[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2077-2079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-864]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 91

[Docket No. 26242, Notice No. 00-01]
RIN 2120-AF30


Suspension of Certain Aircraft Operations From the Transponder 
With Automatic Pressure Altitude Reporting Capability Requirement

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is withdrawing a proposal to reinstate and modify the 
provisions of expired Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 
62. SFAR No. 62 suspended certain regulations requiring the 
installation and use of a transponder with automatic altitude reporting 
capability within 30 nautical miles of a Class B airspace area primary 
airport. SFAR No. 62 expired on December 30, 1993. The proposed 
reinstatement was intended to provide additional time during which 
aircraft operators could equip their aircraft with automatic altitude 
reporting transponders. Ten years have passed since implementation of 
the requirement to install and use automatic altitude reporting 
transponders in aircraft operating within 30 nautical miles of a Class 
B airspace area. The FAA finds that ample time has been provided for 
affected operators to comply with this equipment requirement. 
Consequently the FAA believes that the relief provided by the proposed 
regulation is no longer needed. Therefore, the FAA is withdrawing this 
proposal.

DATES: The proposed rule published on August 25, 1994 (59 FR 43994), is 
withdrawn as of January 13, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Crum, Airspace and Rules

[[Page 2078]]

Division, ATA-400, Air Traffic Airspace Management Program, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 
20591; telephone: (202) 267-8783.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 21, 1988, the FAA published a final rule, the Transponder 
with Automatic Altitude Reporting Capability Requirement (53 FR 23356; 
June 21, 1988), which required aircraft operating within 30 nautical 
miles of a Class B airspace area primary airport (commonly referred to 
as the Mode C veil) to be equipped with an operable transponder with 
automatic altitude reporting capability. Aircraft not originally 
certificated with an engine-driven electrical system or not 
subsequently certificated with such a system installed, balloons, and 
gliders were excluded from this requirement.
    On December 5, 1990, the FAA published a final rule, SFAR No. 62 
(55 FR 50302; Dec. 5, 1990), which suspended the automatic altitude 
reporting transponder requirement for certain aircraft operations in 
the vicinity of approximately 300 airports in the outlying area of Mode 
C veils but outside of the confines of the Class B airspace area. 
Specifically, SFAR No. 62 allowed for the operation of aircraft not 
equipped with an operable automatic altitude reporting transponder in 
the airspace at or below the altitude specified in the rule for the 
airport or along the most direct and expeditious routing (or on a 
routing directed by air traffic control (ATC)) between those airports 
and the outer boundary of the Mode C veil, consistent with established 
traffic patterns, noise abatement procedures, and safety. The purpose 
of SFAR No. 62 was to provide a limited transition period to allow 
operators flexibility in equipping their aircraft with transponders 
within a reasonable timeframe.
    Prior to the adoption of SFAR No. 62, requests to deviate from the 
automatic altitude reporting transponder requirements were handled by 
ATC facilities on a case-by-case basis. If approved, the ATC 
authorization specified all restrictions or conditions necessary to 
ensure that the operation could be conducted safely and without any 
impact on other operations. The authorization process proved to be 
inefficient and time consuming for operators and ATC staff due to the 
very high number of operators requesting ATC authorizations because 
they had not yet equipped their aircraft with the required 
transponders.
    On August 25, 1994, the FAA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) (59 FR 43994; Aug. 25, 1994) that proposed, with some 
minor modifications, to reinstate the expired provisions of SFAR No. 62 
as SFAR No. 62-1. The NPRM identified and excluded those airports where 
aircraft operations cannot be detected by radar when those operations 
are conducted at or below a specified altitude and within a 2-nautical-
mile radius of the airport, or along the most direct route between that 
airport and the outer boundary of the Mode C veil. Airports served 
primarily by aircraft required to be equipped with Traffic Collision 
Avoidance System (TCAS) also were excluded from the list of airports 
where SFAR No. 62-1 would apply. The NPRM proposed to modify the 
expired SFAR No. 62 by revising the altitudes below which automatic 
altitude reporting transponders would not be required in the vicinity 
of certain airports where radar upgrades warranted such revisions. 
Lastly, the NPRM proposed modifications to the list of airports within 
the Denver Mode C veil at which aircraft operations were excluded from 
the automatic altitude reporting transponder requirement.

