Airport Operations

Airport Planning & Management

6th Edition
Alex T. Wells, Ed.D.
Seth B. Young, Ph.D.
2011
Chapter 6: Airport Operations and
Management under FAR 139
Chapter 7: Airport Operations
and Management under FAR
139- Outline
 Introduction – FAR Part 139
 Pavement Management
 Aircraft rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF)
 Snow and ice control
 Bird and wildlife hazard management
 Safety inspection programs
 SMS – Safety Management Systems for airports
Introduction
 Federal Aviation Administration’s Regulations
FAR Part 139 – Certification and Operations,
Land Airports Serving Certain Air Carriers
 Defines policies, activities, standards for
airfield operations management required for
compliance
 Serving scheduled or unscheduled passenger
air carrier operations conducted with A/C with
30 or more seats
 Introduction contd.
 Air carrier operation is - T/O or landing of an A/C
operating under FAR Part 121 – Operating
Requirements: Domestic, Flag, and Supplemental
Operations
 15 minutes before and after operation, A/P must be in
compliance
 Scheduled air carrier – then A/P in full compliance
 Unscheduled carrier – then A/P in partial compliance
 700 A/Ps in US certificated in full or partial compliance
 A/Ps with federal funding must operate and be maintained
in a safe and serviceable condition to minimum standards of
 federal, state and local agencies, & their community regulations
 Introduction contd.
 FAR 139 – designed to be broad and generic,
applicable to any civil-use airport
 Airport Certification Manual (ACM) – contains
list of operational procedures for compliance
 Airport Certification Specifications (ACS) series
– describes procedures
 Listing of areas of airfield operations with
particular compliance standards, including
 Airfield pavement management, aircraft rescue and fire-
fighting (ARFF), snow and ice control, safety inspections,
airport emergency plans, wildlife hazard management
 Pavement Management
 FAR Part 139.305 covers minimum quality
standards for airfield pavements
 Edges not exceed 3 inches – abutting sections, shoulders
 No holes – 3 inches, 45 degrees, unless covered by 5 inch
diameter circle
 Free of cracks, surface variations which could impair
directional control of air carrier A/C
 Mud, dirt, sand, loose aggregate, debris, foreign objects,
rubber deposits, other contaminants – removed promptly,
completely – except snow & ice operations
 Chemical solvents removed – except snow & ice ops
 Drained, no ponding that obscures markings, impairs safe
operations
 Pavement Management contd.
 Flexible (asphalt)
 Lasts 15-20 years, less expensive to install, sub-grade
requires good preparation and maintenance, moisture
leads to potholes, pavement failure – cracks, leaks
 Rigid (concrete)
 20-40 years, at large commercial service and military
A/Ps, concrete slabs with joints to allow for contraction
and expansion from A/C and weather, resists moisture,
fuel and oil spills
 Spalling – cracks in joints, subgrade washes away,
incompressible material causes slabs to pop out,
misalign, open
Pavement Management -
hazards
 Potential pavement failures
 Ponding of water on or near pavement
 Build-up of soil, turf, preventing water run-off
 Clogged or overgrown ditches
 Erosion of soil at edges
 Open or silted-in joints
 Surface cracking or crumbling
 Undulating or bumpy surfaces
 Hazards - alligatoring of asphalt, pavement rutting,
cracking, raveling, potholes
 Pavement Management - fixes
 Periodic on-the-ground inspections for
 Moderate maintenance, rehabilitation or reconstruction
 FAA defines
 pavement maintenance
 e.g. sealing of small surface cracks
 Pavement rehabilitation
 AIP funding from FAA
 maintenance and rehabilitation reduces overall costs 4 fold
 e.g. additional layer of asphalt to strengthen runway
 Pavement reconstruction
 Pavement condition index, life cycle cost analysis
 First 75% of life is stable, how to predict that point
 Pavement Management - fixes
 Accurate and complete evaluation of pavement
 Nondestructive testing (NDT)
 Vibratory or dynamic testing
 Deflects under known vibratory load
 Destructive tests
 Cores, borings, test pits, selected on visual or random basis
– uneconomical
 Now use 2-stage – rapid NDT, select DT
 Products, methods change, climate, environment vary
across A/Ps
 Daily inspections by A/P personnel, periodic by civil
engineers
 Runway surface friction
 Lack of sufficient surface friction results in A/C
skidding, slipping, loss of control
 Threats to surface include
 Normal wear, moisture, contaminants, abnormalities
 Wet Wx – dynamic or viscous hydroplaning
 Runway grooving - .25 inch grooves, 1.25 inches apart
 Requires removal of debris, rubber deposits by high pressure
water, chemical solvents, high-velocity impact methods
 Water pressure – temperatures greater than 40 degrees F
 Chemical solvents – acid on concrete, alkaline on asphalt
 Abrasive particles blasted from high-speed fanlike wheel
 Aircraft rescue and fire-
fighting (ARFF)
 FAR Par 139.315 - ARFF Index of A/P
 Length of air carrier A/C (nose to tail), average number of
daily departures
 Longest A/C with average of 5 departures per day
 Index A: < 90 feet
 Index B: 90+ – 126 feet
 Index C: 126+ – 159 feet
 Index D: 159+ - 200 feet
 Index E: >200 feet
 FAR Part 139.317 ARFF uses water, dry
chemicals, aqueous film-forming foam for A/C
and airfield fires
Aircraft rescue and fire-
fighting (ARFF) contd.
 Response time – 3 minutes for first vehicle, 4
minutes for all others, midpoint of runway furthest
from vehicle’s assigned post
 RIV’s within 2 minutes
 Carry foam, water, medical, rescue equipment, lights
 Heavy duty vehicles for rough terrain, carry 10x more foam
 Foam – concentrate and water
 Smothers flames
 Cools surrounding areas
 Need ‘blanket’, can be broken

