helicopter class action suit??

[Ino]

Thank you for shining some light on Hawaii's noisy "secret"--it was not disclosed to me when I bought my place here in Hawaiian Acres that I would be living under one of the world's busiest flight paths. It doesn't make any sense to me why helicopters are flying 20 plus miles to destroy the Volcanoes National park with their impact. Tell me this doesn't have an impact on the wildlife and the people visiting in the park. Why not put the helicopters closer to where they are going-save time, money and fuel. Put the helicopters in the Park or at least base them in Volcano!

Congress did pass a law in 2000 to mitigate some of this damage;https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/air_tour_management_plan/more_tour_management_plan.cfm

And Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is listed as a park that must come up with a plan;https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/air_tour_management_plan/park_specific_plans/awp.cfm

Well it's almost 2015 and very little has been done. I went to the meeting at Volcanoes National Park in 2011 and participated in comments and voted on the various plans suggested. Look here; http://www.nps.gov/havo/parkmgmt/upload/...2012-2.pdf

In Los Angeles County, where a lot of people live, they were able to get this done recently;
http://www.wehoville.com/2014/09/22/faa-...ter-noise/

What we really have here is a federal agency that promotes aviation-the FAA regulating the airspace over a National Park that receives money every time a helicopter flies over the park. Do you see a Conflict of Interest here? The National Park rangers claim they don't like the helicopter noise either but apparently they like the money.

Any attorneys out there as I wish there was a class action suit as one only has to prove that property values are damaged to to be awarded compensation;http://airportnoiselaw.org/damages.html

If only the air tour companies would follow the existing regulations and fly at the correct altitude, they probably wouldn't bother anyone. I had a close call on Weds. 11-19-14 with a low flying helicopter. I called the FAA to complain but I have yet to receive any reply.

Years ago I called all the tour companies on this side of the island and only Paradise Helicopter called me back and we did have a nice conversation so if you must go--fly Paradise.

One last thing, recently the Chinese were granted visa extensions and they spend more money than any other visitor-i.e. a helicopter ride is very affordable. Add this to the upcoming UHH drone program;
http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...ne-program

And this is going to be one Hell of a place to live!

[MarkP]

Carbon dioxide is somewhat heavier than O2,N2, argon and the other components of air. It is not heavier than air since it is air itself (part of the air). What keeps the atmosphere well mixed is the same thing that gets softball sized hail 10s of thousands of feet up in the air.

[Johnd]

A

quote:

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Originally posted by Ino

Thank you for shining some light on Hawaii's noisy "secret"--it was not disclosed to me when I bought my place here in Hawaiian Acres that I would be living under one of the world's busiest flight paths. It doesn't make any sense to me why helicopters are flying 20 plus miles to destroy the Volcanoes National park with their impact. Tell me this doesn't have an impact on the wildlife and the people visiting in the park. Why not put the helicopters closer to where they are going-save time, money and fuel. Put the helicopters in the Park or at least base them in Volcano!

Congress did pass a law in 2000 to mitigate some of this damage;https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/air_tour_management_plan/more_tour_management_plan.cfm

And Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is listed as a park that must come up with a plan;https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/air_tour_management_plan/park_specific_plans/awp.cfm

Well it's almost 2015 and very little has been done. I went to the meeting at Volcanoes National Park in 2011 and participated in comments and voted on the various plans suggested. Look here; http://www.nps.gov/havo/parkmgmt/upload/...2012-2.pdf

In Los Angeles County, where a lot of people live, they were able to get this done recently;
http://www.wehoville.com/2014/09/22/faa-...ter-noise/

What we really have here is a federal agency that promotes aviation-the FAA regulating the airspace over a National Park that receives money every time a helicopter flies over the park. Do you see a Conflict of Interest here? The National Park rangers claim they don't like the helicopter noise either but apparently they like the money.

Any attorneys out there as I wish there was a class action suit as one only has to prove that property values are damaged to to be awarded compensation;http://airportnoiselaw.org/damages.html

If only the air tour companies would follow the existing regulations and fly at the correct altitude, they probably wouldn't bother anyone. I had a close call on Weds. 11-19-14 with a low flying helicopter. I called the FAA to complain but I have yet to receive any reply.

Years ago I called all the tour companies on this side of the island and only Paradise Helicopter called me back and we did have a nice conversation so if you must go--fly Paradise.

One last thing, recently the Chinese were granted visa extensions and they spend more money than any other visitor-i.e. a helicopter ride is very affordable. Add this to the upcoming UHH drone program;
http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...ne-program

And this is going to be one Hell of a place to live!

---

why are you asking if there are any attorneys to file a suit, instead of getting one yourself to start with. Once the original claim is taken under consideration they will make it a class action suit, there are thousands of folk in your situation in Puna.

jdo

[Johnd]

ok, how many of you who have an issue with this outrageous state of affairs with the tour operators, want to get together and FILE a class action suit instead of just talking about it. TAKING NAMES RIGHT NOW, LETS DO IT.

jdo

[leilanidude]

I had a close call on Weds. 11-19-14 with a low flying helicopter. I called the FAA to complain but I have yet to receive any reply.
--------
Would you elaborate?

[Ino]

It takes a group to file a class action lawsuit. I'm not a lawyer so I think it might be smart to consult with one. I retired here not to file lawsuits but to enjoy my remaining days. I just wish the pilots would realize what impact they have and be more considerate.

I don't think a lawsuit would be easy as flight paths change and except for a few days here and there, we have been getting a break ever since the county got involved with the Pahoa flow and our over flights have gone down. We can still see and hear them off in the distance probably disturbing people that live near the flow and it looks and sounds really bad from here but people probably don't care because they're flying at higher altitudes. From here it doesn't look like the helicopters worry much about the FAA restriction;
http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_3503.html

My close call almost a week ago went like this "It was a rainy day with low cloud ceilings, a helicopter disturbed our roof panels, rattled the windows, freaked out the cats and had me fleeing to our detached garage as I thought the helicopter was going to crash. I estimate the copter was within 200 feet". I think they come up from Hilo airport, probably flying at 500 feet or more there and then lose altitude because we live at about 1400 feet. I still haven't gotten a call back after talking to Denise at the FAA. I really don't think they care. I'm sure they know the situation by now. Even though the FAA does nothing to mitigate the noise there is alot of seething anger at them up here in Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres and Eden Roc etc.

As someone who has filed Police Reports with the Police in the Park, gone to the meetings to effect change, contacted representatives to no avail. I would be inclined to join a class action lawsuit if a lawyer thought we could win against a lot of people that make a lot of money!

[kalakoa]

it was not disclosed to me when I bought my place here in Hawaiian Acres that I would be living under one of the world's busiest flight paths

I believe it's pronounced "buyer to perform own due diligence", but I really think helicopter flight paths (and the implications of "private road") need to be a required disclosure for real estate transactions.

Cue up the "cheap land/low property taxes" argument...

[ironyak]

Are the helicopter companies required to file a flight record that would indicate their coordinates and altitude during each flight? The technology is obviously readily available; would (should?) the FAA already have the info as to when pilots dropped below the legal altitude?

[Anxious Messiah]

Haven't heard of a recent suit, especially in HI, but if you have the resources and the clout, it can be done.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0...ter-tours/

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