Although the accident occurred almost six miles from the airport, and no one on the ground was injured, some in the local aviation community feared it would ignite homeowners around the airport to increase opposition to the facility. It did not. For two and a half years, Airport Manager Douglas McNeeley has been trying to build a bridge of understanding between the airport and its neighbors. He is first to admit that there is a long way to go to change a negative feeling about the airport to a positive one, but consistent attempts to explain the airport, and the handling of news media at the time of the accident, prevented a loud public outcry over the incident. The Gaithersburg airport is the fourth busiest in the state, its one runway handling mostly single and twin piston-powered aircraft but with a hefty share of corporate planes, including jets, adding up to about 108,000 movements annually.
Residences are now within a quarter-mile of the runway end.
Noise protests can be overcome. Take, for instance, Memphis International Airport, where Federal Express has its main hub. This company alone accounts for about 175 landings and 175 takeoffs of mostly large jet aircraft between the hours of 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. In Las Vegas, Duane Busch manages the county-owned North Las Vegas Airport, which falls within the city limits. Scott Fuller, airport manager at Gwinnett County Airport in Georgia, has the same approach.