Contarian, your arguments are valid and you stated your points well. I thank you for your thoughts on the accident statistics and the quiet hours. Assuming you are correct that the tower being closed has no connection with accidents, I will agree with you that mandating the quiet hours is more of a noise issue. Personally I do not like being awakened in the middle of the night to jet engines, but this is secondary to the safety issues at hand.
The most important issue here is to avoid tragedy. Whatever the reasons for allowing builders to build homes or for allowing the airport to take on more traffic, there is nothing we can do about that now. Like GG said, we all have to work together so that planes do not crash into homes.
I am not an official who granted building permits near the airport, nor did I purchase a home in the flight path. We felt we were far enough away to not encounter problems. One person insinuated that I do not take my childrens’ safety to heart because I am not moving: this is unfair and unfortunately not a black and white issue–that person does not know me, my financial status, nor the reasons why moving is not an option at this time.
I hope that everyone can work together to promote safety. That is all I am asking, as are others involved in these issues. Thank you all for understanding.
