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Community Noise Advocate – Falcon Field Airport

Name: Rhonda Sims
Email: falconfieldfeedback@mesaaz.gov
Phone: 480-644-2578

Noise Comment Form

Falcon Field Airport Fly Friendly Program

The Fly Friendly Program fosters collaboration between Falcon Field Airport and the community to minimize the impact of flight operations while supporting the Airport’s long-term success.

Stakeholders & Background

Falcon Field Airport is owned and operated by the City of Mesa, but FAA regulations prohibit the City from imposing flight restrictions, such as limiting operating hours or banning specific aircraft types. Only the FAA controls air traffic, and pilots have the final authority over their aircraft, prioritizing safety over noise abatement procedures when necessary.

Key stakeholders include:
• Pilots and airport users
• Airport businesses
• Mesa residents
• City of Mesa
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Program History & Ongoing Efforts

• 2007: The City encouraged pilots to voluntarily follow noise abatement guidelines from the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA) and the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA). A Falcon Field Noise Committee was formed with representatives from the FAA, pilot organizations, airport tenants, and local residents to discuss noise concerns.
• 2009: The City established a Falcon Field Ad-Hoc Task Force, including community members and airport businesses, to recommend solutions balancing aircraft noise concerns and airport operations. The Task Force presented strategies to the City in August 2009.
• Today: The City has implemented these recommendations and continues to develop strategies to balance community concerns with aviation needs.

Aircraft Noise Complaints

Aircraft noise complaints may be submitted through the Falcon Field Noise Comment Form. Complaints also may be filed directly with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through the FAA Noise Portal.

Noise Complaint Response Criteria

A complaint will be recorded, investigated and a response sent to the citizen during administrative business hours under the following criteria:

Residency. The complainant resides within the jurisdictional boundary of the City.
Operational Relevance. The complaint relates to aircraft operation(s) that either originated or departed from the Airport.
One Event Per Submission. Only one noise event issue per submission is accepted. Listing multiple events in a day, over the course of several days, weeks or months will only be counted once in a single complaint submission. Only the first event in a multiple event submission will be investigated and processed. Multiple submissions for different events in a single calendar day (24-hour period) will be logged as one submission in the Noise Complaint Log and all events saved into one document folder for that day.

A complaint will not receive a response under the following criteria:

The complainant used inappropriate language to convey their concerns. There is no obligation to respond to complaints or inquiries that are of an abusive or threatening nature or contain obscene language (condemning and offensive nature exhibiting no clear desire for a response). As appropriate, certain threatening complaints or inquiries may be referred to the Mesa Police Department.
The complainant provided insufficient information to respond (missing or inaudible contact information, missing facts or concerns).
Responding to the same general complaint or inquiry from the same individual more than once. The "same general complaint or inquiry" is one that does not differ in general principle from a previous complaint, and that would generate the same City response as previously

Quarterly Noise Reports

Aircraft Safety Concern

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Standards District Office located in Scottsdale at (480) 419-0111. This office investigates low-flying or potentially unsafe flight incidents.