[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65224-65227]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28824]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2003-16342; Airspace Docket No. 03-AAL-15]


Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Southeast, AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish new Class E airspace over 
Southeast, AK in support of a lower altitude Instrument Flight Rules 
(IFR) route structure. The FAA, under the Capstone program, is using 
technology developed to take advantage of the benefits of the Global 
Positioning System (GPS) and the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) 
to enhance safety for aircraft utilizing IFR and Visual Flight Rules 
(VFR) operations. With the support of the Alaska Aviation Industry 
Council, the Capstone demonstration program that has utilized GPS/WAAS 
technology successfully in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area is being 
extended into

[[Page 65225]]

Southeast Alaska. The Capstone initiative will establish Special GPS/
WAAS enroute IFR airways that permit flight at significantly lower 
altitudes than those available on airways constructed from land based 
Navigational Aids (NAVAIDS). In addition, both Special and Public 
Standard Instrument Approach and Departure Procedures will be developed 
to/from airports throughout the region. The Special IFR enroute and 
arrival/departure procedures will be authorized for specific operators 
who have FAA approved equipment and training.
    Additional Class E airspace is needed to enable operations under 
IFR to support the Capstone initiative. Specifically, this action 
proposes to establish controlled airspace extending from 1,200 feet 
above ground level (AGL) upwards, to the base of the Class E airspace 
extending upward from 14,500 feet above the ground, within an area 
beginning at lat. 58[deg]54'25.2'' N., long. 137[deg]31'55.3'' W. to 
lat. 58[deg]38'33.2'' N., long. 138[deg]12'21.25'' W., thence southeast 
along the offshore airspace 12 nautical miles west of and parallel to 
the shoreline to the point of intersection with the Alaska/Canada 
Border, thence along the Alaska/Canada Border to the point of beginning 
excluding that airspace designated for federal airways.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal 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-2003-16342/Airspace Docket No. 03-AAL-15, at the beginning 
of your comments. You may also submit comments on the Internet at 
http://dms.dot.gov. You may review the public docket containing the 
proposal, any comments received, and any final disposition in person in 
the Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone 1-800-647-5527) 
is on the plaza level of the Department of Transportation NASSIF 
Building at the above address.
    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours at the office of the Regional Air Traffic Division, Federal 
Aviation Administration, Manager, Operations Branch, AAL-530, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 
99513-7587.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derril Bergt, AAL-531, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 
99513-7587; telephone number (907) 271-2796; fax: (907) 271-2850; e-
mail: [email protected]. Internet address: http://www.alaska.faa.gov/at.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested parties are invited to participate in this proposed 
rulemaking by submitting such written data, views, or arguments as they 
may desire. Comments that provide the factual basis supporting the 
views and suggestions presented are particularly helpful in developing 
reasoned regulatory decisions on the proposal. Comments are 
specifically invited on the overall regulatory, aeronautical, economic, 
environmental, and energy-related aspects of the proposal. 
Communications should identify both docket numbers and be submitted in 
triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters wishing the FAA to 
acknowledge receipt of their comments on this notice must submit with 
those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the 
following statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2003-16342/
Airspace Docket No. 03-AAL-15.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped 
and returned to the commenter.
    All communications received on or before the specified closing date 
for comments will be considered before taking action on the proposed 
rule. The proposal contained in this notice may be changed in light of 
comments received. All comments submitted will be available for 
examination in the public docket both before and after the closing date 
for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with 
FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking will be filed in the 
docket.

Availability of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking's (NPRM's)

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded through the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. Recently published rulemaking documents 
can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at http://www.faa.gov 
or the Superintendent of Document's web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
    Additionally, any person may obtain a copy of this notice by 
submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of 
Air Traffic Airspace Management, ATA-400, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20591 or by calling (202) 267-8783. Communications must 
identify both docket numbers for this notice. Persons interested in 
being placed on a mailing list for future NPRM's should contact the 
FAA's Office of Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677, to request a copy of 
Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution 
System, which describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

