Aviation and the Environment: Transition to Quieter Aircraft Occurred as Planned, but Concerns about Noise Persist.

摘要

Aircraft noise is a major concern in communities around airports despite considerable reductions in such noise and a corresponding decrease in the population exposed to it. Moreover, concern about noise remains a constraint on efforts to expand airport capacity to meet the growing demand for air travel. The Congress has authorized the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regulate aircraft noise. The Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA) of 1990 established December 31, 1999, as the deadline for airlines to phase out the use of existing jet aircraft weighing more than 75,000 pounds that had not been modified to comply with current aircraft noise standards, called 'Stage 3.' Because the United States is considering moving to a new, more stringent noise standard, you asked us to provide a retrospective analysis of the transition to our current Stage 3 aircraft noise standards. This report discusses expectations, results, and issues raised by the transition. To determine expectations and results, we reviewed the legislative history of ANCA, as well as interviewed agency officials, industry representatives, and other aviation experts. Appendixes I and II discuss how noise standards are developed in the United States and internationally. To assess the reliability of the computerized model FAA uses to estimate the number of people exposed to various noise levels, we also interviewed agency officials, industry representatives, and other aviation experts. To estimate the airlines' costs to transition to the current aircraft noise standards, we developed a cost model. We compared and analyzed expectations with results to identify issues raised by the transition. See appendix III for more detailed information on our scope and methodology and appendix IV for a discussion of our model for estimating the costs to the airlines of the transition to the current U.S. standards.