A Guidebook for Airport Winter Operations (2015)

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10 C H A P T E R 3 FAA Requirements and Guidance Related to Winter Operations The sponsors of public-use U.S. airports that accept FAA-administered airport develop- ment assistance also assume federal obligations mandated by federal statute and incorporated in the grant agreements and property conveyance instruments entered into by the sponsor and the U.S. government. These obligations include maintaining and operating airport facili- ties safely and efficiently and in accordance with specified conditions (5, p. 1–5). Except for certificated airports subject to the additional requirements of Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 139, “Certification of Airports,” the federal obligations to maintain the airport safely and efficiently do not impose specific responsibility to remove snow or slush or to address icy pavements. However, these airport sponsors are responsible for providing a safe, usable facility, which may require closing all or parts of an airport until unsafe conditions, including accumulated snow and slush, are remedied within a reasonable amount of time (5, p. 7–8). Certificated airports located where snow and icing conditions occur, and thus subject to Section 139.313, “Snow and Ice Control,” must also prepare, maintain, and carry out an SICP in a manner authorized by the FAA Administrator. Section 139.313(c) directs these airport operators to certain ACs that contain methods and procedures for snow and ice control equip- ment, materials, and removal that are acceptable to the FAA Administrator. There are addi- tional ACs that also offer guidance directly applicable, or applicable in part, to airport winter operations. During the airport site visits conducted as part of the research for this guidebook, airport staff requested that the guidebook identify and summarize ACs applicable to winter operations. To accommodate this request, the following sections provide a particular AC description, including a summary of its purpose extracted from the referenced document. For certain ACs, additional information is provided to illustrate their relevance to winter operations. Guidebook users are encouraged to monitor FAA’s web site to identify when draft, new, and revised ACs are available. FAA’s index of Series 150 ACs for Airport Projects is accessible at: http://www.faa.gov/airports/ resources/advisory_circulars. 3.1 ACs Presenting Methods and Procedures for Snow and Ice Control Equipment, Materials, and Removal 3.1.1 AC 150/5200-30C, Airport Winter Safety and Operations This AC provides guidance to assist airport operators in developing an SICP, conducting and reporting runway friction surveys, and establishing snow removal and control procedures.

FAA Requirements and Guidance Related to Winter Operations 11 3.1.2 AC 150/5220-18A, Buildings for Storage and Maintenance of Airport Snow and Ice Control Equipment and Materials This AC provides guidance for the site selection and design of buildings used to store and maintain airport snow and ice control equipment, store approved materials, and provide per- sonnel required to support the requirements under the airport operator’s winter storm management plan. 3.1.3 AC 150/5220-20, Airport Snow and Ice Control Equipment This AC provides guidance to assist airport operators in the procurement of snow and ice control equipment for airport use. Change 1 provides guidance to airport operators involved in the procurement of snowsweepers to control ice and snow at airports during inclement weather. 3.2 Other Winter Operations-Related ACs 3.2.1 AC 91-6A, Water, Slush, and Snow on the Runway This AC is issued to provide information, guidelines, and recommendations concerning the operation of turbojet aircraft when water, slush, and snow are on the runway. 3.2.2 AC 120-57A, Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (SMGCS) This AC describes the standards and provides guidance in the development of a Surface Move- ment Guidance and Control System plan for U.S. airports where scheduled air carriers are autho- rized to conduct operations when the visibility is less than 1,200 feet runway visual range. An SMGCS plan facilitates the safe movement of aircraft and vehicles on the airport by establishing more rigorous control procedures and requiring enhanced visual aids. 3.2.3 AC 150/5200-18C, Airport Safety Self-Inspection This AC provides information to airport operators on airport self-inspection programs and identifies items that airport operators should include in such a program. Section 10 discusses regularly scheduled snow and ice inspections that are required to evaluate an airport’s imple- mentation of their FAA-approved SICP. Additionally, Section 13 discusses special condition snow and ice inspections that may be needed during winter storms until the airport is back to normal operation. 3.2.4 AC 150/5200-28D, Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS) for Airport Operators This AC provides guidance on using the NOTAM system for airport condition reporting. Paragraph 15 discusses multiple NOTAM messages that have special reporting considerations under certain conditions. These conditions include friction measurement, braking action, winter conditions, depth of snow, plowed runways, runway sanding or deicing, snowbanks, and con- tinuous snow removal operations on multiple runways. Source: Gresham, Smith and Partners