    The FAA is considering an amendment to the Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR Part 71) to establish additional Class E airspace 
over Southeast Alaska. The intended effect of this proposal is to: (1) 
Provide adequate controlled airspace for commercial air carriers and 
others conducting Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations in Southeast 
Alaska, (2) Validate new operational procedures and equipment in the 
IFR environment, (3) Provide an enroute IFR structure for operations 
that can be flown safely at significantly lower altitudes than those 
permitted on airways based on land based NAVAIDS, and (4) Provide IFR 
access via Public and Special approach and departure procedures to 
airports not otherwise able to connect to the IFR infrastructure. The 
Flight Standards Division within the Alaskan Region will authorize the 
use of specific Special procedures for properly equipped aircraft where 
the flight crews have received the appropriate training.
    Satellite-based navigation and positioning is a core element of our 
National Airspace System (NAS) modernization plans, and is critical to 
achieving a seamless, efficient global aviation system. Over the period 
of the past few years, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has 
been working with commercial, military, and general aviation (GA) users 
to develop a global satellite-based navigation system independent of 
conventional ground based navigation aids. Alaska was selected to 
expand this program through a Research & Development demonstration 
program called Capstone.
    The selection of Alaska for the demonstration project was 
recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in their 
1995 ``Safety Study of Aviation Safety in Alaska.'' In part this study 
concludes:

    To the Federal Aviation Administration--
    Implement * * * a model program in the Arctic and southeast 
regions of Alaska to demonstrate a low altitude instrument flight 
rules (IFR) system that better fulfills the needs of Alaska's air 
transportation system. The model program should include the 
following components:
    (1) The use of the global positioning system (GPS) as a sole 
source of navigational information for en route navigation and for 
nonprecision instrument approaches at a representative number of 
airports where

[[Page 65226]]

instrument approaches do not currently exist * * * (2) The use of 
satellite-based voice communications and satellite-based, Mode S, or 
VHF data link (for aircraft position and altitude) between aircraft 
in flight and air traffic controllers * * * (4) The use of currently 
uncontrolled airspace for IFR departures, en route flight, and 
instrument approaches in the demonstration program region * * *

    From the time of its conception, the FAA Alaskan Region's Capstone 
Program has been an accelerated effort to improve aviation safety and 
efficiency. Capstone will further the program through installation of 
GPS based avionics and data link communications suites in most 
commercial aircraft serving Southeast Alaska. Up to 200 aircraft will 
be equipped. Compatible ground systems, equipment, and services will 
also be provided. The name ``Capstone'' is derived from the program's 
effect of drawing and holding together concepts and recommendations 
contained in reports from the Radio Telecommunications Conference of 
America (RTCA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the 
MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development 
(CAASD), and Alaskan aviation industry representatives. In addition to 
the avionics suites, Capstone will deploy a ground infrastructure for 
weather observation, data link communications, surveillance, and Flight 
Information Services (FIS) to improve safety and enable implementation 
of new procedures.
    Under the Capstone program, the FAA will develop Area Navigation 
(RNAV) GPS-based instrument approach and departure procedures to remote 
communities, including those serviced by seaplanes, such as Angoon. In 
addition, the FAA will develop an enroute IFR structure in Southeast 
Alaska that will be available to suitably equipped and trained IFR 
commercial and private operators. This enroute structure will provide 
GPS low altitude routes that access existing public and Special 
instrument approach and departure procedures at Ketchikan, Klawock, 
Wrangell, Petersburg, Kake, Sitka, and Juneau. The minimum enroute 
altitudes available on the segments of the Capstone enroute routes will 
be significantly lower than those available on the public Federal 
Airway system. In the future, additional IAPs will be considered for 
development for additional airports and waterlanes in Southeast Alaska.
    The purpose of this proposal is to create controlled airspace 
within Southeast Alaska that is sufficient to contain the new IFR 
enroute and terminal procedures being developed by the Capstone 
program. This controlled airspace is needed to provide air traffic 
control services for the new enroute and terminal public and special 
instrument procedures. If this action is adopted, it will enhance 
flight safety by reducing the potential for midair collisions, provide 
more accurate aircraft navigation, enable flight tracking for ATC and 
commercial operators, provide better communications, enable transfer of 
weather and flight information between pilots and ATC, enable 
surveillance and the use of radar separation standards for ATC IFR 
separation and tracking, and will improve access to airports in 
Southeast Alaska.
    The proposed new Class E airspace in areas that are currently Class 
G airspace will have an impact on pilot's flight visibility and cloud 
avoidance requirements when flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), 
during the day above 1,200 feet AGL. The flight visibility requirement 
for VFR operations in the new Class E airspace below 10,000 feet MSL 
will increase to three (3) statute miles. VFR weather minimums are 
shown in the following table extracted from 14 CFR 91.155 Basic VFR 
weather minimums:

