Don't let Modiin become Ben Gurion Airport!

From the facts  that we have gathered a very dire picture of the consequences of the planned landing route for Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut and its residents:

1. The Airport Authority provided data that indicates that 190 planes will land each week (150 flights on weekdays and 40 on Friday night-Saturday) between the hours of 13:00 to 18:00. The implications: Every 10 minutes a low-flying plane will fly over on a weekday, and on Shabbat there will be one every 15 minutes.
2. Each year the volume of incoming traffic increases by 5-10%. If so, in five years, an incoming plane will fly over the city every 6 minutes on weekdays, and every 9 minutes on Shabbat.
3. These are not the planes flying at great heights (as the present night flights to the east), but rather part of the last leg of the landing which means decreasing altitude to only 300-400 meters above residents' homes.
4. The Airport Authority confirms that these flights will cause significant noise to the city residents. Air pollution in the city is also expected to get worse.
5. The danger to security is even more serious – any technical difficulty or human error at this low level of flight above densely populated areas could cause a terrible tragedy.
6. The Lapidot report presented a year and a half ago evidenced faults in systems and serious failures by the airport authorities and planners in the  Ministry of Transportation over many years. They never succeeded in internalizing the need to upgrade the airway aspect of B.G., and are now attempting to do this in a haphazard manner to the detriment of the residents of Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut.
7. According to Ha'aretz newspaper (June 24, 2009), the Airport Authority also demonstrated negligence in operating the computerized  landing system (similar to the one they are now trying to operate over Modiin), and several weeks ago the system sent the wrong instructions to airplanes which might have crashed if not for the alertness of the pilots. The findings of the investigation showed that the backup system did not discover the problem and did not warn of the error in real time because there were no procedures relating to a dangerous situation of this kind. In addition, in the wake of the fact that the Airport Authority was negligent in inspecting the clean-up of the area of the runway, high and thick vegetation in the area of the navigational support apparatus at B.G. interfered with the signal ray that is used by passenger airplanes in descending for landing.

1. In the Airport Authority's response to this serious incident, it related to it as a 'minor problem'. If this is the way the Authority operates, how can it be depended on to direct planes flying low over the city's densely populated neighborhoods?

In our opinion, the Israeli Airport Authority's operation has been scandalous and irresponsible during this entire period, and was characterized by hidden action behind the back of the Modiin municipality, dismissing the alternatives proposed without examining them properly. In the light of the scandalous operation  of the Airport Authority and the serious determinations of the Lapidot Report regarding the failings of the Aviation Planning Authorities and the the inability of the Civil Aviation Authority (the regulator) to fulfill its tasks, we have lost faith in the decision-making processes of these authorities.

It is also important to emphasize that the Israeli Airport  Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority relate to the alternatives with only the safety of the flight in mind; they do not relate to the consequences of the flight descent paths on the residents on the ground.

We demand that two alternatives be examined: The alternative proposed by an expert hired by the municipality of Modiin to begin the descent arc a kilometer earlier, above the unpopulated area of the city (and Ligad Center). The second alternative is to examine solutions with the Defense Department for an optimally secure air lane a kilometer close to the separation fence.

Members of the Knesset economics committee who participated in the discussion arrived at the conclusion that the process has not been proper and does not deserve the public's confidence, and the committee recommended the establishment of an independent committee of experts that would take into account all the various factors in determining the alternatives for the landing lane, including the implications of the alternatives for the residents of Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut.

We demand that the government of Israel implement the recommendation of the Knesset economics committee to establish an independent committee of experts to examine these alternatives, and call upon the residents of Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut to awaken from their apathy, to understand the consequences of what is about to happen above our heads and to join the struggle.

Your joining the struggle is essential for its success in protecting our homes – please join the team and let us know how you can help.

Headquarters of the residents' struggle for clear skies in Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut:

Cellphone: 054-6474026

Email: planes@modiin.us

Website: http://planes.modiin.us 

English Website: http://eplanes.modiin.us