Despite advances in technology that have led to increasingly quieter airplanes, the FAA needs to do more to address community concerns about aircraft noise, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a newly issued report.
One major concern of the GAO relates to performance-based navigation (PBN). Although PBN allows aircraft to fly more precise flight paths intended to reduce flying time, fuel use, and emissions, it can also concentrate aircraft noise over a smaller area. The GAO recognizes that the FAA has increased its community outreach efforts throughout the PBN implementation process, but said it “could improve its outreach to communities about noise concerns both before and after PBN changes.”
For example, community members in some PBN outreach forums told the GAO they were “frustrated” on how to productively engage with the FAA to address noise concerns. The GAO concluded that “it was unclear about the extent to which communities can expect assistance from the FAA in proposing changes to flight paths that cause noise concerns.”
To improve the FAA’s efforts to assess noise impacts and engage with affected communities, the GAO submitted several recommendations to the agency. The FAA said it expects to take steps toward implementing these recommendations by year-end.