2014 Phoenix Flight Path Changes: A Good Thing?

Noise abatement is a current and ever-changing issue that leaves some groups satisfied and others dissatisfied. Given that noise is a natural byproduct of aviation, it is the duty of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mitigate noise pollution and the effects that it has on the surrounding community. With the FAA currently progressing to modernize the National Airspace System, communities around the United States have expressed their concerns regarding changes of flight paths, notably the City of Phoenix. Public unrest has increased intensively since the implementation of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) departure procedures in September of 2014. The unrest has allegedly stemmed from a lack of consultation from the Federal Aviation Administration to the City of Phoenix and surrounding communities. Documented complaints have not only been filed by the City, but also by National Prehistoric Preservation areas within the valley. The City of Phoenix and the State of Arizona filed a lawsuit against the FAA to dispute the flight path changes. The court ruled in favor of Arizona and required the FAA to revert to the flight paths that were in place before the changes. This paper is an immersion into the current state of what has occurred within the Phoenix Terminal Airspace (PTA), the effects that the changes have had on the natural and social environment, the FAA, and the NextGen initiative which the FAA is said to be implementing. This paper will also inform the reader of how a departure procedure is created, how the public can stay better informed of what the FAA is planning, and possible long-term solutions that will satisfy both the environmental and modernization requirements placed on the PTA.