Aircraft noise isn't something that anyone wants in their neighborhood.

Several years ago, due to complaints about aircraft noise from Magnolia residents, King County International Airport (a.k.a. Boeing Field) began consideration of a second northern approach for arriving airplanes. Known as the LDA (for Localizer Directional Aid), this second, straight-line approach would slant away from Magnolia but would shift landing planes closer to Duwamish Head, increasing the amount of aircraft noise in West Seattle neighborhoods.

As I told West Seattle residents at the two neighborhood briefings on this topic I held last year, I am strongly opposed the concept of providing noise relief for one neighborhood by burdening another. I'm not alone in this effort. Last April, the members of the KCIA Round Table, a group comprised of representatives from neighborhoods near the airport and various airport stakeholders, sent a letter to County Executive Ron Sims with several principles they had adopted in considering noise reduction measures. The first principle read as follows: "There should be no shift of aircraft noise from one residential area to another."

Many of us have read the West Seattle Herald's coverage of a recent LDA technical report commissioned by King County. The study showed that the LDA would adversely affect airport operations at both Boeing Field and Sea-Tac. In order to use a second navigational beacon for the LDA, air traffic controllers would have to turn off the airport's main beacon while it was in use. This resulting "interlock" system has never been attempted at any U.S. airport. Plus, switching from one system to another would back up air traffic: the report predicted a 38 percent total loss of landing capacity at both airports.

But bad ideas don't die easily. Boosters of the LDA concept are still pushing for King County to apply for permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use this second approach. If such an application is filed, I will be counting on West Seattle residents to help me in defeating this misguided proposal.

Let me be clear: I am sympathetic to residents of Magnolia and other noise-impacted neighborhoods and want to see King County do everything it can to reduce the amount of aircraft noise they must endure.

New technology and new practices can help Magnolia's noise problems. The FAA has already approved the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment by pilots so they can approach the airport over the center of Elliott Bay, minimizing aircraft noise in all residential areas.

The airport has also been working with pilots to create a Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), under which aircraft would still pass over Magnolia but would use a steeper, smoother descent pattern. By also encouraging pilots to wait to lower their wing flaps and landing gear until after they pass over Magnolia, airport officials estimate that significant noise reduction is possible without spending a penny for new equipment.

The CDA is considered a "precision approach," because the airport's normal navigational beacon provides both horizontal and vertical guidance for pilots (the LDA wouldn't do that). The CDA doesn't require the purchase of new equipment, and it allows for the KCIA's main navigational beacon to be turned on 24 hours a day for maximum safety. The CDA has been applied successfully at other US airports, and its use is mandatory at all airports in Great Britain.

I am hopeful these new developments will put an end to inter-neighborhood squabbling and allow us all to work together to improve the operation of the King County International Airport while reducing the negative effects of aircraft noise on the entire community.