Photo courtesy of Eviation
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
CNN reports that Alice, the world’s first all-electric passenger airplane, went through engine testing and may be making test flights in a few weeks.
Electric airplanes are the holy grail of both environmentalists and those of us concerned about noise.
Aircraft noise causes cardiovascular disease and increased mortality, with the biological mechanisms of how this happens now understood down to the cellular and molecular levels.
Jet engines also produce particulate matter and gaseous emissions that are bad for the environment and also contribute to air pollution, which is also bad for health.
Quieter, non-polluting electric aircraft will be better for all.
The only problem: the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to set standards for these aircraft, and all it will take is one crash for electric-powered aircraft to go the way of the Hindenburg.
Anyone who has followed the FAA’s Boeing 737MAX regulatory disaster, causing the death of hundreds of passengers, might share my concerns.
