Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am concerned about the safety issue with so many low flying aircraft passing over our community on a daily basis. The noise is also a significant factor, and when the Sloan Heliport is constructed, the noise problem will be compounded by an order of magnitude.

I am attempting to alert the entire community to this problem and solicit your help if you agree that it is a problem. By way of background, I am a retired pilot. I hold the FAA’s highest pilot rating, an Airline Transport Pilot Multi-engine rating, and a commercial glider pilot rating. I’ve been involved in aviation since 1948. My experience includes 3 years of flying Cessna 402 aircraft (among others) in commercial operations out of McCarran, carrying tourists to the Grand Canyon, and 27 years in the US Air Force as an instructor pilot. I spend 12 years at Nellis AFB, during three different tours (they kept sending me back) as an instructor and test project manager in the Fighter Weapons School (USAF top gun). I have spent countless hours on the local air-to-ground gunnery ranges as an instructor pilot and range control officer, where altitude judgment was paramount for safety.

That is all relevant because I believe that I am a fairly good judge of aircraft altitude, and I am well versed in federal aviation regulations, FAA operations, and commercial flight operations. That is necessary to support the following article which I have written for the community:

If you are concerned about the safety hazard and the noise of low flying aircraft, this may be of concern to you. Many will not be able to read this, but perhaps the word will slowly spread anyway. Propeller driven single and twin-engine aircraft operating out of Henderson Executive airport are violating prescribed minimum FAA altitudes for flight over a densely populated area (ours) on a daily basis. The primary culprits are the pilots of the Cessna 402 twin-engine aircraft owned by King Aire Lines.

There is only one company operating that type of aircraft out of the Henderson airport…King Aire Lines, so that makes it pretty easy to identify the source. If you live in Shadow Canyon, Black Mountain village, and Desert Sky village, and others you have seen and heard them regularly. They approach from the mountain pass just East of our community, so low that when you first see or hear them they will appear below the mountain ridge. They are required to fly no less than 500 feet over our houses, by Federal Aviation Regulations–not that 500 feet is much of a safety factor. But a few of their ‘hot pilots’ seem to have no regard for our safety or peace and quiet, and I’ve frequently observed them at 200 feet, sometimes less. It’s not likely that you can get outside quickly enough to see them, for at that altitude, and at a speed of around 120 knots, they are gone in 20 seconds.

The King Aire Cessna 402s are all white in color with narrow stripes down the side of the fuselage. The aircraft is easily recognized by the characteristic fuel tanks on the wing tips. The fuel tanks give the wing tips an upswept and streamlined look.

The reason I’m presenting this is because if we can stop this safety hazard, and the noise, we will be one jump ahead of the game in stopping the helicopter noise problem which is sure to come when the Sloan heliport is developed. You ‘”ain’t heard nothing yet” if you haven’t had a hundred helicopters passing over your house at 300 feet on a daily basis! 300 feet is the minimum altitude allowed by the FAA for those helicopters carrying passengers to the canyon so there’s nothing you can do to stop the noise. It’s illegal to shoot them down, tempting perhaps, but still illegal. ;-)

If we start now, and all complain about the low flying King Aire Line airplanes, no one can say later that no one in our community has complained for years about low flying aircraft. Whenever you observe a low flying aircraft, or wish to complain about aircraft noise, you may call Mr. Anthony Roldan, at the FAA office in Las Vegas; his number is 269-1445 ext 323. Also call the local Aircraft Noise Hotline, at 261-3694.

There’s no use calling King Aire Lines to complain, I was told to do that by Mr. Roldan, but the chief pilot refused to speak with me or return my phone calls…such arrogance. You could also notify the airport manager at Henderson Executive airport, Mr. Tom Donaldson, at 261-4802. Don’t leave this up to someone else–get involved in supporting your community. Thanks.

Mark Cook
2211 Bensley St
afkernel@cox.net