Toronto Star - August 26, 1997
Forbidden night flights tested secretly at Pearson
Tryouts anger Mississauga officials, residents
BY MIKE FUNSTON STAFF REPORTER
Secret flights have been permitted during restricted night hours at Pearson International Airport as a test to determine whether such operations can be tolerated by residents on a regular basis. The flights have angered local politicians and residents, but Greater Toronto Airports Authority president Louis Turpen said they had to be kept under wraps to ensure valid results.
The information was made public by Mississauga Councillor Maja Prentice, who was furious that city officials weren't briefed in advance. Prentice, whose ward is affected by aircraft noise, said she was "shocked" to learn of the test flights in view of the authority's stated goal of fostering better relations with the community. Prentice is on the airport noise committee, which has municipal, citizen and authority members. Turpen recently told the committee about the tests, which began six months ago. Results are to be released to its members on Sept. 24. Lawrence Mitoff, a spokes-
person for the Council of Concerned Residents, a ratepayers' coalition opposing the new north-south runway, was also upset. "I wondered why I've been hearing jets at 3 in the morning," Mitoff said. "I figured .something was up." He believes the tests are just part of an over-all strategy of airport expansion. 'They (authority officials) are going to turn large areas around the airport into slums and noise ghettos," Mitoff said. There are limits on night flights between midnight and 7 a.m., with the older, noisier jets like DC-9's having the most stringent restrictions.
But Turpen said in an interview that it was necessary to conduct "blind tests" for objective results. 'We are committed to maximizing the economic opportunities from this asset and we want to do it in an environmentally responsible way," he said. 'We evaluated certain operations and noise abatement pro- cedures using electronic means, monitoring the flight paths of the aircraft and the complaints we might have received to any of the trials that were conducted. 'With that data we'll tweak and revise our procedures to create the illusion that we're not operating when we are. I was in San Francisco for 16 years. We did that and it worked very well."
The tests have been a success, Turpen said. However, he refused to divulge how many flights there have been or how many complaints were received. 'We expect that a noise management agreement for airlines to fly in the non-traditional hours will come out of this," he said. 'We're are going to see some: economic opportunities spool up from this and I'm excited about it. 'We believe 500 to 1,000 jobs can be created over the next two years if all our procedures work."
Follow-up Articles:Overnight test flights just landings, official says - Toronto Star Aug. 27-'97
Report urges restrictions on night flights at Pearson - Toronto Star Sep. 4-'97
'Secret' flights attacked - Toronto Star Sep. 26-'97