Lantana residents fuming over low-flying helicopters

They dislike noise, say choppers hover too close to their homes.

LANTANA — Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane ... no, just another noisy helicopter.

That’s how many residents who live in Lake Osborne Estates, a residential community near the Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana, feel about the helicopters they say routinely fly and hover dangerously close to their homes during training exercises.

“Things rattle, things fall off shelves and it’s so loud,” said William Coakley, 70, a former pilot who lives on the east side of the airport on Lake Osborne Drive. “They’ve been over my roof at 50 feet. It’s a huge issue, and we fear for our lives every year.”

When Ricardo Rojas moved into the Residents of Lake Osborne in 2011, he didn’t think the helicopter noise was such a big deal.

“I just thought some people liked to complain,” said Rojas, a 29-year-old human resources manager. “If it was just a helicopter flying out of the airport, that wouldn’t be a problem because we live next to an airport. But recently I started walking around the lake, and I’m always seeing helicopters flying over my head. The problem is, they basically hover over your head, and it happens at all hours of the day.”

Lawrence Silver, chairman of the Lake Osborne Estates Civic Association, said the helicop - ters are so loud, it’s impossible to have a conversation because it’s difficult to hear.

“They f ly re pet i t ive c i rc l e s around the airport ,” said Sil-

PHOTOS BY ALLEN EYESTONE / THE PALM BEACH POST A helicopter practices over a field at Palm Beach County Park Airport last week. Residents of nearby Lake Osborne Estates have complained about the training exercises.

“Things rattle, things fall off shelves and it’s so loud,” said William Coakley, 70, a former pilot who lives on the east side of the airport on Lake Osborne Drive. “They’ve been over my roof at 50 feet.”