Capitals

“Last night, both the FAA and NBC 4 showed a total disregard for DC residents.”

By Prince Of Petworth


via Washington Capitals

And not all were happy about it, got a lot of queries about this on twitter last night too. Ed. Note: Helluva game though – GO CAPS!!!

“Dear PoPville,

Last night, local NBC 4 covered the Caps game via helicopter. It was hovering non stop between 7:30 pm and 8:40 pm. Presumably, it left to refuel and was back hovering at 9:30 until 11:20 pm. I called NBC 4 and was told that they had an exclusive permit to fly until 11:30 pm to get footage of the crowds outside of the Capital One arena. The woman I spoke with said they were getting other callers complaining about their helicopter noise.

I am in Logan Circle, far enough away from the arena and even with ear plugs and closed doors and windows, the constant noise was driving me mad.

Sleep was out of the question. On several occasions the helicopter drifted directly over the Circle and hovered somewhere around 14th and P St making it even louder and certainly had nothing to do with covering the game. I’m sure thousands of residents were cursing NBC 4 last night. I can’t imagine how a helicopter hovering for the entire game directly over the fans who were watching outside of the arena enhanced their experience.

The FAA grants permits to fly over DC and were present at last week’s community meeting that Eleanor Holmes Norton convened to discuss increased helicopter noise in the city. The FAA representative heard loudly and clearly resident concerns and expressed sensitivity to the neighbors. Yet just a few days after the meeting some bozo at FAA thought it was ok to grant a gratuitous, 4 hour permit to allow a helicopter to fly and hover over DC for hours into the night.

I’m excited that the Caps won the game and watched the live helicopter coverage on NBC 4’s 11 pm news coverage. The live footage lasted about 1 minute. The helicopter reporter stated how special it was to be able to fly in DC air space which is normally restricted. Three plus hours of constant helicopter noise was not necessary for 1 minute of live helicopter coverage. The FAA should never have granted a 4 hour permit for non essential air traffic. NBC 4 should have flown for a few minutes for the live feed at the end of the game and been gone.

Last night, both the FAA and NBC 4 showed a total disregard for DC residents. I will be calling the FAA this morning to file a formal complaint and would hope that those who were subjected to the noise assault last night do the same. Perhaps if they get enough complaints they will think twice before granting other frivolous permits. Checking the FAA website, the DC Flight Standards District Office appears to be the correct contact info. Tel: 703-230-7664, Manager David Burk. Website.”