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In United States aviation, a special flight rules area (SFRA) is a region in which the normal regulations of flight do not apply in whole or in part, especially regulations concerning airspace classification, altitude, course, and speed restrictions, and the like.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the airspace around Washington DC underwent a number of changes designed to restrict flying around the city. In 2003, a temporary flight rules area was created and was named the Washington DC Air Defense Identification Zone. In 2008 the temporary status of the ADIZ was removed and the rule was made permanent. [1]
In order to fly within the DC SFRA, pilots of general aviation aircraft are required to file a special flight rules flight plan, obtain a discrete transponder code, and remain in contact with air traffic control at all times. [2] Special training is required in order to fly within 60 nm of the Washington DC (KDCA) VOR. [3]
Long established in the Los Angeles basin is the Los Angeles SFRA. Los Angeles International Airport is surrounded by extensive Class B airspace, which is difficult for VFR traffic to navigate. In particular, the airport has four large runways running east/west that have airspace protection from 10,000 feet (3050 metres) down to the surface that is 25 statute miles wide (40 kilometres). This large swath of Class B airspace bisects Los Angeles and makes flights between the airports north of LAX and south of LAX require air traffic control to route these flights. To alleviate this load on ATC, the SFRA over LAX defines two exceptions to the Class B airspace to allow VFR aircraft to transit without control from ATC.
There are two routes, one for southeast-bound traffic and one for northwest-bound traffic. Both follow the 132° radial of the Santa Monica VOR between the Santa Monica Airport and the intersection of Interstate 405 and Imperial Highway. Southeast-bound traffic flies at 3,500 feet (1050 metres). Northwest-bound traffic flies at 4,500 feet (1350 metres). Despite being in the Class B airspace, aircraft following the rules of this corridor need not communicate with ATC.
The rules are fairly simple: Turn on all practical lights, day or night. Squawk 1201. Do not exceed 140 knots IAS. Monitor and self-report on 128.55 MHz. Have a copy of the Los Angeles TAC in the aircraft. No jets. [4] [5]
On November 19, 2009, the FAA effected an SFRA in the New York City Class B airspace, motivated largely by the mid-air collision of a private general aviation aircraft and a sightseeing helicopter ride along the Hudson River VFR corridor in the summer of 2009. [6] [7]
The Hudson River Class B exclusion area is formed from the airspace above the Hudson River between the Alpine Tower and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. It is bounded by the banks of the Hudson River and runs from the surface of the river up to 1,300 feet (320 metres). Aircraft fly along the right-hand bank to separate northbound and southbound traffic. Aircraft transiting the entire corridor fly between 1,000' (350 metres) and 1,300' (400 metres). Aircraft performing local operations (mostly landing and taking off) inside the area fly under 1,000' (350 metres). Aircraft need not communicate with ATC, but they must make certain mandatory self-reports at certain charted points.
In addition, there is a further Class B exclusion area over the East River between the Hudson River and just past the Queensboro Bridge. This length cannot be transited, as the Queensboro end of the corridor ends inside the Class B airspace. Additionally, aircraft not landing or taking off inside the East River exclusion must be in contact with ATC.
Other examples of SFRAs include:
In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR).
In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minima, i.e., in visual meteorological conditions (VMC), as specified in the rules of the relevant aviation authority. The pilot must be able to operate the aircraft with visual reference to the ground, and by visually avoiding obstructions and other aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. A wide variety of activities are regulated, such as aircraft design and maintenance, typical airline flights, pilot training activities, hot-air ballooning, lighter-than-air aircraft, man-made structure heights, obstruction lighting and marking, model rocket launches, commercial space operations, model aircraft operations, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and kite flying. The rules are designed to promote safe aviation, protecting pilots, flight attendants, passengers and the general public from unnecessary risk.
Controlled airspace is airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control (ATC) services are provided. The level of control varies with different classes of airspace. Controlled airspace usually imposes higher weather minimums than are applicable in uncontrolled airspace. It is the opposite of uncontrolled airspace.
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is the expanse or space outside the Earth and aerospace which is the general term for Earth's atmosphere and the outer space within the planet's vicinity. History:
In aviation, visual meteorological conditions (VMC) is an aviation flight category in which visual flight rules (VFR) flight is permitted—that is, conditions in which pilots have sufficient visibility to fly the aircraft maintaining visual separation from terrain and other aircraft. They are the opposite of instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The boundary criteria between IMC and VMC are known as the VMC minima and are defined by: visibility, cloud ceilings, and cloud clearances.
