Fort Myers Beach 2019 Outstanding Citizen of Distinction named
Tom Babcock has been named Fort Myers Beach’s 2019 Outstanding Citizen of Distinction for his dedication to the Air Intrusion Relief committee.
Once a month, Babcock logs onto a web tracking system on his home computer, chooses an 8-day period starting on the second Saturday of every month, and collects data on the aircraft coming over Fort Myers Beach.
Babcock has analyzed more than 50,000 arrivals from 2013 to 2019.
From this data, he gathers statistics that help AIR track the impacts of overflights on the island and push for changes.
AIR is a citizens group which began in 2008 as a response to increasing overflight problems from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).
“Back in 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration was doing what was called airspace redesign, and that included how they were going to bring aircraft into RSW. They made some changes that resulted in a lot more aircraft coming over the island,” Babcock said.
He got involved as a Fort Myers Beach Town council member at the time, but also as a resident who frequently struggled with overflight issues, as his house sits directly in line with the airport.
“When this change occurred, we no longer could entertain on our lanai… I can tell you that there were times when aircraft were coming in over our lanai every two to three minutes, and you would have to stop talking, you couldn’t even carry on a conversation,” he said.
But it’s not just a noise issue.
“We’ve had people in the neighborhood say once this change took place, they were starting to see this oily film out on their lanai…Some of the condos out along the beach where the aircraft were coming over had said they’d never seen so much dirt collecting in their pool area,” said Babcock, who noted that they attempted to test this oily film to link it to aircraft, but due to cross-contamination with nearby car and boat fuels, the results were inconclusive.
In 2009, the number of aircraft approaching the airport over Fort Myers Beach increased again, following a year of complaints from the Estero Council of Community Leaders, a group that had the contacts necessary at the FAA to get the flight patterns changed in their favor.
According to Babcock’s report, overflights increased to as high as 90 percent of all arrivals to RSW’s Runway 06, with over 50 percent cutting across the middle of the island.
“They ended up 1000 feet higher over Estero, they were up at 4000 feet, and they pushed them farther out over the Gulf. By doing that, essentially they forced all of the aircraft to come back over Fort Myers Beach, and as they were already in their descent coming back to the airport, many of them were coming over the island at far less than 3000 feet,” he said.
So AIR approached town council and convinced them to invest $25,000 in a consultant that could help them get better contacts, too.
They hired Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation under President Bill Clinton, who got them in touch with the executive director of the FAA’s Southern Region.
“What we were trying to do is get them to turn earlier and get the airplanes on the ground faster, so this was a savings for the airlines, it decreased the stress of the pilots, it was a win-win all the way around,” Babcock said.
In October of 2017, Fort Myers Beach finally saw a decrease in overflights.
But according to Babcock’s research, they’ve seen an increase in the number of aircraft coming in over the island below 2000 feet.
“That’s really an issue we’re trying to deal with now. That increase was in the order of about 200 percent,” he said.
Part of it is a seasonal effect. Babcock said during peak season, the island could see close to 100 aircraft per day.
“What happens is, if you have a lot of aircraft coming in at the same time, they get pushed farther and farther out towards the Gulf, whether they’re coming from the south or the north. So some of them end up coming over the island and they’ve already started their descent,” he said.
AIR is now hoping to set up a meeting with the FAA to discuss ways to get the planes to fly higher over the island.
“It took almost two years for us to get the last change, they have to go through a very rigorous process to make sure there aren’t any safety concerns for any of the aircraft that might come into the airport,” Babcock said.
“It’s a long drawn out process, but the good news is if you can work directly with the FAA, you can hopefully find solutions that are not only good for us, but are good for the pilots, the controllers, and all the communities surrounding the airport.”
After accepting his award at the council meeting this week, Babcock made a special dedication to everyone who speaks out about issues important to them during public comment.
“I really want to dedicate this to all the citizens who sit out here waiting for their three minutes, because they spent a lot of time before they ever got here thinking about what they wanted to share with you, what their concerns are, how you can make improvements, and its important to them that they have those three minutes. I want to say thanks to you for being willing to listen and act on that, because it’s made a difference in aircraft.”