OAW Receives Threatening Letter

Miki Barnes
December 27, 2020

On Christmas Eve a menacing letter from an unidentified source arrived in our mailbox. The author of the letter pretended to speak in my name, Miki Barnes, on behalf of Oregon Aviation Watch (OAW). The tone was hostile. An enclosure in the mailing stated "One good harassment deserves another...what goes around comes around." A message on the outside of the envelope said "Merry Christmas. Be seeing you around." The writer printed the address and phone number of our residence then told pilots to call and visit our home. An enclosure further stated that the letter was "Posted at all flight schools in the region. Enjoy!" Please bear in mind that the skies over our home are already routinely targeted by pilots who all too often repeatedly circle and loop over our home and the surrounding area.

Oregon Aviation Watch posts well-researched articles on the negative impacts of aviation including noise, lead emissions, pollution, and related issues. In the course of our work, we engage in issue-oriented dialog with a number of aviation professionals who have the decency and courage to identify themselves. But this letter underscores our assertion, supported by flight tracks, that some pilots intentionally target our home by flying directly to and repeatedly circling our neighborhood.

The letter escalates this bullying behavior to a ground attack by encouraging its readers to drive to our home. The letter was published anonymously and makes no attempt whatsoever to address the many valid issues we raise on our website. Clearly, the writer, who attempts to portray the privileged 1/4 of 1 percent of the population who count themselves pilots as victims, feels no responsibility to the rest of us who own just as much of the sky as they do, and who foot the bill for the enormous public subsidies that provide airport infrastructure and government handouts to private, for-profit flight schools

Pilots who engage in these ill-mannered, disruptive activities pose a serious risk to the safety, security, health and well-being of this community yet nothing has been done to reign them in. Instead members of the public are left with virtually no recourse for protecting themselves from the noise, lead emissions, pollution, safety and security risks posed by flight instructors, student pilots and the private pilots who relentlessly prowl our skies.

For the record, neither I nor Oregon Aviation Watch (OAW) sends out hard copy letters. All OAW updates are posted on-line at oregonaviationwatch.org. Therefore if anyone receives a mailing from someone claiming to be Oregon Aviation Watch, it is fraudulent. If you do receive a letter of this nature, retain it as evidence and notify us at info@oregonaviationwatch.org.

Who to Contact to Report Suspected Mail Fraud and Other Illegal Activity

• U.S. Postal Inspector - 1-877-876-2455
• Washington County Sheriff's Non-Emergency Dispatch - 503-629-0111
• Steve Nagy, Port of Portland Senior General Aviation Manager 503-415-6119
• Nathan Grimes, Port of Portland Supervisor of General Aviation Operations 503-693-1963

We also urge you to contact Governor Kate Brown 1-503-378-4582. The governor bears responsibility for appointing the members of Port of Portland Board of Commissioners.These are the people who are responsible for systematically selling out this community to the out-of-state corporations and investment firms that own the major Hillsboro Airport flight training schools - Hillsboro Aero Academy and ATP - that are so ruthlessly eroding livability, poisoning the air, contributing to global warming and exploiting the people who live here. The Port also contracts with a local flight training company, Hagele Aviation, that also contributes to the demise of the quality of life throughout the region. In short, the Port's insatiable drive for profits far exceeds its concern for the health, well-being, safety and security of local residents.

How to Track Aircraft

Impacted residents who wish to track the aircraft flying over their homes, neighborhoods, schools, daycare centers, senior facilities, prime farmland, waterways and recreational areas can access a couple of free or inexpensive radar screens. These sites identify the owner of the aircraft but not the specific pilot.

• FlightRadar24
• ADS-B

If you are able to identify the aircraft registration number (N#) you can then search it on the FAA Registry site to determine who the aircraft belongs to. In Washington County the primary offenders are Hillsboro Aero Academy, ATP (a Delaware based flight training school), Hillsboro Aviation, Hagele Aviation and an assortment of private pilots. Training flights from Stark's Twin Oaks located 6 miles south of the Hillsboro Airport also frequent the area as do pilots from the Sunset Airpark, Scappoose Airport, and other airports throughout the region.