a number of FREE websites or mobile APPs. Please see below for information.
Additional tower exchanges of interest:
- When calling the control tower to complain about the continuous flyovers on a weekend: Tower: Stop calling the tower, all noise complaints need to go to the airport manager. Our Response: " The airport manager is not available evenings, weekends and does not respond ", Tower: "dont call again"
Our opinions formed based on our experience:
Lack of responsiveness on complaints from the Norwood Airport Operations and commission appears to us a disregard for our families well being.
There is no representation of local towns on the Airport advisory / management board. Decisions regarding the safe operation of the Norwood airport appear to be made without consideration of the surrounding towns. These decisions affect local residents and their families quality of life, health well being and their ability to successfully make a living.
Our opinion is that Norwood Airport and East coast Aero Club are Operating and supporting businesses at the expense of our Canton Resident's health, well being and pursuit of quality of life. In our view, current operations principally benefit aircraft owners and flight schools, while imposing noise and pollution burdens on surrounding communities.
BE AWARE!
The Norwood Airport is looking to lengthen their runways SOON!
There is a lot to this and we have not found any Town of Canton leadership that has seen, communicated to the public, commented or approved these plans?
We are deeply concerned this will only lead to larger aircraft, additional noise, more lead and carcinogenic contamination of our environment and more infringement on our town's residents quality of Life.
To our knowledge, this has not been substantively discussed at town meetings, nor have Canton residents had an opportunity to vote directly on it
We in Canton have not had the ability to address this and are not part of any commission governing the airport and its operation.
This must be stopped and the current situation mitigated.
Other Towns are facing similar issues. Please see: https://www.saveourskiesalliance.org/massachusetts.html
Small sample of intrusive overflights impacting our Local Schools, playgrounds and our Neighborhoods