Discussion of Public Comments

    Interested parties were invited to participate in the rulemaking 
process by submitting such written data, views, or arguments regarding 
the proposal. The comment period originally was scheduled to close on 
October 11, 1994. However, in accordance with 14 CFR 11.29(c), the 
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) requested a 45-day 
extension of the comment period. The FAA determined that AOPA's request 
was in the public interest and extended the comment period to November 
25, 1994 (59 FR 49360; Sept. 28, 1994).
    One hundred fourteen private individuals and 18 associations, 
including government entities, submitted comments. Because one 
submission was signed by 13 commenters and another submission was 
signed by 22 commenters, 99 separate comments were actually received. 
All comments received during the comment period were considered before 
making a determination regarding final action on the proposed rule.
    Most of the commenters suggest eliminating the automatic altitude 
reporting transponder equipment requirement when operating within 30 
nautical miles of a primary airport listed in section 1 of appendix D 
to 14 CFR part 91. However, the NPRM did not propose or suggest 
eliminating the automatic altitude reporting transponder requirement. 
Specifically, the NPRM proposed to continue, at specific locations and 
altitudes, a method that would allow aircraft operators to be exempted 
from the automatic altitude reporting transponder rule itself. 
Therefore, since the NPRM proposed no changes to the initial 
regulations requiring the use of transponders with automatic altitude 
reporting capability within 30 nautical miles of a Class B airspace 
area, the FAA finds these comments are outside the scope of this 
specific rulemaking action.
    Several commenters oppose the reinstatement of the provisions of 
SFAR No. 62. These commenters state that the cost of equipping an 
aircraft with an automatic altitude reporting transponder is small in 
absolute terms when compared with the safety benefits provided by a 
transponder. They argue that the safety benefits include increased 
situational awareness for controllers and pilots when in contact with 
ATC. In addition, these commenters believe that excepting aircraft from 
automatic altitude reporting transponder requirements may compromise 
the effectiveness of TCAS because TCAS requires automatic altitude 
reporting transponder replies from nearby aircraft to determine whether 
a threat of potential collision exists.
    The FAA agrees that automatic altitude reporting transponders 
provide increased benefits for controllers and pilots. If a controller 
is not yet in radio communication with an aircraft that is equipped 
with an automatic altitude reporting transponder, the transponder 
provides altitude information that can be received by other TCAS-
equipped aircraft in the area, or ATC, without waiting for the pilot to 
check onto the ATC frequency. The FAA is not aware of any incidents 
where safety was compromised due to aircraft operating in accordance 
with SFAR 62. It is important to note, however, that the expired 
provisions of SFAR No. 62 and the proposed provisions of SFAR No. 62-1 
provide access to outlying airports with a minimum of ATC involvement 
without degrading the safety benefits of the Mode C rule. When 
operating within the Mode C veil area, aircraft not equipped with an 
altitude encoding transponder can be accommodated safely, provided that 
operations are conducted in accordance with restrictions set forth in 
the ATC authorization.
    The FAA notes that in the NPRM, the FAA requested specific comments 
regarding the effectiveness of SFAR No. 62, as well as the number of 
aircraft

[[Page 2079]]

operators who had benefited from the SFAR. Commenters did not provide 
information concerning either the number of operators benefiting from 
the SFAR, or the number of aircraft that are not equipped with 
automatic altitude reporting transponders and operating within the Mode 
C veil areas.
    When the FAA promulgated the Mode C veil rule in 1988, the intent 
was to require all aircraft, with certain regulatory exceptions, to be 
equipped with an operable altitude encoding transponder when operating 
within 30 nautical miles of a Class B airspace area primary airport. 
For those instances where a pilot was unable to comply with this 
equipment requirement, an ATC authorization could be obtained from the 
appropriate ATC facility. SFAR No. 62 was promulgated as a temporary 
measure only to alleviate the workload associated with granting ATC 
authorizations and to allow additional time for certain operators to 
equip their aircraft with altitude encoding transponders.
    There are no regulations requiring aircraft owners to report the 
types of transponders installed in their aircraft. Therefore, it is 
difficult to estimate the number of aircraft that are equipped with 
altitude reporting transponders. However, in 1995, the FAA published 
the ``General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity and Avionics Survey,'' 
prepared by the Office of Aviation Policy and Plans (APO-1). The survey 
provides information about the activity and avionics equipment of the 
general aviation and air taxi fleet. The information for the survey is 
collected using a statistically designed sample survey. The sample is 
selected from all general aviation and air taxi aircraft registered 
with the FAA. According to this survey, almost 70 percent of fixed wing 
general aviation aircraft have Mode C or Mode S installed, and almost 
60 percent of rotorcraft have Mode C or Mode S installed.
    Several years have passed since SFAR No. 62 was promulgated in 
1990. The FAA believes that sufficient time has been provided for 
aircraft operators to purchase and install automatic altitude reporting 
transponders. Moreover, the best available information indicates that a 
majority of operators have installed altitude encoding transponders. 
Those aircraft operators without an operating transponder may use the 
ATC authorization procedures to get relief from the equipment 
requirement; therefore, the FAA is withdrawing the proposed rule to 
reinstate SFAR No. 62. The FAA will continue to assess the impact of 
the 1988 equipment requirement upon aircraft operators and the National 
Airspace System.

Withdrawal of Proposed Rule

    Accordingly, the proposed amendment to reinstate SFAR No. 62 as 
SFAR No. 62-1 under 14 CFR Part 91 (Notice No. 94-28), published on 
page 43994 in the Federal Register of August 25, 1994, is withdrawn.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 7, 2000.
John Walker,
Program Director, Air Traffic Airspace Management Program.
[FR Doc. 00-864 Filed 1-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P