Chartered Jet Broke Curfew At Westchester Airport With 0208 Arrival

Not even a few hours out of jail and Martha Stewart was already in trouble. Well, not really... her chartered jet was, but it wasn't a criminal issue, or anything like that.

Turns out that when the jet that was chartered to bring Stewart back to the real world landed in Westchester County Airport, it broke the voluntary curfew that the airport has established to limit the noise impact to the local community. The aircraft, a Falcon 50, landed at 0208, in violation of the voluntary 0000 to 0630 curfew on aircraft operations.

The airport is located in the middle of heavily populated areas of NY and CT, and complaints from the residents about the noise are common. "It's voluntary but it is a curfew and it applies to everybody," said Susan Tolchin, chief adviser to County Executive Andrew Spano, to the Associated Press.

Airport manager Joel Russell also admitted the airport is open during the period of the curfew, and no regulations, ordinances or laws were broken when the Falcon 50 landed. "We discourage it, but you can fly your aircraft into the airport," he said.

The operator of the Falcon 50 is going to receive a letter from Russell, "reminding him that we do have a voluntary restraint and in the future to please respect it or reschedule or advise his clients or whoever it is who's compelling the airplane to come in."

FMI: www.westchestergov.com/airport/