Safety review for Powder River complex continues
A joint civilian/military group supported by AOPA that works to ensure flight safety in a sprawling area of special-use airspace held its third annual meeting in Bismarck, North Dakota.
The Powder River Council met May 1 to discuss issues facing users of the Powder River Training Complex that includes airspace in portions of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
With all attending states’ aviation departments noting growth in regional aviation activity, the need to adopt safety precautions in the airspace, which is used for military training while other flight operations also take place, is growing, Lewis said.
“The Powder River Council was formed as a venue allowing stakeholder concerns to be voiced directly to the Air Force and the FAA,” he said.“Those discussions are being transformed into solutions, and while some problems must be resolved by the military and the FAA, pilots and operators using the area should be familiar with how to operate VFR safely in special-use airspace and military operations areas.”
Following a review of a 2018 AOPA survey of airspace users conducted by AOPA and the National Business Aviation Association, discussion turned to a variety of areas that can improve safety, such as enhancing the use of the notices to airmen system and adopting “dynamic scheduling” of military training operations in the complex.
It was noted that pilots should become familiar with air traffic control assigned airspace, which can be reserved on short notice for special operations and be prepared to flight plan accordingly.
Communications upgrades were recommended in areas ranging from radar, VHF radio, and the “lack of functionality” of the FAA’s special-use airspace website to improving the integration of the status of special-use airspace into third-party flight planning apps.
Some in attendance expressed interest in reviewing data on the amount of activity within the complex’s airspace to help determine further safety policies.
Lewis urged pilots to report any conflicts or operating constraints they encounter when flying in the area, and he noted that the flight-safety practices developed from the discussions may provide useful well beyond the borders of the Power River Training Complex.
“Military operations area and special-use airspace expansion is occurring across the country, and lessons learned from Powder River can be implemented elsewhere,” he said.