                                           Basic VFR Weather Minimums
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                                                    Flight visibility                  Distance from clouds
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                                             Class G (Uncontrolled)
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1,200 feet or less AGL, day.............  1 statute mile.......................  Clear of Clouds.
1,200 feet or less AGL, night...........  3 statute miles......................  500 feet below, 1,000 feet
                                                                                  above, 2,000 feet horizontal.
1,200 feet or more and less than 10,000   1 statute miles......................  500 feet below, 1,000 feet
 feet MSL, day.                                                                   above, 2,000 feet horizontal.
1,200 feet or more and less than 10,000   3 statute miles......................  500 feet below, 1,000 feet
 feet MSL, night.                                                                 above, 2,000 feet horizontal.
More than 1,200 feet AGL and at or above  5 statute miles......................  1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet
 10,000 feet MSL.                                                                 above, 1 statute mile
                                                                                  horizontal.
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                                              Class E (Controlled)
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Less than 10,000 feet MSL...............  3 statute miles......................  500 feet below, 1,000 feet
                                                                                  above, 2,000 feet horizontal.
At or above 10,000 feet MSL.............  5 statute miles......................  1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet
                                                                                  above, 1 statute mile
                                                                                  horizontal.
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    The area would be depicted on aeronautical charts for pilot 
reference. The coordinates for this airspace docket are based on North 
American Datum 83. The Class E airspace areas designated as 700/1200 
foot transition areas are published in paragraph 6005 in FAA Order 
7400.9L, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated September 2, 
2003, and effective September 16, 2003, which is incorporated by 
reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designations listed in 
this document would be published subsequently in the Order.
    The FAA has determined that this proposed regulation only involves 
an established body of technical regulations for which frequent and 
routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current. 
It, therefore--(1) is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a ``significant rule'' under DOT 
Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 26, 1979); 
and (3) does not warrant preparation of a regulatory evaluation as the 
anticipated impact is so minimal. Since this is a routine matter that 
will only affect air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is 
certified that this rule, when promulgated, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the 
criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

[[Page 65227]]

The Proposed Amendment

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation 
Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:

PART 71--DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, CLASS B, CLASS C, CLASS D, AND 
CLASS E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIRWAYS; ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS

    1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 71 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 
FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.


Sec.  71.1  [Amended]

    2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9L, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 2, 2003, and effective September 16, 
2003, is to be amended as follows:
* * * * *

Paragraph 6006 En Route Domestic Airspace Areas.

* * * * *

AAL AK E6 Southeast, AK [New]

    That airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet AGL to the base 
of overlaying Class E airspace above 14,500 feet MSL, within an area 
beginning at lat. 58[deg]54'25.2'' N., long. 137[deg]31'55.3'' W. to 
lat. 58[deg]38'33.2'' N., long. 138[deg]12'21.25'' W., thence 
southeast along the offshore airspace 12 nautical miles west of and 
parallel to the shoreline to the point of intersection with the 
Alaska, United States/Canada Border, thence along the Alaska, United 
States/Canada Border to the point of beginning excluding that 
airspace designated for federal airways and excluding that airspace 
within the Ketchikan, AK Class E5, the Klawock, AK Class E5, the 
Wrangell, AK Class E5, the Petersburg, AK Class E5, the Kake, AK 
Class E5, the Sitka, AK Class E5, and the Juneau, AK Class E5 
airspace areas.
* * * * *

    Issued in Anchorage, AK, on October 27, 2003.
Trent S. Cummings,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Alaskan Region.
[FR Doc. 03-28824 Filed 11-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P