Chautauqua County Legislature at a special meeting on September 12, 2022

The Chautauqua County Legislature approved a resolution accepting a $669,915 grant for the Dunkirk Airport at a special meeting Monday night.

Airport Manager Shannon Barnhart, speaking at the meeting, said that money from the Federal Aviation Administration would go toward upgrading the lighting on the crosswind runway to LED lights. She said it is required to have fully working lights on the runway. Barnhart added the project has already been approved and that the legislature was just accepting the grant award.

Legislator Elisabeth Rankin noted that 90% of the project will be funded by the FAA grant, “As we support the airport infrastructure, the infrastructure needs support and funding, this grant is vital to the support of safe and effective operations at the airport. And I’m in favor of this funding and of this resolution.”

The total cost of the project is $744,351 with a 5% share of $37,218 coming from both the county and the New York State Department of Transportation.

The $669,915 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration is for 90% of a project to do runway lighting improvements. The rest of the project would be funded with a 5% local share of $37,218 and 5%, or $37,218, from the New York State Department of Transportation.

The Legislature meeting will take place at 6:00 p.m. and will be held by remote access. The public may participate in Privilege of the Floor by emailing a statement by 4:00 p.m. today to the Clerk of the Legislature at LeeO@chqgov.com. Emailed statements will be read during the appropriate Privilege of the Floor. The Public may view the meeting by accessing the live stream on the County Facebook page.

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office reports they received a call about an airplane accident on North Erie Street in the town of Chautauqua around 1:30 p.m. Deputies, Mayville Fire Department, Chautauqua County EMS, and Chautauqua Fire Department found a glider plane in some trees at the scene.

The pilot, 56-year old Galo Grijalva of Lakewood and passenger 60-year old Douglas Sillart of Derby had been trying to land the glider in an empty field when they struck the trees. They were both able to escape and were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The accident remains under investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office says they received a report of a plane down on Baker Street Extension just after 11:00 p.m..

The pilot, 63-year old Lawrence Zupon of Bentleyville, Ohio, had been conducting training exercises when the plane lost power, causing the plane to crash into a wooded area. Zupon and passenger, 25-year old Daniel Rossi of Mayfield Heights, Ohio were able to escape the wreckage. They were treated at the scene before being sent to Hamot Medical Center in Erie for further treatment.

The accident remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Jamestown Airport

The Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown is receiving over $1.3 million in Federal funding.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced the funding was allocated through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP). That program was bolstered by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will be used to conduct repairs and enhance airfield safety.

The Jamestown Airport will receive $311,228 to acquire snow removal equipment and $1,021,500 to install perimeter fencing.

The Chautauqua County Airport, just north of Jamestown. (Image via Google)

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature has approved a resolution that will use tax payer money to subsidize commercial flight operations at the Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown.

The decision was made Wednesday night and comes as county officials work to get commercial air service to back to the airport. The airport in Jamestown has been without commercial flights since January 2018.

The resolution was approved 16-1, with Frank “Jay” Gould being the only “No” vote.

According to the Post-Journal, the resolution states the county would fund $72,000 in cash and $52,000 through in-kind services as part of the local subsidy. County officials will also be asking the business community to fund $75,000 in cash and $87,000 through in-kind services toward commercial service.

Officials hope the move will help show the U.S. Department of Transportation the county is willing to invest its own money, say they will – in turn – authorize the return of the Essential Air Service subsidy, which would cover the majority of the cost of having a commercial air service operate out of Jamestown.

In order to return federal funding, the DOT would like a 10% local contribution to the nearly $3 million annual subsidy it provides through the EAS for three years.

Also on Wednesday, Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY-23) announced three grants valued at $660,000 to provide the Jamestown Airport with funding to renovate and improve their facilities.

The DOT awards Airport Capital Improvement Program Grants (ACIP) through the Federal Aviation Administration for the planning and development of public-use airports.

The Chautauqua County Airport, just north of Jamestown. (Image via Google)

WASHINGTON – Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand say a new, five-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill has been passed in congress and signed into law by the president.  The new bill includes funding for both the Essential Air Service (EAS) program and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).

Five airports in New York receive EAS funding, while Chautauqua County Jamestown Airport is in the process of reapplying to regain its EAS status.

In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation terminated the EAS agreement in Jamestown due to a lack of passengers. Shortly after, Southern Airways left the Chautauqua County Jamestown Airport because of the funding cut.

