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Carlsbad City Council taking aim at airplane noise

Neighbors say this disruptive plane noise has been a problem for decades, with no effective action taken on the county or federal level.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — For years, Carlsbad residents have been fed up with plane noise from flights heading in and out of McClellan-Palomar Airport, and frustrated with the lack of action at both the county and federal levels. 

On Tuesday night, Carlsbad city leaders stepped up to look into ways to tackle this problem that residents say threatens their health and their safety. 

Neighbors say this disruptive plane noise has been a problem for decades, with pilots who fail to comply with the voluntary flight curfew, as well as those pilots who fly too low or deviate from the recommended flight path.

"It can get pretty bad," said longtime Carlsbad resident Hope Nelson. She said that the plane noise from flights coming in and out of McClellan-Palomar Airport, with no mandatory regulations in place, has just gotten worse over the years. 

"We're all between a rock and a hard spot, so I appreciate anything the City Council is willing to do on this one," she told CBS 8. "I don't know if it's going to work or not, but give it a try!" 

At Tuesday's meeting, Carlsbad City Council voted to move forward on pursuing ways to cut down on this plane noise, including sending letters to those pilots who disregard the voluntary recommendations already in place, such as the flight curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., as well as the recommended flight paths for pilots taking off and landing at the airport.

"The problem is that it is all voluntary," said Carlsbad resident Dom Betro. 

He said the three to five flights that go over his neighborhood every night are a sleep-disturbing nuisance, but he's especially concerned about the pilots who fail to stick to the recommended flight paths at all times of the day.

"When they don't do that, they go over our schools, they go over our residences," he said. "We feel it is a health issue in terms of the fuel, and we also think it is a safety issue, in terms of that they are lower than they should be." 

A major point of frustration among residents: neither the county, which owns the airport, nor the FAA has taken any concrete action to regulate the pilots' behavior, and have instead pointed fingers at each other when it comes to responsibility.

While Carlsbad's proposed letter-writing action may lack legal teeth, neighbors are still hopeful that it could have some impact.

"We're just glad to see our city council attempting to do something," Nelson added. 

Carlsbad city leaders said they plan to revisit this issue and hopefully take action on it in the next two months.

WATCH RELATED: Carlsbad residents call for changes at McClellan-Palomar Airport to address flight and curfew violations

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