FAA to retain needed instrument approaches

FAA to retain needed instrument approaches

By AOPA ePublishing staff

Thanks to comments from AOPA members, the FAA will hold off decommissioning certain needed instrument approaches.

To cut costs and prepare for a future of satellite-based navigation, the FAA had originally proposed to remove 254 approaches. AOPA then conducted a detailed analysis and asked for member feedback, which resulted in the identification of 83 critical approaches. The FAA received some 371 comments and decided to keep all but four of the 83 approaches.

"The FAA certainly listened," said Randy Kenagy, senior director of strategic planning. "One of the four approaches they aren't keeping has a decommissioned NDB. The other three are at airports with multiple approaches to the same runway via GPS or ground-based systems."

The FAA will still decommission a total of 175 approaches. AOPA did not receive any comments from members about keeping them.

The four approaches scheduled for cancellation on AOPA's original wish list, submitted on behalf of members, are: VOR/DME Runway 31 at Castle Airport in Atwater, Calif.; VOR/DME Runway 34 at Hays Regional, Hays, Kan.; NDB-A at Cuba Municipal, Cuba, Mo.; and the VOR/DME Runway 8 at Searle Field, Ogallala, Neb.

October 31, 2007