Seacoast Helicopters Approved By Pease Development Authority, Who Said They Could Not Deny The Application

A proposed helicopter flight school and charter service has drawn strong opposition from NIMBYs in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But the Pease Development Authority (PDA) board of directors said they had no jurisdiction to prevent the business from opening.

The PDA board was established to develop the former Pease Air Force Base, which was closed in the 1988 BRAC round. The airport is now known as Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (KPSM).

Seacoast Helicopters plans to offer flight instruction as well as sightseeing, aerial photography, and air charter flights from the former base. A vote by the board Thursday does not necessarily mean the board approves of the business, but does affirm that the company meets FAA standards for such an operation.

Because of the FAA rules, the board said it had no choice but to approve the application, but three of the seven members still voted against it. Seacoastonline.com reports that nearly 100 people packed a meeting of the Airport Noise Compatibility Committee earlier in the week, saying that the helicopters, which will fly from 0700 to 2200 seven days a week, will have a negative impact on their "quality of life." They also expressed concerns that aircraft might crash into their homes and disturb wildlife in the region.

But the company is a legitimate aviation business, and FAA regulations do not allow local governments to restrict legitimate aviation concerns at facilities that have accepted federal money. Portsmouth city manager and PDA member John Bohenko said that his "no" vote was a protest against the "nameless, faceless bureaucracy that is telling us we have to do these things."

Others voting against the proposal admitted that their votes were "symbolic."

The chair of the PDA said his biggest concern was that people were led to believe that they could prevent a helicopter business from operating at an airport. “Shame on those who know better who went out there and told people that they could come here and stop this,” said PDA Chair Art Nickless.

FMI: www.peasedev.org