 Water – coolant
 Dry powder – wheels, tires, electric
Figure 7-1: Typical ARFF Vehicles
 Figure 7-2: Heavy-duty foam tender
(courtesy Oshkosh Truck Corporation)
ARFF contd. - Training
 Initial and maintaining readiness training
 One live fire drill every 12 months
 Real-time accident drill with entire community every 3 years
 FAR Part 139 suggests curriculum
 Familiarization with A/P, A/C, personnel safety, communications
and alarms, types of extinguishing agents, evacuation
assistance, fire fighting ops, adapting and using equipment,
cargo hazards, firefighters’ duties under A/P emergency plan
 One ARFF person on duty with training in emergency medical
care
 Bleeding, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, shock, primary patient
survey, injuries to skull, spine, chest, extremities, internal
injuries, moving patients, burn, triage
Snow and ice removal
 Budget
 FAR Part 139.313
 Where snow and icing conditions regularly occur, must
prepare, maintain and carry out a snow and ice control
plan, including:
 Prompt removal from pavement area
 All air carrier equipment must clear any snowdrift and
snowbank in movement area
 Selection and application of approved materials, minimize
engine ingestion
 Timely commencement of snow and ice control ops
 Prompt notification of all carriers using the A/P when and
pavement area is less than satisfactorily cleared for safe
ops of their A/C
Snow and ice control plan
 Statement of purpose
 List of personnel and organizations
 Often hire outside help on emergency basis
 Standards and procedures to be followed
 e.g. Snow Removal Handbook (ATA)
 FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-30A, updated 2009
 Training
 Classroom – A/P orientation, std.s and procedures, equipment
types, A/C capabilities and limits, hazards and problem areas at
A/P, communications, safety procedures
 On-site – review of ops areas, hazards, test run of equipment,
communications
 Other – ATC communications, safety, inspection stds., NOTAMs
 Snow and ice control - Timing
 Maintain safety and avoid unnecessary repetition
 Wx forecasts
 Gear towards most critical A/C using the A/P
 Large jets - .5 inch heavy wet snow, slush, 1 inch
medium moisture
 Ops begin before conditions occur and continue until
event ends, A/C ops are safe
 First active runway, then other runways and taxiways
 Simultaneously, ramps, A/C loading positions, service
areas, public facilities – for overall A/P ops
 Snow and ice control –
Equipment and procedures

