Norton Presses Aircraft Engine Manufacturer on When Quieter Engines Will Be Implemented to Help Reduce Airplane Noise

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a member of the Quiet Skies Caucus, today at a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing asked an executive of Pratt & Whitney, the nation’s largest producer of aircraft engines, when the company’s PurePower Geared Turbofan engine, which is expected to result in a three-quarters reduction in noise footprint, will be widespread throughout the industry. Dr. Alan Epstein, Pratt and Whitney’s Vice President of Technology and Environment, said that 35 airplanes currently have the new, quieter engine, and that he expects within two years that all new aircraft will have the engine.

“I could not miss the opportunity to ask a major aircraft engine manufacturer about when quieter engines that they have already begun to produce will be in use nationwide at airports like Reagan National Airport, where airplane noise has become a major issue for D.C. residents,” Norton said. “I was somewhat relieved to hear that we are a couple of years away from all new planes having these quieter engines. We still have our work cut out for us with the older, noisier planes; getting flight paths near D.C. that do not disturb sleep; and eliminating early morning and late night flights. Fortunately, I have found allies in Congress with the Quiet Skies Caucus to strengthen the District’s fight against airplane noise.”