HMMH report: helicopter flights drive most complaints; board asks for noise‑monitoring scope

An independent five‑year analysis presented to the East Hampton Town Board on April 21 found that helicopters account for the largest share of aircraft noise complaints and produce substantially more complaints per operation than fixed‑wing aircraft.

The study, led by HMMH consultants and introduced by the town’s federal aviation counsel Katie Van Heuven, compared VNOMS flight‑operation logs with PlaneNoise complaint records for calendar years 2021–2025. Matthew Simon of HMMH told the board that operations peaked in 2021, likely related to post‑COVID travel patterns, then leveled off. Complaint counts, however, trended downward across the same period even as total operations were flat or rising after 2022.

HMMH highlighted several measurable patterns that emerged from the data. Helicopters produced about 1.5–1.8 complaints per operation on average—roughly twice the complaints per operation of most fixed‑wing categories. Complaints concentrate in seasonal evening windows and show distinct weekly peaks on Thursday and Friday evenings and Sunday evenings; Monday mornings show a separate morning peak. Overnight flights (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.), although fewer in number, generated the highest complaints per operation by the metric HMMH used.

The consultants emphasized that the town’s voluntary nighttime curfew (10 p.m.–7 a.m.) appears to have broad voluntary compliance and that the highest per‑operation annoyance is at times when relatively few flights occur (for example, isolated post‑midnight flights produced many complaints per flight).

Board members and callers urged stronger measurement tools. Resident Mark Franz and others urged the town to supplement complaint records with permanent noise monitoring, noting that measurement provides “ground truth” for regulatory proceedings and lease decisions. The board asked HMMH to produce a scope and cost estimate for a permanent monitoring program and to clarify whether flight‑track analysis linking specific operators and routes could be added to the study’s scope. HMMH said flight‑track analysis and operator‑level attribution are possible but were not part of the current contract.

Supervisor Burke Gonzales said the town will post the presentation materials online and seek community feedback; board members said the town will commission HMMH annually to keep the analysis current. The town did not propose new regulations at the meeting; members framed next steps as follow‑up analysis, potential installation of monitoring equipment, and continued voluntary outreach to operators.

The HMMH presentation and the town’s Q&A concluded with agreement to seek additional, more granular analyses (flight tracks, operator attribution and monitoring siting) and to make the current slide deck available on the town website for public review.