Wed, Jan 08, 2003
Pilots Urged to Comment
After almost
three months, the FAA Office of Rulemaking has formally registered
AOPA's petition to allow transient traffic use of the "DC3"
airports (College Park Airport, Potomac Airpark, and Washington
Executive/Hyde Field) in Maryland, close to Washington, D.C. AOPA
had filed the petition in October and has been pressing FAA to put
it on the docket ever since.
"Restoration of general aviation access to the nation's capital
is one of the major post-9/11 airspace hurdles remaining," said
Andrew V. Cebula, AOPA senior vice president for Government and
Technical Affairs. "Pilots are encouraged to visit the federal
government's rulemaking Web site and submit comments recommending
that the FAA adopt AOPA's petition and restore general aviation
access to Washington's airspace." (Go to http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/
and enter document # FAA-2002-13623-1.)
Under the current special flight rule SFAR 94 governing
operations at those airports and within a 15-nm radius of the
Washington Monument, only pilots who were based at those airports
prior to September 11, 2001, and have undergone extensive
background checks may operate from the "DC3" airports. In its
petition, AOPA is also asking that vetted pilots be permitted to
conduct air traffic pattern work at all three airports.
"AOPA was recently successful in getting the FAA and TSA to
issue a notam that allows for inter-airport operations by vetted
pilots," said Cebula. "We continue to explore all available
regulatory alternatives to push for implementing the two remaining
recommendations contained in our petition."
The association's petition notes that although
SFAR 94 contained language suggesting that additional operations
may be permitted after a procedural validation period, no effort
has been made to open the "DC3" to transient flight operations
since the SFAR was finalized in February of last year. Also,
despite the fact that general aviation has never been used in the
conduct of terrorist activities, it is the only segment of the
aviation community restricted by SFAR 94.
With the exception of security TFRs (in various areas around the
country), general aviation operations are now permitted since the
airspace shutdown after 9/11. That is not the case in the
Washington area, where SFAR 94 prohibits almost all general
aviation operations.
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