• 2026-05-19

    Ep #25 Highly Automated (Flight Paths Part II)

    **Discover why environmental progress stalled for airport communities while cars got cleaner** Ever wonder why your car's emissions have dramatically improved over decades, but aviation seems stuck in the past? In this eye-opening episode of The Airport Communities Podcast, we explore the fascinating tale of two environmental paths that diverged after 1970. While Washington Senator Scoop Jackson spearheaded NEPA—one of the largest expansions of environmental policy in American history—and California secured game-changing carve-outs in the Clean Air Act that led to massive air quality improvements, aviation somehow got left behind. Despite Boeing being headquartered in Washington, aviation environmental standards never caught up. UW Meteorologist Cliff Mass delivers some stark perspective: those two annual flights to Europe generate more greenhouse gases than most people produce in their entire homes over a year. Meanwhile, Boeing's monopoly status has eliminated market incentives for cleaner technology. This wasn't an oversight—it was intentional. Today, every airport community continues paying the price for decisions made decades ago that exempted aviation from automotive-level engineering standards.
  • 2019-10-23

    Burien v FAA #18-71705 oral arguments before US Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit

    18-71705-2019-11-27.pdf   Judge Ikuta: Good morning. Matthew Adams (Burien): And may it please the court, my name is Matthew Adams appearing for the City of Burien. I’m joined by Lisa Marshall, the City Attorney. I’d like to reserve three minutes if I could and I’ll keep my eye on the clock. This case is about
  • 2018-10-25

    Burien stirred up by roar from sharp increase in Sea-Tac Airport overflights

    Originally published October 25, 2018 at 6:00 am Updated October 25, 2018 at 7:40 am The FAA has directed all southbound Horizon Air Q400 turboprop planes taking off from Sea-Tac to the north to make an automated turn immediately after takeoff almost due west over Burien. The flight-path change has spurred protests and a lawsuit from
  • 2018-04-01

    Burien Categorical Exclusion April 2018

    FAA categorical exclusion document for updating a Letter of Agreement between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower and Seattle Terminal Radar Approach Control to automate a 250° westerly turn for southbound turboprops during north-flow operations. The automated turn would be suspended between 10 pm and 6 am in response to comments from the City