In May, it was announced that Boutique Airways had submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide air service to the Chautauqua County Jamestown Airport under the EAS program, which provides essential funding for small airports.

With the new funding secured for five years, officials now anticipate a ruling on that request for a return of the EAS status in Jamestown in the coming weeks.

The Chautauqua County Airport, just north of Jamestown. (Image via Google)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have announced nearly $750,000 in federal funding for Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport.

The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Chautauqua County Legislature already approved the funding during its August voting session.

Specifically, the Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown will receive $745,750 in federal money to complete the final phase of full-depth reconstruction of approximately 7,200 square yards of the parking lot for the terminal building to maintain the structural integrity of the existing pavement. The total cost of the project is just over $850,000 and the county’s share of the project totals just over $21,000.

The Cattaraugus County-Olean Airport located in Cattaraugus County will receive $150,300 to help replace aging equipment.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer

MEDIA RELEASE FROM SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER’S OFFICE)

BUFFALO, NY – Standing in the terminal at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga, NY, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer Tuesday called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the sale of high-powered, long-range green laser pointers to the public.

Schumer’s push comes on the heels of multiple incidents in which green lasers were pointed at aircraft and temporarily blinded and disoriented pilots mid-flight. This includes the recent incident two weeks ago when the pilot of a FedEx plane flying over Jamestown reported a green beam of light coming from a laser on the ground lighting up the aircraft.

Schumer said that while it is lucky no one was harmed in the Jamestown incident or any other green laser attack, the federal government should act before a horrific event occurs, not after.

“Simply put: these green, long-range, high-powered laser pointers are a danger to our pilots and the hundreds of passengers whose lives depend on their eyesight and training. While we are very lucky the recent incident in Jamestown did not yield devastating results, we cannot sit idly by and wait for a horrific incident to occur before we act,” said Schumer. “That is why I am calling on the FDA to use its authority to regulate these dangerous devices. They’re quickly becoming the weapon of choice for wrong-doers who want to harass our pilots and put passengers’ lives in jeopardy, and they should be banned before people are seriously hurt.”

Schumer said there has been a recent onslaught of green laser pointer attacks on aircraft that threaten the safety of pilots, passengers, and civilians on the ground. According to a USA Today report, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded more than 5,300 laser strikes from January of this year through October 16, up from the more than 2,800 laser strikes reported in 2010.

Schumer said numbers like these suggest a widespread misuse of the product and mean it should only be available to qualified professionals. According to the same USA Today report, between the night of November 11 and the morning of November 12, federal authorities reported 20 laser strikes on aircraft across the country, including the case in Jamestown.

Schumer said the fact that the plane was flying more than 23,000 feet in the air shows how powerful these lasers are, and how dangerous they can be when they get into the wrong hands. As a result, Schumer is urging the FDA to ban the sale of high-powered, long-range green laser pointers to the public.

Laser pointers at one time were primarily used for presentation purposes in boardrooms and classrooms, they are now wildly available at trinket shops, flea markets, retailers and on the Internet, and are much more powerful. According to the FDA, laser pointers can be momentarily hazardous when staring directly at the beam. For pilots, these green lasers can cause flash blindness, a temporary or permanent loss of vision when the light-sensitive parts of the eye are exposed to an intensity of light they are not physically meant to handle.

In addition, research suggests green lasers are more dangerous to the eye than red lasers because the light spectrum is more easily absorbed by the retina and more susceptible to damage. In fact, green lasers are considered to be more than double the strength of other colored lasers and can travel for miles, according to many media reports and health and aviation experts. Schumer there are certain types of lasers for which manufacturers must obtain FDA permission before they can be sold in the U.S., and green lasers should be included in that category so they are only sold to professionals, rather than would-be pranksters.

Because the FDA has the authority to regulate these lasers and their manufacturers, Schumer is strongly urging the federal agency to make high-powered, green laser pointers unavailable for public sale; they should be restricted to those with a ‎specific professional purpose. Schumer said that while perpetrators convicted of pointing a laser at a plane can be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, they are often hard to track down following an incident. Because the products are merely required to have a warning label, Schumer said more must be done to limit public availability in order to protect public health and safety.

Schumer was joined by Adam Perry, Aviation Committee Chairman at the NFTA, Kimberly A. Minkel, NFTA Executive Director, and George Gast, NFTA Police Chief.