12 A Guidebook for Airport Winter Operations 3.2.5 AC 150/5210-20, Ground Vehicle Operations on Airports This AC and its attached appendices provide guidance to airport operators in developing training programs for safe ground vehicle operations and pedestrian control on the airside of an airport. This includes both movement and non-movement areas, ramps, and aprons. Not all the items addressed in this document will be applicable at every airport. The FAA recom- mends that each item be evaluated in terms of how it may apply to the size, complexity, and scope of operation of the air- port. This AC contains recommended operating procedures, a sample training curriculum, and a sample training manual. Section 11(c) of AC 150/5210-20 (Change 1) discusses snow and ice removal as it relates to vehicles and operators required to remove snow and ice. A vehicle operator’s situational aware- ness may diminish as a result of snow conditions at airports. Generally, poor weather conditions can be attributed to snow, fog, and rain, and these conditions create additional risks when operating vehicles at airports. 3.2.6 AC 150/5210-25, Performance Specification for Airport Vehicle Runway Incursion Warning Systems (RIWS) This AC provides a performance specification for airport vehicle RIWS equipment. It dis- cusses two types of detection systems: a preconfigured, commercial off-the-shelf system and a system with custom hardware and software. Runway incursions could happen more frequently due to winter weather conditions that may potentially increase loss of situational awareness and add to poor visibility. 3.2.7 AC 150/5220-16D, Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS) for Non-Federal Applications This AC contains the FAA’s standard for the non-federal AWOS. It applies to anyone proposing to design, procure, construct, install, activate, or maintain an AWOS. Section 3.17 discusses run- way surface condition sensors, which should be capable of detecting three runway conditions: dry runway, wet runway, and possible freezing conditions. There are performance testing criteria that the sensor must meet during an entire winter season. 3.2.8 AC 150/5220-22B, Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS) for Aircraft Overruns This AC contains standards for the planning, design, installation, and maintenance of EMAS in runway safety areas. Engineered materials are high energy absorbing materials of selected strength, which will reliably and predictably deform under the weight of an aircraft. Section 9 of AC 150/5220-22B discusses EMAS design requirements including construction that accommodates navigational aids within the EMAS boundary. Any snow or ice accumula- tion on the navigational aids (prior to removal) cannot interfere with the functionality of any navigational aids within the EMAS. Furthermore, “the EMAS design must consider ice accumu- lation and, in areas that are subject to snow or ice removal requirements, must be designed to be mechanically or manually cleared of ice and snow.” Section 10 discusses material qualifica- tion that indicates all materials comprising the EMAS must be resistant to deterioration due Source: M-B Companies, Inc.

FAA Requirements and Guidance Related to Winter Operations 13 to blowing sand and snow. Additionally, Appendix 3 discusses SRE that is compatible with the EMAS base. 3.2.9 AC 150/5220-26, Airport Ground Vehicle Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Out Squitter Equipment This AC provides guidance on the development, installation, testing, approval, and mainte- nance of ADS-B out squitter units for airport ground vehicles. Using this AC, airports will be able to acquire approved and authorized airport ground vehicle ADS-B squitter units that are compliant with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 91, ADS–B Out Performance Requirements to Support Air Traffic Control (ATC) Service, as well as the initial set of ADS-B applications. Please note that the technical specifications for manufacturing ADS-B squitter units for airport ground vehicles are published in the FAA’s document, Vehicle ADS-B Specifica- tion, Version 2.4, published May 01, 2012. Ground vehicles used for airport winter operations that will be outfitted with ADS-B out squitter equipment are subject to this AC. 3.2.10 AC 150/5300-14C, Design of Aircraft Deicing Facilities This AC provides standards, specifications, and guidance for designing aircraft deicing facilities. It discusses the subjects of sizing, siting, environmental runoff mitigation, and airfield operational requirements to maximize deicing capacity while maintaining safety and efficiency. It also provides design rec- ommendations and emphasizes that centralized aircraft deicing facilities have unique deicing/anti-icing operational issues asso- ciated with deicing/anti-icing aircraft that must be addressed. 3.2.11 AC 150/5320-12C, Measurement, Construction, and Maintenance of Skid-Resistant Airport Pavement Surfaces This AC contains guidelines and procedures for the design and construction of skid-resistant pavement, pavement evalu- ation with friction measuring equipment, and maintenance of high skid-resistant pavements. 3.2.12 AC 150/5320-15A, Management of Airport Industrial Waste This AC provides basic information on the characteristics, management, and regulations of industrial wastes generated at airports and guidance for the development of a Stormwater Pol- lution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) that applies best management practices (BMPs) to eliminate, prevent, or reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff associated with particular airport industrial activities. A major problem facing airport operators is the pollutant loading from deicing/anti- icing runoff to receiving waters and wastewater treatment plants to ensure compliance with applicable permits and regulations. 3.2.13 AC 150/5340-26B, Maintenance of Airport Visual Aid Facilities This AC provides recommended guidelines for maintenance of airport visual aid facilities. It addresses using in-pavement taxiway edge lights more frequently in areas of high traffic or Source: Gresham, Smith and Partners

14 A Guidebook for Airport Winter Operations frequent damage resulting from SRE. It also describes prac- tices to lessen the damage to light fixtures by SRE removing snow around the lighting fixtures so that the fixtures are not obscured. 3.2.14 AC 150/5370-17, Airside Use of Heated Pavement Systems This AC establishes minimum performance requirements for the design, construction, inspection, and maintenance of heated pavement systems for use in the aircraft operations area. The AC includes principles of operation and applica- tions; design process, including heat requirements, formulas, and sample calculations; prospective locations and character- istics; design considerations for electric and hydronic systems, including system controls; system performance requirements and specification template; system construction requirements and specification template; and inspection and maintenance requirements. Heated pavement systems offer an alternative strategy for effectively mitigating the effects of winter contaminants by melting snow and preventing bonding to the pavement surface. Source: Fortbrand Services, Inc.