 Mechanical and Chemical methods for

pavements
 Chemicals – expensive, less effective
 Pavements can use
 Urea for 15 degrees F – solid granules
 Acetate-based compounds for -50 degrees F
 Underground hot water
 Electrical heating systems
Snow and ice control –
Equipment and procedures
 Mechanical methods include
 Plows, blowers/throwers, brushes
 Plows – rubber or steel blades
 Blower / thrower
 removes accumulations e.g. windrows, snow banks
 for taxiways, ramps, parking
 Brushes – nylon or steel bristles
 for removal of snow residue
 instead of sand which can be ingested by turbines and erode
propellers
 year-round Foreign Object Debris (FOD) removal
Figure 7-3: Airfield snow removal equipment
Snow and ice control –
Equipment and procedures
 Snow can accumulate to 1 inch before
contractors called
 Trucked to snow dump in outlying area of A/P
 4 -5 vehicles in echelon formation
 Plows – 35 mph, then blowers, then brushes
Figure 7-4 : Snowplows move the snow to the pavement edges where
snow blowers disperse the windrowed snow
(Photo courtesy FAA)
 Ice accumulation
 Ice is most difficult, most hazardous to A/C ops
 Sand
 Must be secured to ice to avoid removal by engine blast
 Weed-burning equipment – apply sand by hydraulically
powered truck spreaders, then flame-thrower heat units
create sandpaper like surface upon refreezing
 0.25 or more thickness of ice
 Provides surface friction, dissipates some ice
 Chemicals
 Polypropylene and ethylene glycol – liquid compounds
 Lower freezing point of precipitation
 Too expensive for pavements, usually A/C deicing
Aircraft deicing
 Ice on wings or fuselage affects performance in flight, so
must be removed before flight
 Spray a heated aqueous solution onto A/C
 Heat and force melt and remove ice, chemicals act as
antifreeze to prevent ice before take-off
 Type I fluid – thinner viscosity, heated to 180 degrees F, protects
from snow 15 minutes, freezing rain 3-5 minutes
 Type II fluid – thicker, also glycol and water, and polymer as
thickening agent, not heated, protects from heavy snow, but must
adhere to clean A/C surface, 45 minutes
 Application varies - 5-10 minutes
 Deicing vehicles travel to A/C or Fixed stations before take-off
 Expensive
 Environmental impact of runoff into ground and water must be
limited and controlled
The traditional deicing
facilities were taking as
long as an hour to an hour
and a half and spraying
between 3,000 and 5,000
gallons of glycol, at a cost
of about $10 per gallon, to
deice a single 747,
according to anecdotal
reports from airline
managers during debriefing
meetings. The Radiant
system, on the other hand,
continued to work
efficiently. “Our average JFK’s infrared deicing system can
aircraft “block” time (aircraft handle aircraft up to the B-747 classics.
brakes on to brakes off)
was less than 28 minutes.  Wings Magazine – Canada’s Aviation
Even the B-777 and A-340 Resource Center
sized aircraft had an
average block time of less
than 43 minutes,” says Ian
Sharkey, director, deicing
services, with Radiant
 Bird and wildlife hazard
management
 1990-2001 – 5x more wildlife strikes reported
 5,600 A/C reports, $400million/year in A/C damage,
500,000 hours A/C downtime
 FAR Part 139.337 – mandates study and
management wildlife program if events occurred
 Air carrier A/C experiences multiple bird strike or
engine ingestion
 Damaging collision with wildlife other than birds
 Wildlife in size or numbers capable of causing above,
or with access to flight pattern or movement areas of
A/P
 Number of reported wildlife strikes to civil aircraft
(1990 - 2001)

6000

5000

4000
Total Strikes

3000

2000

1000

0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Year

Figure 7-3: Reported Wildlife Strikes to civil aircraft (1990 - 2001)

(source FAA)
Bird hazards
 A/P operators must show instructions and
procedures for prevention or removal of
factors that attract or might attract bird activity
 Ornithologists called in to
 identify species, estimate numbers, habitat, diet,
migrating characteristics, tendency to fly in flocks,
flight patterns
Bird hazards - Control
techniques vary
 Eliminate food sources
 Eliminate habitat
 Physical annoyance e.g. noise
 Chemicals to disperse flocks or kill birds, insecticides –
must have EPA-licensed personnel to apply
 Firearms, pyrotechnics
 Trained birds of prey, border collies
 Fencing
 Inspections
 Scientific evaluation of effectiveness of techniques
 Training and management of teams
Figure 7-6: Border Collies have been specifically trained to chase birds
from aircraft flight paths
(photo courtesy Lee County, Florida Port Authority)
Safety Inspection Program
 Federal Aviation Act 1958, FAR 139 – Safety
 Inspections – vary by A/P
 Can be hourly, daily e.g. runways, taxiways,
navigational aids
 FAA’s Airport Certification Program
Handbook – 7 general categories
 Wx, obstacles, public safety, damaged facilities,
during construction, birds, inadequate
maintenance personnel or equipment
Safety Inspection Program
 FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-18B –
Airport Safety Self Inspection
 Checklists for A/P operators
 Ramp/apron – aircraft parking areas
 Taxiways
 Runways
 Fueling facilities
 Buildings and hangars
SMS – Safety Management
Systems for airports
 2005 ICAO, 2010 FAA – SMS
 “formal, top-down business-like approach to
managing safety risk, including systematic
procedures, practices, and policies for the
management of safety” FAA 14 CFR Part 139
1. Safety policy
2. Safety promotion
3. Safety risk management
4. Safety assurance
Safety Risk Management
 System description
 Hazard identification
 Risk determination
 Risk assessment
 High, medium, low risk
 Risk mitigation
 Safety assurance