Local residents complaining about the noise of small planes flying over residential houses in Lismore have put the future of regional aviation in the spotlight. 

The complaints, recently reported to Lismore City Council and the Northern Rivers Aero Club (NRAC), come at a time when Council has already signed a lease for an international flying school to be established at the local airport. 

Read more news: Lismore airport to become aviation training hub

The complaints bring up numerous questions such as:

What are the regulations for small planes flying near residential areas?

Whose responsibility is it to monitor and regulate plane flying behaviour?

Who do you make a noise complaint about a plane to?

The Lismore App spoke to Council, NRAC and local residents to find out where the situation stands. 

Residents

One Lismore resident, Ruth Rosenhek, said she had written letters to Council about the plane noise and flying behaviours - and she had ongoing concerns that operating another flying school in Lismore would cause ongoing noise problems for residents. 

“I was sitting around the fire a few weeks ago when the plane came overhead and I was startled by it and became alarmed,” Ruth said.

“I have a stress reaction when I hear loud planes flying overhead and my first thought was ‘will it drop a bomb?’

"Then I found a Facebook thread with others complaining about it and heard it was an ex military plane. 

One of the small planes photographed by another South Lismore resident concerned about the noise.

“People were saying planes are frequently flying low and noisily in South Lismore and Girards Hill and I’m concerned about this. 

“The engine on the military type plane is extremely loud and at times it is dangerously low -I wanted to know what are the standard operating procedures for planes?"

Ruth then wrote to Council, concerned about the planned international flight school for Lismore airport. She wanted to know what environmental and social impact assessments would be done prior to establishing the school.

“I didn’t think [the school] fits with the climate emergency motion council passed last year,” she said. “Increasing the number of flights here won’t help lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

Ruth said she heard a response back from three councillors, but was concerned that the approval for the flight school was made “in a closed session”.

“There was no consultation with the public and someone said it’s a stunt man getting his hours up and flying 360s.

“My partner is concerned about crashes – a man died in a light plane crash near Maitland a few weeks ago and last year, 220 aircraft were involved in accidents in Australia.

“The noise and air pollution is disturbing especially as we have all become used to the slower pace and more relaxed air space here.”

Council’s response – who to complain to

In a statement made to The Lismore App, Lismore City Council clarified that anyone with a noise complaint about aircraft noise should direct complaints to Airservices Australia at http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/

“Current flight data shows there has been a decrease in the number of aircraft movements over the past 12 months,” the Council statement said.

“A recent investigation of a noise complaint found that it was a private resident who had recently purchased a former military aircraft, which is louder than other aircraft.

“We asked the resident to take alternative flight paths to reduce noise in residential areas.”

International flight school

With regards to the establishment of the international flight school, Council stated that “Councillors were given a full briefing about Airways Aviation’s proposal of establishing a training school at the airport before the lease agreement was signed with the company”.

“Airways Aviation has been conducting training at the Lismore Airport for a number of years, so it is not expected to add to aircraft movements,” the statement said.

“Lismore Regional Airport is an important community asset that generates revenue and jobs for our community. Its future growth is detailed in the existing Imagine Lismore plan that was adopted by Council after extensive community consultation. 

“The airport is also an approved facility for aircraft operations.

“As such, there are no specific requirements that apply to flight schools or other aviation services, nor are there restrictions on flight times and hours of operations.”

Northern Rivers Aero Club (NRAC) responds

NRAC's head of operations, Bill Kiernan, said the current problem was not with the pilots in training at NRAC, but with the other pilots who flew into Lismore from other places.

“People automatically think NRAC is responsible, but the aerodrome is open for use to anybody in Australia,” Bill said.

“A lot of flying schools at the Gold Coast are coming here to use this airport as a training base because it’s cheaper - and more convenient than fitting in up the coast.

“The last thing we want to do is cause distress for residents. 

"The Northern Rivers Aero Club has been operating out of the Lismore aerodrome since 1930, and our pilots are always careful to follow the rules."

Specify a time

Bill said he and his staff been the target of complaints from residents, but that he can’t so anything about it. 

“People have been harassing my staff on the telephone, but the majority of complaints are not specific about when the noise happened, so we can’t check. 

“If it’s one of our planes, we can do something about it - so if people have a complaint, they need to specify a time it happened and we can work out which airplane was here."

Landing fees

Bill said Lismore Regional Airport was owned by Council, but the air space and the regulation of the strict operating rules was the responsibility of Airservices Australia.

“Anyone who uses the aerodrome pays a landing fee to Airservices Australia and a part of the fee goes to Lismore Council to maintain the airport.”

Air travel laws – what height and flight path is allowed?

“Air travel has more laws than road travel does – at Northern Rivers Aero Club, we are careful we stick to the rules because there’s pretty savage fines and compliance is strict,” Bill said.

Bill clarified that a plane flying over Lismore must maintain a height of 1500 feet.

If a plane taking off or landing, the height is 1000 feet.

A plane can also maintain a height of 600 feet if it is travelling a low level circuit.

“But there is no perimeter as to how wide you can go in your circuit,” Bill said.

“At the club, we fly a tight circuit and stay close to the hills and not over residences in order to minimise the noise. We also don’t go out on Sunday mornings in order to avoid noise. 

“But some people from up north fly wide circuits and we can’t control these people.”

Public Information session

Bill said he would like to see a public information session held at the airport where NRAC, Lismore Council and residents could share information and bring clarity to the current and future situation of planes flying over Lismore.

“We could even invite Airservices Australia to come to the session to answer questions -but Lismore Council would need to invite them,” Bill said.

“If we can get enough people behind the idea of an information session, I’d like to bring some transparency to the situation.”