Small Planes Circling Portland Skies

Miki Barnes
March 21, 2020

After this article was published, OAW determined that the flight tracks shown in this article were Portland Police Bureau surveillance flights. See Police Surveillance Flights Over the Portland Metro Region: Watching Them Watching Us for a followup article.

The Port of Portland owns and operates three airports: Portland International Airport (PDX), Hillsboro, and Troutdale. The Portland International Airport is primarily for commercial airlines and their passengers. It also serves as a military base for the Oregon National Guard. There are some general aviation flights in and out of PDX but far fewer than at the Hillsboro and Troutdale Airports, which cater in large part to Hillsboro Aero Academy’s international flight training academy, and to private pilots and corporate jets. General aviation refers to civil aviation operations that do not provide scheduled passenger service, such as flight training, recreational flying, and air taxis, as well as private, corporate and business jets.

Flight training operations, as shown in an earlier 3/19/2020 Oregon Aviation Watch posting (Hillsboro Airport Noise and Pollution Continue Amidst Global Pandemic), often depart and land at the same airport. Many remain in the air an hour or more looping and circling, while repeatedly generating noise and pollution over people’s homes, neighborhoods, schools, daycare centers, senior facilities, prime farmland, waterways, parks and recreational areas.

It is less common to see repetitive flight activity over Portland. Nonetheless, over the past 10 days, flight tracks from general aviation aircraft have been observed circling repetitively, often for two hours or more, over densely populated Portland neighborhoods.

The screenshots included in this release all came from FlightRadar24. Since no aircraft registration numbers were available, the actual owners of the aircraft are unknown. [The owner of these aircraft turned out to be the Portland Police Bureau, see note at top.] Unfortunately, federal, state and local regulations allow general aviation pilots to fly repeatedly over homes and neighborhoods, generating noise and pollution in their wake while denying impacted residents any significant recourse.

The Cessnas depicted in these images are piston-engine aircraft that use leaded fuel (avgas) which releases toxic emissions both as a vapor and as ultra-fine particulate matter. As reported by the EPA, “Lead exposure to children can result from multiple sources and can cause irreversible and life long health effects. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement. In adults, health effects from lead exposure can include cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive issues (in both women and men).” See Technical Update: Reports on the Impact of Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft on Air Quality Near U.S. Airports.

General aviation aircraft also contribute to global warming and to the overall buildup of toxins in the air, water and soil. Many concerned citizens are heeding recommendations to reduce their carbon footprint by walking more, bicycling, carpooling, using public transit and limiting their use of cars and trucks. In the interest of preserving the planet for current and future generations, these same recommendations should apply to aviation.

The series of screenshots included in this update provides pictures of the flight tracks as well as some close-up views showing the impacted neighborhoods. All the flights occurred between 3/11/2020 and 3/20/2020.

 

This 3/20/2020 flight track was produced by a Cessna Skylark that departed from PDX then circled around various neighborhoods in North, Northeast and Southeast Portland repetitively for more than 2 hours. This screen shot was captured at 10:03 PM as the aircraft was returning to PDX. These types of operations generate noise, lead emissions and pollution over the affected homes and neighborhoods.

 

On the evening of 3/19/2020 this Cessna 172N Skyhawk departed from the state-owned Mulino Airport. After engaging in touch-and-go practices, it flew over the Lents and Powellhurst communities, where it circled repeatedly over homes, neighborhoods and public parks for well over an hour before landing at PDX. This screenshot was captured at 8:50 PM. Close-ups to follow.

 

This is a close-up of the 3/19/2020 Cessna 172N Skyhawk flight track shown in the previous screenshot. It appears that the aircraft completed 15-20 revolutions over an area roughly between SE 109th to the west and SE 133rd to the east. The pattern extended to the north of Glisan and to the south over SE Madison, neighboring streets and residential communities. This screen shot was taken at 9:42 PM.

 

This is another close-up of the flight tracks generated by the 3/19/2020 Cessna 172N Skyhawk. This one depicts looping patterns over the Powell Butte Nature Park along with 8 to 9 circlings over an area between SE Division to the north and SE Holgate to the south. As the picture shows, the aircraft also flew over a number of other homes and neighborhoods in the same general area, leaving a trail of noise and pollution in its wake.

 

On 3/18/2020, the pilot of this Cessna 172N Skyhawk departed from PDX then circled and looped repeatedly in neighborhoods surrounding Laurelhurst Park before practicing touch and go’s and eventually landing at Troutdale Airport around 9:30 pm. Some neighborhoods, including Lents, Montavilla, Alberta and others, were subjected to 10 or more flyovers by this aircraft. Again a reminder, this aircraft is releasing lead vapors and particulate matter. No registration number was provided, thus the owner of the aircraft could not be determined.

 

This screenshot was taken at 2:45 pm on Wednesday, 3/11/20. The aircraft circled over North Portland neighborhoods once every 3-4 minutes non-stop for more than 2 hours. It shows the Cessna 182T Skylane returning to PDX after circling more than 40 times over North Portland homes and neighborhoods. Close-ups to follow.

 

This 3/11/2020 close-up shows some of the neighborhoods impacted by the Cessna 182T Skylane aircraft. Due to laws put in place by federal, state, and local politicians, along with the FAA and Port of Portland, individuals are denied the right to intervene on their own behalf. The Port routinely protects the rights of toxic aircraft that poison the air, degrade the environment, and erode livability.

 

This is a close-up of the south section of the area circled 40 times by this Cessna 182T Skylane during the afternoon hours of 3/11/20. Remember, in Oregon it is perfectly legal for an aircraft to relentlessly bombard neighborhoods and communities with noise, lead emissions, PM2.5 and a host of other toxins on a daily basis, if they so choose. The pilots of the aircraft are not required to identify themselves or the purpose of these flights. The public is denied even the most rudimentary recourse.

 

This flight pattern was generated by a Cessna 172N Skyhawk that took-off and returned to PDX on Wednesday, 3/11/20. The screenshot was captured at 5:37 pm. This aircraft circled 8 times over some areas and even more frequently over others. Close-up to follow.

 

This is a close up of the previous screenshot as the aircraft flies repeatedly over NE Portland homes and neighborhoods.