Even if the FAA does adopt a change in the rules regarding night flying, the agency would still have to survey all applicable airports — over 18,000 of them — and then determine revised sunset/sunrise times for each, Shumann said. “That won’t be soon.” A rule-making committee that reviewed all the comments on the NPRM last year recommended withdrawal of the proposed change. “The team understands the NTSB’s recommendation to create rulemaking that might preclude situations similar to the Aspen accident,” the committee said. However, “the team does not consider the proposed change to be an appropriate solution to a very complex and often site-specific problem.” The team recommended that instead, the FAA should explore alternate methods that might address local determination of hours of darkness and assign limiting conditions for approach procedures.
…But Change Would Take Time
Key Takeaways:
- The FAA's proposed rule change concerning night flying is unlikely to be implemented soon due to the extensive logistical effort required to survey over 18,000 airports.
- A rule-making committee recommended withdrawing the proposed change, concluding it was not an appropriate solution for a complex and often site-specific problem.
- Instead of the proposed change, the committee advised the FAA to explore alternative methods, such as local determination of darkness hours and assigning limiting conditions for approach procedures.
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