[Federal Register: July 1, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 126)]
[Notices]
[Page 39176-39178]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01jy03-111]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-2003-15495]
Weight-Based Restrictions at Airports: Proposed Policy
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed policy; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice requests comments on a proposed statement of
policy on the use of weight-based airport access restrictions as a
means of protectign airfield pavement. In grant agreements between an
airport operator and the FAA for Federal airport development grants,
the airport operator makes certain assurances to the FAA. These
assurances include an obligation to provide access to the airport on
reasonable, not unjustly discriminatory terms to aeronautical users of
the airport. Some airport operators have implemented restrictions on
use of the airport by aircraft above a certain weight, to protect
pavement not designed for aircraft of that weight. These actions have
raised the question of when such an action is a reasonable restriction
on use of the airport. In the interest of applyng a uniform national
policy to such actions, the FAA is publishing for comment a draft
policy on weight-based access restrictions at federally obligated
airports.
DATES: Comments must be received by August 15, 2003. Comments that are
received after that date will be considered only to the extent
possible.
ADDRESSES: The proposed policy is available for public review in the
Dockets Office, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. The documents have been
filed under FAA Docket Number FAA-2003-15495. The Dockets Office is
open between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The Dockets Office is on the plaza level of the
Nassif Building at the Department of Transportation at the above
address. Also, you, may review public dockets on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
Comments on the proposed policy must be delivered on
mailed, in duplicate, to: the Docket Management System, U.S. Department
of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number ``FAA Docket No FAA-
2003-15495'' at the beginning of your comments. Commenters wishing to
FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments must include a
preaddressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is
made: ``Comments to FAA Docket No. FAA-2003-15495.'' The postcard will
be date stamped and mailed to the commenter. You may also submit
comments through the Internet to http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James White, Deputy Director, Office
of Airport Safety and Standards, AAS-2, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591,
telephone (202) 267-3053.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Airport operators that accept federal
airport development grants under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP),
49 U.S.C. 47101 et seq., enter into a standard grant agreement with the
FAA. That agreement contains certain assurances, including assurance
no. 22, based on the requirement in 49 U.S.C. 47107(a)(1). Grant
assurance no. 22 reads, in part:
a. [The sponsor] will make the airport available as an airport
for public use on reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination
to all types, kinds and classes of aeronautical activities,
including commercial aeronautical activities offering services to
the public at the airport.
At the same time, the FAA expects that airport sponsors will
protect airfield pavement from damage or early deterioration. Many
airport projects funded with the AIP grants involve pavement. As a
result, both the FAA and airport sponsors have a significant investment
in airfield pavement, and an interest in assuring that pavement remains
in acceptable condition for its design life, normally at least 20
years. The policy of assuring reasonable access to the airport and the
interest in protecting the investment in airfield pavement are both
extremely important, but is clear that they can potentially work
against each other in a particular case.
In February 2002, the Airports Division in an FAA regional office
issued a preliminary determination on the ability of a particular
airport operator to limit use of the airport according to aircraft
weight. In that case the weight limit effectively prohibited operation
by aircraft heavier than the
[[Page 39177]]
aircraft considered in the design of the airport's pavement. The FAA
found, in summary, that the airport operator could limit use above the
design weight of the pavement, but that some operations above that
weight could and should be permitted, because they would have no
measurable effect on the pavement. The FAA has received several
questions relating to the policy underlying that determination.
In view of the importance of the policies at stake, we believe it
is appropriate to issue more specific guidance on the specific issue of
weight-based access restrictions.
The policy proposed in this notice provides more detailed guidance
on how the FAA will interpret Grant Assurance No. 22, in cases in which
an airport sponsor limits operation by aircraft above a certain weight
in order to preserve the integrity of airport pavement. The FAA
requests comment on the following statement of policy, and may modify
the policy in accordance with comments received on this notice. For any
cases presented before a final policy is issued, the FAA will apply the
policy as proposed in this notice.
