WASHINGTON – Since last month, residents in northwest Washington DC along the Potomac River have had a little respite from aircraft noise.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that instructions for pilots landing at Reagan National Airport have been changed. Pilots are now instructed to overfly the Potomac River when descending to DCA. This applies specifically to landing aircraft, not departing ones.

Ken Buckley is chairman of the Palisades Committee on Aircraft Noise. He says it will particularly affect landings on days with low visibility.

“It’s especially noticeable on cloudy days: instead of flying over MacArthur Boulevard, they get stuck on the river,” Buckley said.

Buckley says pilots typically opt for a straighter landing, especially on days with bad weather, resulting in flights directly over the northwest DC neighborhoods into DCA.

Buckley says he has been working on this particular issue since 2018 and the FAA has been receptive to it.

The FAA says it is working closely with community stakeholders, government officials, airports and airlines to implement such a change, which would require extensive studies.

“The FAA is continually working to reduce the number of people exposed to aircraft noise in the communities surrounding airports. Addressing this problem requires collaboration between the FAA, airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, research universities, local communities and elected officials,” the agency said in a statement.

Katie Kehoe is a longtime resident of the Northwest and says she notices the planes flying over her house, especially on days with bad weather.

“When the weather is bad, it’s really notable. It’s right over my house and that’s when it catches my eye,” Kehoe said. “I’d just like to see it a little better in bad weather. That’s my problem, because that affects me.”

The FAA says it is constantly working to reduce aircraft noise pollution, and Ken Buckley tells me he is working on several other measures to reduce the impact on DMV residents.

One of these efforts is a similar change to reduce noise pollution for people living south of DCA.