FAA to tweak takeoffs at JWA

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to change a satellite-guided takeoff procedure for some flights from John Wayne Airport.

Newport Beach residents had complained that the system was diverting noisy aircraft over the Bluffs neighborhood on the east side of Upper Newport Bay.

“It’s a tiny little tweak in the procedure that we hope will eliminate noise concerns for people in the Bluffs neighborhood,” said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the FAA.

A representative from the Bluffs Homeowners Assn. was not immediately available for comment Friday.

The new satellite takeoff procedure, called DUUKE TWO, will replace DUUKE ONE, a flight path that federal aviation officials had designed to direct air traffic from John Wayne along a more consistent track down the middle of Upper Newport Bay.

DUUKE TWO is designed to shift outbound air traffic an eighth of a mile north toward the center of Upper Newport Bay.

Airplanes at John Wayne are expected to begin following the new procedure in April.

“The city is hopeful that the DUUKE TWO will solve the questions and complaints of the community and guide the departing aircraft closer to the middle of the bay as originally intended,” Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said in a written statement.

The FAA spent about 18 months developing DUUKE ONE as part of its nationwide transition to satellite-based navigation, and introduced it at JWA in September.

Only airplanes headed for destinations east of Las Vegas are equipped with the latest satellite equipment use the DUUKE procedure, airport officials said.

About 50 of JWA’S roughly 130 daily departures use the system.

City officials began receiving complaints from residents on the east side of Upper Newport Beach about more planes flying above their homes after DUUKE ONE was introduced at John Wayne.

The airport’s own flight tracking system also picked up the movements of more airplanes flying over the east side of the bay, said Courtney Wiercioch, the airport’s deputy director of public affairs.

City and county officials teamed up in asking the FAA to fix the problem.

“The positive thing is that the city and county have worked together in tracking the results and have worked together for a positive outcome,” Wiercioch said.