Residents of Washington County Under Assault by Toxic Out-of-State and Overseas Aviation Interests

Miki Barnes
March 24, 2022

"The most poisonous influence in Oregon has been the control of business by owners from outside the state who 'don't have a stake, a real emotional tie' here."

The above quote appeared in a 3/14/22 Oregonian article honoring the life of Gerry Frank, a prominent figure in Oregon politics who served as Chief of Staff to Senator Mark Hatfield for 20 years. Sadly this assessment is as relevant today as it was in 1977 when Mr. Frank first made this comment.

This quote certainly applies to the "Alaska Airlines Launches New Oregon Academy to Help Address Pilot Shortage" story that appeared in the 3/12/22 edition of the Oregonian announcing that Seattle-based Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air is partnering with Hillsboro Aero Academy (HAA), a flight training company owned by two East Coast investment firms: Graycliff Partners (New York) and Renovus Capital (Pennsylvania). Together, these out-of-state businesses, without public input, forged a plan for HAA to train 250 pilots per year at the Hillsboro and Redmond Airports.

In addition to being a source of relentless noise as well as fossil-fuel burning toxins, the Hillsboro Airport (HIO) releases a ton or more of lead into the air every year. It ranks 8th in the nation among 20,000 airports in toxic lead emissions and is the largest facility source of lead pollution in Oregon. According to the EPA, nationwide, piston-engine aircraft, are responsible for 70% of all airborne lead pollution. An August 2021 lead study at the Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV) in San Jose, a facility that logs fewer annual operations than HIO, found that blood lead levels in children living near this airport were equal to or higher than those detected in children exposed to lead during the Flint Water Crisis.

Lead, even in small doses, is linked to ADHD, learning and behavior problems, reduced IQs, increased violence, miscarriages, birth defects and a host of other serious health conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control, adults exposed to low doses of lead may be at heightened risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney ailments, reduced fertility, problems with pregnancy, and mental dysfunction. The adverse health impacts are often irreversible.

The vast majority of operations at HIO, both close-in and in surrounding rural communities, are flight training students who often circle homes, neighborhoods, daycare centers, schools, playgrounds and recreational areas for an hour or more.

HAA boasts of training pilots from over 75 countries. According to their website, "We draw more students from the APAC [Asia-Pacific] region than any other part of the world." Five of their seven Asian partners are from China:

• China Eastern
• Air China
• Sichuan Airlines
• Shangdong Airlines
• Hainan Airlines

In China, where 80 percent of the airspace is militarized, civilian and military companies, including their state-owned airlines, are fused. Thus businesses like HAA that train Chinese pilots are essentially working on behalf of President Xi's military regime.

Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Korea Aerospace University also partner with HAA, as do two European companies: ADAC from Germany and Bristol Helicopter based in Scotland.

The HAA website further states that they are certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to train pilots. "We are underway on partnership approvals with two Vietnamese airlines."

In addition, United and Horizon are listed as partners.

All of the companies identified above are from overseas or out-of-state. All routinely engage in activities that degrade livability, poison the air, and compromise the public health of local residents. None have demonstrated any concern for the destructive and toxic impact of their aviation activities on the environment or on the local population.

Moreover, these partnerships were established without public input or any consideration whatsoever for those who are routinely bombarded with lead emissions, noise and other toxic carcinogens released by these pilots.

Gerry Frank aptly described businesses of this nature as "poisonous," a word that quite literally describes the impact of the Hillsboro Airport, Hillsboro Aero Academy and their industry partners on Washington County residents.

********************

This screenshot, captured on 3/24/22 at 12:42 PM depicts an aircraft registered to Hillsboro Aero Academy (N89226) circling repeatedly for over an hour while pumping relentless noise as well as layer upon layer of lead emissions and other pollutants into the air. As shown in the photo, there are a number of other aircraft from HIO also dousing the community in noise and carcinogenic toxins during this same timeframe.