Fort Carson Addresses Training Flight Concerns
The Army announced on Thursday that it would restrict helicopter training flights over southeastern Colorado, after residents complained that some flights were too low and loud.
However, the commander of Fort Carson said he was surprised to hear of such complaints and believes the Colorado Springs-area installation is not responsible for them.
Maj. Gen. Joe Anderson said some complaints could be the result of high-altitude flight training conducted by other Army installations, although those exercises are supposed to be over mountains and away from populated areas, as well as away from Fort Carson’s Pinon Canyon training site near Trinidad.
“Do mistakes happen? Do we rectify those mistakes? Yes,” said Anderson. “But the point is, the training plan is very deliberate, specific and controlled. (Fort Carson) flies only in certain corridors between the fort and Pinon.”
Anderson said the Army’s announcement is nothing new, but may have been intended to reinforce training guidelines in light of a new Combat Aviation Brigade coming to Fort Carson in the next few years.
Anderson described any criticism of Fort Carson in the matter as “invalid,” and “a misunderstanding of something that may not be true.” He said the post will try harder to educate civilians on its role in training flights.
The Army announcement also states that helicopters must stay within the boundaries of Pinon Canyon, as well as fly at higher altitudes outside the Pinon zone, and get no closer than a half mile to houses or ranches.