For the above reasons, the FAA proposes to adopt the following
policy:
Operating Limitations to Protect Airport Pavements From the Effects of
Operations in Excess of Design Weight-Bearing Capacity
1. When designing new airport pavement or rehabilitating existing
pavement, airport operators design the pavement to accommodate the
loads and frequencies of the aircraft expected to use the airport over
the period of expected pavement life. A load-bearing capacity is then
assigned to the pavement based upon the most demanding aircraft. Once
that pavement is constructed, airport operators have a responsibility
to protect the local and Federal investment in the pavement. At the
same time, airport operators are encouraged to upgrade airport
pavements for forecast increases in aircraft size or operations, or if
the number of operations and size of aircraft increase over time beyond
what was forecast.
2. Airport pavements are designed to accommodate a finite number of
aircraft operations, based on planning forecasts and experience. In
most cases it should not be necessary or appropriate to impose aircraft
operating restrictions to protect pavement from occasional operations
of aircraft which exceed the published pavement strength. Even in the
exceptional case in which the mix of aircraft types using the pavement
becomes heavier over time, a limitation on maximum weight of aircraft
may not be warranted. It is the nature of airport pavement to begin a
gradual deterioration process as soon as it is opened to traffic. A
pavement designed for a specified number of operations by an aircraft
type of a particular weight will not be immediately affected by some
number of operations by heavier aircraft, up to a point. In general,
each 10% increase in weight of the most demanding aircraft will
decrease the number of design operations by 20-25%. The original load-
bearing capacity of pavement may be increased by surface overlays or
other pavement rehabilitation techniques. Therefore, some number of
operations by aircraft exceeding the design load-bearing capacity of
airport pavement by some degree will ordinarily not have a sufficient
impact to shorten its useful life. (The Airport/Facility Directory
introductory language notes that ``[m]any airport pavements are capable
of supporting limited operations with gross weights of 25-50% in excess
of the published figures.'').
3. However, where the airport operator reasonably believes that
actual damage or excessive wear has resulted or would result from
operation of aircraft of a particular weight (and particular gear
configurations), then the airport operator can limit those operations
to the extent necessary to prevent that damage or excessive wear.
4. The design load-bearing capacity of pavement is a guide to the
probability of adverse effects on pavement life. Design load-bearing
capacity is demonstrated by planning and engineering documents created
at the time the pavement was designed, constructed, rehabilitated or
improved. Testing to determine actual load-bearing capacity may be
appropriate or necessary where design information is unavailable or
does not appear to represent actual current condition of the pavement.
5. Any action by the airport operator to limit operations above the
design load-bearing capacity must be reasonable and unjustly
discriminatory, and would require evidence of the effect of operations
at certain weights on the pavement. Such limitations, if determined to
be necessary, could include:
[sbull] Requiring particular taxi routes and parking areas for
aircraft above a certain weight, to avoid weaker areas;
[sbull] Requiring prior permission for operation by aircraft above
the design load-bearing capacity of the pavement (see examples in
Exhibit 1);
[sbull] Permitting operations of such aircraft only up to a certain
weight;
[sbull] Prohibiting all operations by aircraft exceeding a weight
at which even a small number of operations would significantly reduce
pavement life.
[sbull] Assigning heavy aircraft a particular runway (through
agreement with Air Traffic Control) if operationally feasible.
Operating procedures, such as requiring use of designated taxiways
and ramp parking areas, are preferable to an outright ban or limit on
the number of operations. A limit on the number of operations and/or
weight of operations must be based on an analysis of pavement life
using known pavement design capacity, actual load-bearing capacity, and
actual condition. That analysis can be performed with the AAS-100
Pavement Design Software, based on Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5320-6D,
available on the FAA Airports web site. An analysis is also required to
assess the load-carrying capacity of existing bridges, culverts, in-
pavement light fixtures, and other structures affected by the proposed
traffic. Such structures are generally not capable of supporting a
single load application above design limits, and may preclude any
operations by heavier aircraft unless other taxi routes can be
specified. Guidance for those evaluations is stated in AC 150/5320-6D.
6. The airport operator may avoid any issue of reasonable,
nondiscriminatory access to the airport by accommodating current
operations and bringing pavement up to the standard for the current use
of the airport as the condition of the pavement requires.
7. This policy applies only to pavement weight-bearing capacity and
pavement condition, and does not apply to geometric airport design
standards.
