Norwood Airport Commission Seeks FAA Intervention to Curb Low-Flying Airplane Noise Over Neponset Street-August 8, 1984

Residents Protest Runway 28 Flight Patterns While Commission Also Reports on Assault of Elderly Security Guard William Cassidy

Escalating frustrations over persistent aircraft noise prompted the Norwood Airport Commission last night to formally involve the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in enforcing flight path regulations. Meeting to address complaints from lower Neponset Street residents, the commission heard from Edward Koval of 600 Neponset St., who testified that planes taking off westward from Runway 28 consistently cut short of Route 1, flying low over neighborhood rooftops instead of following mandated noise-abatement procedures. Koval stressed that informal tail-number reporting had proved ineffective, demanding local action: “We have a real problem. Please solve it.” Airport Manager Thomas Maher acknowledged that Neponset Street is the area “most impacted” by airport traffic, explaining that current rules requiring immediate left or right turns at Route 1 simply displaced noise problems from the Rock Street area. Maher suggested altering departures to keep planes heading straight over Route 1 toward town center until reaching higher altitudes, though commissioner Pauline M. Grasso raised concerns about shifting noise toward Rock and Winfield streets.

Commission members agreed that local enforcement options are limited because the commission can only pursue costly court injunctions against pilots. By bringing in the FAA—which holds legal jurisdiction over airborne aircraft—the commission hopes to establish enforceable federal regulations backed by tangible penalties for violators. Chairman Walter J. Grady emphasized, “If they can’t make it without going over houses, don’t make it,” noting that a federally and state-funded $30,000 airport noise study was already initiated in December. The commission unanimously voted to meet with an FAA agent and neighborhood representatives to draft a viable solution.

In a separate disturbing report during the meeting, Chairman Grady revealed that an elderly security guard working at the airport was assaulted after dark last month. William Cassidy, a retired police officer with over 30 years of service in Needham and Dover working for Norwood Security Service, “took a shot in the chops” while on patrol. Because Cassidy managed to record the suspect’s license plate, police quickly tracked down a 30-year-old Norwood man, though no arrest was made due to a lack of independent eyewitnesses. Cassidy suffered mild soreness and a slight loss of hearing from the attack.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger