Meeting Contributes To Further Reduction In TFR Size

Following a meeting between AOPA President Phil Boyer and high-ranking U.S. Navy officials that helped define concerns on both sides of the issue and correct some original mistakes, the FAA has reduced the size of two security-related temporary flight restrictions in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. EAA also had a major hand in making this revision a reality.

The change at Bangor (FDC NOTAM 4/2125) moves the southern boundary north and lessens the impact to and from Apex Airpark. At Port Townsend (FDC NOTAM 4/2126), the new boundary lessens the impact on pilots operating out of Jefferson County International Airport.

"Rear Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, the Navy's director of Air Warfare, made clear that the Navy considers all four areas in the Puget Sound highly sensitive and unique and will continue to demand TFRs over them," said Boyer. "At the same time we were able to lay out the impacts these TFRS have on civilian pilots."

AOPA has worked closely with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), as well as representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Jennifer Dunn (R-WA), to remove or at the very least minimize the impact of the security-related TFRs imposed in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Relying on information and advocacy efforts by local pilots, the association has also made the case at the highest levels of the Navy, including the chief of Naval Operations.

EAA government and industry relations staff worked with the local EAA members and Chapters, state aeronautics division, the U.S. Navy, and Homeland Security officials in pushing for the reduction. EAA's research and analysis department surveyed nearly 3,000 EAA members in Washington and northern Oregon in November 2003 and found that the TFRs were having significant negative impact on area pilots and businesses. Safety was a main concern, citing increased anxiety, traffic, frequent occurrence of adverse weather, and narrow flight corridors. Local airports and related businesses experienced diminished economic activity as a result of the TFRs, although a comprehensive economic impact study was not conducted.

Barbara Tolbert, EAA member and Executive Director of the Northwest EAA Regional Fly-In at Arlington, applauded the reductions. "Pilots will welcome this news," she said. "The height and size of the TFR essentially shut down one of the two corridors VFR pilots used in the Puget Sound area."

Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA) has taken an active role in the push to remove the TFRs. "Today's FAA announcement that the TFRs over Bangor and Port Townsend are shrinking takes us two steps forward and will improve pilots' accessibility and safety," he said Tuesday (March 16). "From the beginning, I encouraged the Navy to sit down with local pilots and address their legitimate concerns. I am pleased we are seeing results from those conversations, and I will continue to work with all the stakeholders on this important issue."

Tolbert said that during the 2002 Arlington fly-in she and EAA member pilot Bruce Angell had the opportunity to take Congressman Larsen up for firsthand look at what pilots had to deal with regarding the TFRs. Larsen, who serves on the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, was eventually able to arrange a dialogue between Rear Admiral Leendert R. Hering, Sr., Commander, Navy Region Northwest, and Washington pilots to discuss the TFRs. Last November, Larsen asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to "take a good, long look at these costly, outdated TFRs that are hurting our pilots and aviation businesses."

The Puget Sound TFRs are only four of 13 security-related TFRs spread across the country, but because of their close proximity to each other, they've had a disproportionate impact on general aviation in the Seattle/Puget Sound area.

FMI: www.aopa.org, www.eaa.org