The FAA has said it will conduct a study to see if a ban on jets landing at a Florida airport is justified, the Palm Beach Post reported this week. The Palm Beach County Park/Lantana Airport is the only one in the state with such a ban, according to the Post. The uncontrolled field has been in operation since the 1940s, and the ban on jets was put in place in 1973, after local residents complained about noise. Errol Forman, a retired Eastern Air Lines pilot, landed his newly acquired 1983 Cessna Citation I/SP jet there in May, prompting a call to authorities by a neighbor. Forman challenged the restriction and filed a formal complaint with the FAA, saying the county was violating conditions of its federal grants.
Forman told the Post jets are quieter now than they were in the 1970s, and the restriction no longer makes sense. The helicopters that use the airport are louder than his jet, he says, and loud for a longer period of time because they hover. He said even some smaller planes are louder than his jet as they swoop over the rooftops of nearby neighborhoods. “I don’t see it as a dispute. I see it as misinformation on their part,” Forman said. “They’re wrong now. They weren’t in 1973.” An airport neighbor told the Post the community won’t stand for a change to the ban. “We fear for our lives over here,” William Coakley said. “It was already saturated before the helicopters got here. Now they want jet traffic? It’s not going to happen. There will be a storm of protest.”
