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Panel recommends no change in flight patterns

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Airport Commission recommended no changes be made to the airport’s flight pattern, Tuesday.

Recently the City of New Ulm has been considering making changes to the flight pattern planes make before landing at the New Ulm airport, to reduce noise.

The New Ulm City Council and city staff have received many complaints regarding noise at the municipal airport. The city considered altering plane flight paths to reduce the noise. Currently, the flight path into New Ulm’s airport is to enter air space over New Ulm at a 45-degree angle coming from a southeastern direction. A pilot landing at the New Ulm airport will make a series of left-hand turns before approaching the runway. If the plane needs to circle before landing, it will all be done with left-hand turns. The left-hand turn pattern is the standard set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). One option to reduce noise is to change the pattern to a right-hand turn pattern. This would redirect plane traffic to the countryside over Milford township.

The New Ulm Airport Commission had previously been against this change to a right-hand pattern due to safety concerns but made no formal recommendation until a full commission and the city council could review it.

During a city council work session, the council discussed the right-hand turning pattern and discussed the rising number of noise complaints. No official decision was made by the council.

After the work session, city staff received numerous calls and emails from local pilots sharing their safety concerns for the right-hand traffic alternative.

City Engineer Joseph Stadheim said local pilots were concerned the right-hand turn pattern would create a blind approach. Plane cockpits are designed with a left-hand approach model.

An alternative option to change the direction of approach was to change the minimum elevation and circling approach distance.

Stadheim said city staff conducted a decibel reading on Thursday, May 6, along North Highland Avenue near the 11th North Street. A reading of 75 decibels for an hour is a violation of the city code. No decibel readings came back greater than 69 decibels on the date tested.

Stadheim said the loudest readings came from cars and wind, not from the planes.

Airport Commissioner Brad Luepke said he researched what would be needed to have the FAA change the flight pattern and it would require a year-long petition process and a special study. Luepke said the FAA only conducts these studies for safety purposes. They likely would not do it for noise abatement.

Commissioner Rosemary Geer spoke with a former pilot about potential changes to the airport approach. She said the pilot thought noise abatement was not a strong enough reason to make the approach changes.

Commissioner Wayne Klassen said he believed the noise complaints were the results of a few pilots flying in too low. He doubted it was the North Star Aviation flight school responsible as the students were likely instructed to fly at the correct altitude.

Engineer Stadheim agreed it was unlikely the flight students were responsible because the North Star planes are closely tracked. He believed the noise was coming from low flying hobby pilots.

Klassen was opposed to changing from a left-hand flight pattern because of safety concerns. He understood it was a pilot’s responsibility to keep up to date on an airport’s approach pattern, but it only took one pilot not up to date to cause an accident.

Klassen made a motion to make no changes to the airport flight pattern, but have city staff reach out to pilots and the public to better explain airport regulations and the reasons for those regulations.

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