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Tag: Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport

  • In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to ‘pilot incapacitation’

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    BROOFMEILD, Colo. — A plane landed safely at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA) in Broomfield over the weekend using automated technology after the pilot was incapacitated minutes into the flight, the first time such technology has been used in a real-world emergency situation.

    The Beechcraft Super King Air 200, operated by Buffalo River Aircraft Services and equipped with Garmin’s Autoland system, left Aspen-Pitkin airport at 1:43 p.m. Saturday and landed safely a little over 30 minutes later at RMMA without incident, according to FlightAware.

    “Garmin can confirm that an emergency Autoland activation occurred at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado. The Autoland took place on Sat., Dec. 20, resulting in a successful landing,” said Garmin International spokeswoman Mikayla Rudolph, adding this was the first activation and landing of Garmin’s Autoland system.

    Per the company’s website, the Garmin Autoland system “takes complete control of the flight to land the airplane in an emergency where the pilot is unable to fly” finding an optimal airport for landing, while considering runway length, distance and fuel range, among other factors.

    Though it was not clear how the pilot was incapacitated, air traffic audio obtained by Denver7 can be heard communicating that there was “pilot incapacitation” and relaying how many miles out to the airport the plane was and which runway it intended to use to land safely.

    In a statement, Sydny Boyd, a spokeswoman for RMMA, said they were aware of the situation and had nothing to report as the plan landed safely without incident.

    The flight was able to resume its path Sunday morning and landed in Oklahoma City at 12:24 p.m. CST.

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  • Autonomous system lands plane at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield

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    A plane’s autonomous landing system took over and landed the aircraft at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield on Saturday.

    The plane successfully landed while being piloted by Autoland, an autonomous emergency landing system made by Garmin International, according to a statement from Mikayla Rudolph, a senior public relations specialist for the technology company known for its GPS tech.

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  • Kids living near Colorado airports have slightly elevated levels of lead in their blood, new study finds

    Kids living near Colorado airports have slightly elevated levels of lead in their blood, new study finds

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    Children living near small airports in Colorado had slightly higher levels of lead in their blood than the statewide average, according to a new study — though experts had diverging opinions on how significant that difference was.

    The study, by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, found levels to be within the range the federal government considers normal, and didn’t prove that living near an airport caused the increase in blood lead levels, though levels declined consistently as the distance from an airport increased, reaching the state average at about two miles out.

    The researchers also didn’t have enough blood samples to show whether lead levels were particularly high near any of the airports, though the data didn’t suggest any difference, said Dr. Ned Calonge, the department’s chief medical officer.

    While lead can affect anyone, young children are most vulnerable. In most cases, lead doesn’t cause any immediately noticeable symptoms, though over time it lowers intelligence scores and increases the risk of hyperactivity and behavior problems. Children experiencing acute lead poisoning, which is rare, may have headaches, stomach pain and weakness.

    Aircraft fuel is the largest source of new lead pollution in the country, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Certain industries, like battery recycling, also generate lead pollution, while contamination from lead paint and leaded gas still lingers.

    Click here to read the full story from our partners at The Denver Post.

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  • Superior, Boulder County sue Jefferson County over noise, lead concerns at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport

    Superior, Boulder County sue Jefferson County over noise, lead concerns at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport

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    SUPERIOR, Colo. — Boulder County and the Town of Superior have filed a lawsuit against neighboring Jefferson County over operations at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA).

    RMMA, owned by Jefferson County, has been the subject of concern from many residents for years due to its increasing traffic and noise along with its supply of leaded aviation gasoline. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, demands an end to “touch and go” training flights in which training pilots repeatedly take off from the airport and circle nearby without stopping. The technique is blamed for excessive noise and lead risk.

    No money is being sought in the lawsuit.

    A Community Noise Roundtable was convened in 2021 to hear resident concerns and search for solutions, and RMMA pledged last year to expedite its transition from leaded fuel. However, Superior Mayor Mark Lacis told Denver7 the decision to file the lawsuit came after these collaborative pursuits with Jefferson County failed to provide the results his residents are pleading for.

    “Since 2019, there’s been an increase of about 50 percent in terms of total operations They had 280,000 operations in 2023, and a large majority of those operations are these training operations where they’re just flying these touch-and-go patterns over Superior,” Lacis said. “That needs to stop. It’s a public nuisance. It’s impacting the ability for residents to sleep, to work, to open their windows, to just enjoy the quiet of their homes without disturbance. So that led us to the decision, ultimately, that we need to seek redress through the courts.”

    A spokesperson for Jefferson County told Denver7 in a statement that because RMMA is federally funded, it is subject to federal laws that govern issues such as fuel use and noise allowed.

    “It is not a legal option for the airport to mandate a reduction in those operations,” said spokesperson Cassie Pearce in a statement. “The County believes that the Community Noise Roundtable is a valuable venue for these discussions and will continue to work with community members to address their concerns where viable and legal options exist.”

    Lacis argued this response shows that Jefferson County is “not taking ownership of the problem.” The fact that an answer has not been found through the Community Noise Roundtable in the past three years shows that a new approach is needed, the mayor said.

    “Jefferson County can’t just export the negative consequences at the airport,” Lacis said. “They can’t dump their pollution, noise, lead, otherwise, on a neighborhood without consequences. They have to abate a public nuisance. So that’s what we’re asking for.

    “You know, we understand that airports are important. It’s important to have pilots. And you know, we’re not saying that this airport needs to close or they can’t fly out of this airport. We’re just saying that this unique, particular operation that causes a public nuisance shouldn’t be occurring here.”

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