An air defense identification zone (ADIZ) has existed since February 10, 2003, around the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area to restrict air traffic near Washington, D.C.
The world's navigable airspace is divided into three-dimensional segments, each of which is assigned to a specific class. Most nations adhere to the classification specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and described below, though they might use only some of the classes defined below, and significantly alter the exact rules and requirements. Similarly, individual nations may also designate special use airspace (SUA) with further rules for reasons of national security or safety.
Canadian airspace is the region of airspace above the surface of the Earth within which Canada has jurisdiction. It falls within a region roughly defined as either the Canadian land mass, the Canadian Arctic or the Canadian archipelago, and areas of the high seas. Airspace is managed by Transport Canada and detailed information regarding exact dimensions and classification is available in the Designated Airspace Handbook which is published every fifty-six days by Nav Canada.
Special visual flight rules are a set of aviation regulations under which a pilot may operate an aircraft. It is a special case of operating under visual flight rules (VFR).
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 was a regularly scheduled Allegheny Airlines flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to St. Louis, Missouri, with stops in Baltimore, Maryland, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana. On September 9, 1969, the aircraft serving the flight, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, collided in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 light aircraft near Fairland, Indiana. The DC-9 was carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew members, and the Piper was leased to a student pilot on a solo cross-country flight. All 83 occupants of both aircraft were killed in the accident and both aircraft were destroyed.
In aviation, a non-towered airport is an airport without a control tower, or air traffic control (ATC) unit. The vast majority of the world's airports are non-towered. In the United States, there are close to 20,000 non-towered airports compared to approximately 500 airports with control towers. Airports with a control tower without 24/7 ATC service follow non-towered airport procedures when the tower is closed but the airport remains open, for example at night.
Special use airspace (SUA) is a type of special airspaces in the United States designated for operations of a nature such that limitations may be imposed on aircraft not participating in those operations. Often these operations are of a military nature. The designation of SUAs identifies for other users the areas where such activity occurs, provides for segregation of that activity from other users, and allows charting to keep airspace users informed of potential hazards.
The East River Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), formally known as the East River class-B exclusion, is a section of airspace above the East River in New York City in which flight is permitted under visual flight rules (VFR). Formerly, this could be done without being in contact with air traffic control. Pilots operating within the SFRA are expected to self-announce on a designated frequency of 123.075 MHz, and to maintain appropriate separation visually.
Hughes Airwest Flight 706 was a regularly scheduled flight operated by American domestic airline Hughes Airwest from Los Angeles, California to Seattle, Washington, with several intermediate stops. On Sunday, June 6, 1971, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 serving as Flight 706 departed Los Angeles just after 6 p.m. en route to Seattle as a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II of the United States Marine Corps was approaching Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine at the end of a flight from Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The two aircraft collided in midair over the San Gabriel Mountains near Duarte, killing all 49 aboard the DC-9 and the F-4 pilot; the F-4 radar intercept officer ejected and survived.
The United States airspace system's classification scheme is intended to maximize pilot flexibility within acceptable levels of risk appropriate to the type of operation and traffic density within that class of airspace – in particular to provide separation and active control in areas of dense or high-speed flight operations.
The Air Defense Identification Zone of North America is an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) that covers the airspace surrounding the United States and Canada – in which the ready identification, location, and control of civil aircraft over land or water is required in the interest of national security. This ADIZ is jointly administered by the civilian air traffic control authorities and the militaries of both nations, under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) handles the requests of international aircraft and Transport Canada handles Canadian requests. Any aircraft flying in these zones without authorization may be identified as a threat and treated as an enemy aircraft, potentially leading to interception by fighter aircraft.
On August 8, 2009, at 11:53 a.m. (15:53 UTC), nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The aircraft were in an area known as the "Hudson River VFR Corridor", which extends from the surface of the river to altitudes of 800 to 1,500 ft at various locations along the Hudson River in the immediate area of New York City. Within this corridor, aircraft operate under visual flight rules (VFR), under which the responsibility to see and avoid other air traffic rests with the individual pilots rather than with the air traffic controller.
A contact approach is an approach available to aircraft operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, where the pilot may deviate from the published instrument approach procedure (IAP) and proceed to the destination airport by visual reference to the surface. It is similar to a visual approach, except that the pilot is not required to have the destination airport nor the preceding aircraft in sight at all times during the approach, and the visibility requirements are less stringent.
The New York metropolitan area has the busiest airport system in the United States and the second busiest in the world after London. It is also the most frequently used port of entry and departure for international flights. In 2011, more than 104 million passengers used the airports under the auspices of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). The number increased to 117 million in 2014.