7.2 The Airport and the Environment

For the topic of airport environmental impact, it would be easy to jump on either water or air pollution. But a unique and most popularly controversial impact regarding the airport and surrounding environment is noise pollution.

I know this is likely to be the most popular opinion for this topic, but for good reason. While the actual health impact of noise pollution is difficult to calculate, the overall impact to the local/surrounding community can be very easy to determine. According to an April 2007 Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress regarding Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion, "aircraft noise is often the principal focus for community groups and larger non-governmental organizations that oppose runway expansion." It can even cause people to act in ways they may not normally act. As a more local to me example, the Aircraft Noise and Operations Report 2014 Annual Summary for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport records that in 1998 there were 3,444 total calls regarding noise complaints. There is a double asterisk next to this number, which explains that 1,845 of those calls were made by just one person!

There are a variety of strategies to mitigate this inherent byproduct of air travel, but the most effective methods are usually taken into consideration during airport planning, such as airfield layout and land use restrictions. These will ensure (at least before land is developed near the airfield) that the most minimal impact is achieved. After a time, mitigation practices such as sound barriers, and terrain/land buffers may become necessary. Operational considerations such as runway restrictions during certain times of the day or certain airfield hours of operation are another way for airport managers to "stay neighborly." Technological advancements in aircraft engine/airframe design can help, but is an ongoing process that is outside the control of the airport manager.

References:
Congressional Research Service. (2007). Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion (CRS Order Code RL33949). Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33949.pdf

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. (2014). Aircraft Noise and Operations Report 2014 Annual Summary. Retrieved from https://www.cvgairport.com/docs/default-source/stats/cvg-noise-2014.pdf?sfvrsn=2

6.2 Legislative Acts

AIR MAIL ACT OF 1925

While there are certainly many impactful legislative acts, nothing is usually more impactful than the first time it's done. Even though there was a subsequent and more substantial Air Commerce Act of 1926, the AMA of 1925 got the ball rolling in this new mass transportation domain, serving as the framework for all future legislation and "facilitated the creation of a profitable commercial airline industry, and airline companies such as Pan American Airways, Western Air Express, and Ford Air Transport Service began scheduled commercial passenger service." (FAA.gov, 2017)


Reference:
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration. (2017). A Brief History of the FAA. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history/

5.3 Team-Based Human Factors Challenges

Since man is not perfect and we were not born flying but had to invent a way to do it, failure is inevitable. Yet that is what has driven mankind's greatest achievements; learn from what didn't work and make it better. That said, the term 'human factors' rightly describes the positives and negatives of human endeavor into an unnatural realm, and trying to leverage that information to achieve the most effective method in conquering that unnatural realm.

"In the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Human Factors is defined as a “multidisciplinary effort to generate and compile information about human capabilities and limitations and apply that information to equipment, systems, facilities, procedures, jobs, environments, training, staffing, and personnel management for safe, comfortable, and effective human performance” (FAA Order 9550.8A)."

In regards to a team-based activity, in my humble opinion, commercial aviation is just that. No aircraft can get off the ground or land again without a full team of people from different organizations working to make it happen. The video in Module 5.1 for "Crash of the Century" was rife with examples of both positive capabilities and negative limitations. The flight crew of the KLM flight was very rigid in it's team dynamic, the captain not allowing for dissenting opinion and lording his control over not just the copilot and navigator, but the flight attendants as well. The flight crew for the PanAm flight seemed like a cohesive unit, taking cues from each other and working together to figure out how to make it through. The unfortunate terrorist events that led all aircraft to the alternate airfield aside, the Los Rodeos ATC crew in Tenerife did an amazing job trying to fit so many aircraft onto an airfield not designed for that kind of traffic. But with that comes the added responsibility of keeping track of all those aircraft, no matter the weather conditions. Losing the aircraft on the runway in the fog was apparently inevitable given the location of the airport. The choice to deplane the KLM aircraft and then to refuel further compounded the timeline. Once given clearance, aircraft started departing but the ATC lacked clear direction for the PanAm 747 to take the C4 ramp, and then they failed to hold the KLM 747 until the runway was cleared, although there's not much one can do about a pilot who thinks he knows better than anyone else.

Personally, I think the major human factor in this whole tragic story is the infallible hubris of the KLM pilot, not wanting his reputation tarnished by running into a work timeline infraction that would tarnish a "sterling" career. If he had just been more patient, perhaps the whole affair might have turned out differently.

References:
FAA HF definition retrieved from:  https://www.hf.faa.gov/media/RoleOfHF-FAA.pdf