“I applaud Senator Schumer for his efforts to ensure the safety of our aviation industry,” said Kimberley A. Minkel, Executive Director of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.  “I hope the FDA responds to the senator’s request in a manner that will make it much more difficult for laser pointers to be available.  Lasing is a serious crime that poses an imminent threat to aviation safety and could result in a pilot losing control of their aircraft, thus potentially causing mass casualties.”

Previously, the FDA has noted concern about the increased availability of some laser products. According to a March 2013 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), green lasers generate green light from infrared light, from which the eye cannot protect itself. In that NIST report, the agency noted that ideally, the device should be designed and manufactured to confine the infrared light within the laser housing. However, according to the NIST results, more than 75 percent of the devices tested emitted infrared light in excess of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) limit.

Schumer said in New York incidents of green lasers pointed at aircraft have been numerous and significant. In addition to the most recent one in Jamestown, there were 39 laser incidents between January 1, 2015 and May 15, 2015 in New York City alone. In 2014, there were 17 green laser incidents out of a total 19 laser incidents at JFK airport; 37 green laser incidents out of a total 41 laser incidents at LaGuardia Airport; 20 green laser incidents out of a total 28 at Newark.

There are four major hazard classes (I to IV) of lasers, including three subclasses (IIa, IIIa, IIIb). The higher the class, the more powerful the laser. Consumer laser products include classes I, II and IIIa and lasers for professional use may be in classes IIIb and IV. Laser pointers are included in Class IIIa. The FDA requires warning labels on most laser products, including the power output and the hazard class of the product. Some lasers are strictly for use by medical, industrial or entertainment professionals and can only be used by a person with a license and training.

A copy of Senator Schumer’s letter to the FDA appears below:

Dear FDA Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Ostroff,

I write today to urge the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expeditiously revise its regulations to limit the public availability of high-powered, long-range green laser pointers. There has been a tremendous increase in the incidence of these lasers being pointed at planes and locomotives, which threatens of everyone aboard, as well as the safety of the public.

In our previous correspondence, you have acknowledged that the FDA is delegated authority pursuant to 21 U.S.C. §360kk to regulate electronic products as “necessary for the protection of the public health and safety.”  And, indeed, the FDA has extensive standards for laser products, including a detailed classification system for lasers, which is outlined in 21 C.F.R. §§1040.10(b)(5)-(11).  This classification system evaluates lasers based on their radiation emission levels, recognizing, as you put it, four different hazard classes for lasers.  The green lasers about which I am writing today are generally recognized in Class IIIa; FDA currently requires merely a warning label.

Unfortunately, warning labels alone do not suffice when Class IIIa green lasers are available for anyone to purchase. Green lasers are commonly known to interfere with vision and can severely damage eyesight or blindness when shined into a person’s eye. For pilots, lasers can cause flash blindness, a temporary or permanent loss of vision when the light-sensitive parts of the eye are exposed to an intensity of light they are not physically meant to handle.  There have been over 2,000 reports of lasers pointed at planes and/or at pilots across the country in the past year, and in New York alone there have been hundreds of reports across the state. Numbers like these suggest a widespread misuse of a product that should only be available to qualified professionals.  These risks and abuses were not prevalent or known at the time the FDA initially undertook its laser classification and regulation.  Federal law allows for the regulations to be updated “whenever” the Secretary “determines that [new] standards are necessary for the protection of the public health and safety.” 21 U.S.C. §360kk(a)(1).  Neither the emissions standards nor the associated regulations for each classification level are prescribed by statute, and both can be reevaluated.

Accordingly, I believe it is time for the FDA to undertake a review of its current classification and regulation standards and determine whether green lasers should, as I believe, receive a higher classification.  As you note, there are certain types of lasers for which manufacturers must obtain FDA permission before they can be sold in the United States.  Green lasers should be in that group. 

I implore the FDA to use its authority over laser products to establish new regulations that would prevent individuals from obtaining green lasers for non-professional use. Pilots and travelers alike stand to benefit from tighter regulation on the sale of high-powered, long-range lasers.

I applaud the FDA’s continuing efforts to ensure the safety of pilots and travelers across the country and look forward to working with you to establish new regulations that enhance these efforts. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

According to a joint-media release from U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand the DOT will give the airport a total of $1,124,550, the help with airport facility upgrades and to develop a plan for future airport needs.

The Dunkirk airport will use the money to construct a Pavement Maintenance Management Plan (PMMP) to determine future pavement maintenance and rehabilitation needs for the airport. The funding will also be used to rehabilitate the general aviation apron to create safer and more efficient airport operations.

The funding for the county airport in Dunkirk is a part of the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and is administered by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).