Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Assessment of Measured Aircraft Noise Levels
Presentation Outline Methodology Summary of Data Assessed High-Level Overview Focused Review of Selected Sites General Findings 1
Methodology Selected sample data representative of the four seasons from the MWAA noise monitoring system Focused on early morning and late night hours Assessed individual noise events from aircraft operating at DCA recorded at each of the monitors: Maximum noise level (Lmax) Type of operation (arrival or departure) and runway used Aircraft type Airline or operator and flight number 2
Noise Data Assessed Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday of four representative weeks in 2016: January 11, 13, and 16 April 4, 6, and 9 July 4, 6, and 9 October 3, 5, and 8 Early morning and late night hours: Early morning: 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Late night: 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. of the following morning Approximately 65 to 68 percent of the assessed data reflected North Flow conditions 3
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Common Sounds on the A-Weighted Decibel Scale 5
Noise Monitor Stations Overall SOURCE: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), MapmyIndia, NGCC, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community, January 2017 (basemap); Airport Noise Office Metropolitan Washington Airport s Authority, January 2017 (runways and monitors). 6
Noise Monitor Stations Early Morning Hours SOURCE: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), MapmyIndia, NGCC, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community, January 2017 (basemap); Airport Noise Office Metropolitan Washington Airport s Authority, January 2017 (runways and monitors). 7
Noise Monitor Stations Late Night Hours SOURCE: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), MapmyIndia, NGCC, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community, January 2017 (basemap); Airport Noise Office Metropolitan Washington Airport s Authority, January 2017 (runways and monitors). 8
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 2 (Cabin John) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 9
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 4 (Potomac Palisades) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 10
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 5 (Chain Bridge) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 11
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 6 (Georgetown) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 12
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 7 (Rosslyn) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 13
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 8 (Old Town) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 14
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 10 (Fort Foote) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 15
Lmax Range from Assessed Data NMT 11 (Marlan Forest) NOTE: Early Morning Hours = 5 a.m., 6 a.m; Late Night Hours = 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m. SOURCE: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., based upon noise monitoring data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, February 2017. 16
Generalized Findings Overall Noise Levels and Noise Events The high and low Lmax values and the numbers of events from NMTs along the River north of the Airport were generally comparable on both sides, suggesting general adherence to the river course Within the overall range, the distribution among the noise levels showed slightly higher noise levels west of the River than east Lmax values on either side of the River began to diverge near the Cabin John site near where the departure procedure veers from the River Noise levels to the south were similar on both sides, although the numbers of events recorded were higher on the east side likely due to the predominance of North Flow during the assessment period and the alignment of the final approach course to Runway 1 17
Generalized Findings Individual Aircraft Noise Levels No aircraft type appeared to be the greatest culprit, in terms of producing the highest Lmax values* Late night arrivals and early morning departures tended to be more mainline jets; while early morning arrivals and late night departures tended to be more regional jets Lmax values of most regional jets were below those of mainline jets, although some (e.g., E170/190) were in the same range as mainline jets The highest ranges of Lmax recorded at each site did not represent the highest percentages of recorded Lmax values *Note that very few events from MD-80s were recorded due to the hours assessed and the penalties associated with their operation during early morning and late night hours. 18