|
Letter to LBIA and initial meeting report 4 December 2008 Mr David Smilie
Air Traffic Services Manager
Leeds/Bradford International Airport
Yeadon
LEEDS LS19 7TU Dear David REPORT-BACK ON MEETING OF 3 DECEMBER Firstly, may I thank you (and through you, both Peter Willis and Tracey Stevenson) for making time for our meeting yesterday, and for your hospitality. As indicated, the Committee of Menston Community Association met last evening and I presented my Report-Back both verbally and in draft documentary forms. I did request authority from the Committee to provide you with a copy of my Report-Back, and this is enclosed. I have already left with you my bundle of documentation, so you are fully aware of the concerns of Menston residents and the representative bodies. Please be advised that I have written to CAA for confirmation of the position relating to the two changes of airspace which have occurred during 2008, and I await a reply. You will appreciate that I had difficulty with the explanation you provided concerning the discrepancies between the NPR as defined by the way-points of latitude and longitude, and the course which jet aircraft are instructed to steer on leaving the 2.1 miles 'marker' in particular. Insofar as that explanation was not entirely persuasive to me, you will understand that I struggled to convince the Committee that there was any necessity for aircraft to deviate from a heading which would be the best fit with the centre-line of the NPR (which would be approximately 290ºMAG). Much as it may be laudable that LBIA has managed to bring a greater proportion of Jet2 flights within the swathe either side of that centre-line, there remains - and we can accept that there always will remain - a margin of error/deviation for winds etc. It is MCA Committee's perception of the situation that, by instructing aircraft to head 274ºMAG at DME 2.1 miles, the effect is to divert the outbound end of the swathe in a southerly direction, that is to say, to increase the curvature beyond 2.1 miles 'out', into a steeper southwesterly swathe. Members of the Committee could not see that this was the intention of having the NPR originally defined by specific way-points and, as I did warn you, there was absolutely no sympathy for the view that experienced pilots and modern systems could not cope with a flight path set down many years ago. In short, the MCA Committee was not satisfied with the reasoning relating to a heading of 274ºMAG, felt significantly misled by inaccuracies in the LBIA website, and was not reassured that (on implementation of the MasterPlan and increased numbers of flights) there would be a reduction, rather than an increase, in the problems of Menston.
I have yet to present my Report-Back to Menston Parish Council, and I therefore offer my notes of the meeting for your consideration so that, if I have misunderstood any part of the explanations given by yourself and Peter Willis, you have an opportunity to comment and clarify. The next meeting of the MCA Committee is scheduled for Wednesday 7 January, but discussions of my Working Group will take place in the interim and will report again to that meeting. Meanwhile, I understand that Tracey is in contact with our Chairman, Peter Ward, to arrange for a representative (whether of LBIA or a major operator) to address the Neighbourhood Forum meeting on 4 February. You will note that the Forum meeting takes place just three working days after the Airport Consultative Committee Meeting. There is some discussion taking place to identify those matters which MCA and MPC would wish your representative to address, and we are concerned to ensure that your representative is given a warm reception, addresses the issues of concern and does not simply present a 'Public Relations' vision of airport development. Doubtless, Peter Ward will offer some suggestions to Tracey as to how your representative can best help Menston people overcome their current anxieties and 'get behind' the airport company's aspirations. I remain open to your further contacts and hope that you will find my openness on these matters helpful and constructive. Yours sincerely Alan D Elsegood Attached below are the meeting notes and letter to the Civil Aviation Authority. Also attached is the NPR map from the LBIA website - note that the actual (average) centre line of aircraft movements is virtually on the southern border of the 'swathe' shown on the map. This means that a considerable number of aircraft must stray outside the NPR.
|
Off-track aircraft
