This 2021 presentation by aviation consultant Jim Allerdice examines 'dispersion' — the practice of intentionally varying flight paths so that aircraft noise is spread across a wider area rather than repeatedly concentrated over the same neighborhoods. It explores the tension between the FAA's preference for Performance-Based Navigation (PBN/RNAV), which promotes precise, repeatable flight paths for safety and efficiency, and the concerns of communities living under those concentrated flight corridors. The material is relevant to ongoing debates about how airports like Sea-Tac can balance operational efficiency with equitable distribution of aircraft noise impacts.

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A presentation defining aircraft dispersion as a method to introduce track variability and spread out repetitive noise events from highly concentrated flight paths. The document explains why the FAA favors Performance Based Navigation (PBN) for safety, efficiency, and operational benefits.

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As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

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