F-35 training flights cause suffering in Vermont cities and towns

Painful, deafening, distressing, unbearable

Hundreds of Vermonters in the cities and towns surrounding the Burlington Airport described their suffering from exposure to the F-35 training flights flying low over their homes, schools, and work places.

Here are just a few of the in-your-own-words statements by Vermonters subjected to the F-35 training flights: “It feels like they are going to crash right into this house.” “My kids cannot be outside.” “Sound straight out of hell.” “Way louder than I thought it would be.” “House shook.” “My ears were ringing.” “Completely terrifying.” “The noise was loud enough that my ears rang.” “My windows rattle, tables rattle, can’t hear anyone in my house talk even if they’re right next to me, I get extreme pressure in my ears that’s painful.” “This plane flew much too low over my house in Richmond. It flew from the east to the west and was extremely loud. It frightened me and all the neighborhood dogs.” “Ear ringing, internal organ vibrations.” “It's 9:28, I'm a wreck, and my ears are ringing.” “Teaching children at home is constantly interrupted.  Getting them back to concentrating on the lessons is a daily concern-multiple times during the day when the planes depart/return.” “This is an egregious offense towards communities of color for a state that claims to care about environmental justice.”

The chart above further illustrates how hundreds of Vermonters experience the F-35. More than half of the 468 respondents to an online F-35 Summer Report and Complaint Form checked a box stating that the F-35 noise was inconvenient or annoying. More than 76% that the F-35 noise was unreasonably loud. 34% that it was frightening. 64% said it was distressing. 38% painful. 43% deafening. 33% unbearable. Only 3% said the F-35 noise was “loud but doesn’t bother me much.”

The Vermont Air National Guard issued a statement about its flight schedule showing that 4 to 8 F-35 jets takeoff in the morning and as many again in the afternoon each day, 4 days each week and also on the first weekend of each month. This adds up to between 1,760 and 3,520 F-35 takeoffs each year or about 150 to 300 F-35 takeoffs each month. And as many landings. A total of between 300 and 600 F-35 takeoffs and landings each month at BTV airport, which is located in the densely populated Chamberlin School neighborhood. The runway aims at the center of Winooski, the most densely populated city in Vermont, only one mile away.

The online F-35 Summer Report and Complaint Form was live between May 17, 2020 and September 27, 2020. Click to see all 11 of the automatically generated charts as well as all the in-your-own-words statements. The inclusion of both check-box questions and space for in-your-own-words responses provided a basic framework to ensure that data collected followed a uniform format for the purpose of eliciting objective facts while allowing flexibility.

A new online F-35 Fall-Winter Report and Complaint Form is live now, and you can record and submit your F-35 experience by clicking this link: https://tinyurl.com/y5l74s25