8. This policy applies only to the purpose of protecting an airport
operator's investment in pavement, and is not a substitute for noise
restrictions. If there is no showing of need to protect pavement life,
or the limit on airport use appears motivated by interest in mitigating
noise without going through processes that exist for such restrictions,
an attempt to limit aircraft by weight will be considered unreasonable.
The FAA notes that there are a few existing noise rules that include
weight categories, generally adopted before ANCA and the AAIA were
enacted. Issues arising under those rules will be addressed on a case-
by-case basis.
Examples
Airport operators may experience demand for use of the airport by
aircraft that weigh more than the design load-bearing capacity of the
airport
[[Page 39178]]
pavement. In some cases that demand can adversely affect pavement
condition. Ideally the airport operator should accommodate demand by
upgrading facilities. If that option is not practical, the airport
operator can permit reasonable access by these aircraft, while avoiding
adverse effects on existing pavement, by regulating the number and
maximum weight of operations on a prior-permission-required basis. The
number and maximum weight of operations permitted would vary according
to the specific circumstances at each airport, including:
[sbull] Pavement load-bearing capacity.
[sbull] The mix of aircraft operating at the airport. The heavier
the aircraft, the fewer operations it takes to have an effect on
pavement life.
[sbull] Seasonal effects on pavement strength, for example wet or
dry subgrade conditions or very low or high pavement temperatures.
The following scenarios are not recommendations but simply examples
of limitations that might be appropriate in particular circumstances.
Local conditions may require more complex solutions. An engineering
analysis will be required in each case.
Scenario 1
The airport pavement is designed to 60,000 lb. dual-wheel load.
Pavement design and soil support conditions are known. Operations up to
60,000 lb. are unrestricted, and the issue is how many flights should
be permitted above that weight.
The airport receives frequent operations by several aircraft types
at 70,000 lb., and occasional operations at 105,000 lb., but very few
operations by other aircraft types in between those weights.
Reference to AC 150/5320-6D shows that on an annual basis up to
xxxx operations at 70,000 lb. and xx operations at 105,000 lb. together
would have no measurable effect on the life of the pavement, but more
operations at either weight would begin to shorten pavement life.
The operator could require prior permission for operations above
60,000 lb. Permission would be granted on a first-come first-served
basis, for xx (xxxx/52) operations per week up to 70,000 lb. and for x
(xx/52) operations per week up to 110,000 lb.
Scenario 2
The airport pavement is designed to 100,000 lb., with dual-wheel
gear configuration. Pavement design and soil support conditions are
known.
Most operations at the airport are well under 100,000 lb., but the
airport receives regular operations by various types of aircraft at
weights from 100,000 lb. up to 135,000 lb. Operations up to 100,000 lb.
are unrestricted, and the issue is how many flights should be permitted
above that weight.
Reference to AC 150/5320-6D shows that on an annual basis various
assortments of operations above 100,000 lb. can operate without
measurable effect on the life of the pavement. However, there is no
single ``right`` combination, because more operations at one weight
will reduce the number that can be permitted at another weight. Also,
each flight at the heavier end of the scale, e.g., 135,000 lb., has a
disproportionately adverse effect equal to several flights at the lower
end of the scale, e.g., just above 100,000 lb.
There may be many ways to allocate limited operating rights for the
various types of aircraft that would use the airport over time, while
controlling the maximum cumulative stress on the airport's pavement.
One way would be to allocate operating permission by ``points'' rather
than by number of operations. While the numbers actually used would
need to be validated using AC 150/5320-6D, something like the following
could be used:
Each operation 100,001 lb. to 110,000 lb.; 1 point.
Each operation 110,001 lb. to 120,000 lb.; 2 points.
Each operation 120,001 lb. to 130,000 lb.; 4 points.
Each operation 130,001 lb. to 140,000 lb.; 6 points.
If AC 150/5320-6D indicated that no combination of operations equal
to an annual usage of 1200 points would have an adverse effect on
pavement life, then the airport operator could allocate 23 points a
week with no adverse effects.
The operator would require prior permission for operations above
100,000 lb. Permission would be granted on a first-come first-served
basis, until the weekly allocation of points was assigned.
Issued in Washington, DC on June 20, 2003.
David L. Bennett,
Director, Airport Safety and Standards.
[FR Doc. 03-16462 Filed 6-30-03; 8:45 am]
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