Community Engagement - Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and Bob Hope Airport (BUR) are very close to each other, just 7 miles apart, and they both play important roles in the U.S National Airspace System (NAS). Because of nearby hills, buildings, radio towers, and busy airspace, planes landing at BUR’s Runway 8 from the west fly over planes using the VNY VFR traffic pattern. While the distance between these planes meets FAA aircraft separation safety rules, planes heading to BUR might still get alerts from their collision avoidance system (TCAS) if a VNY plane comes too close.
TCAS alerts alert pilots about potential collision risks and suggest actions to avoid them, like stopping a landing and quickly climbing. These actions, called missed approaches or go-arounds, are normal and safe, allowing planes to attempt landing again. However, they increase the workload for pilots and air traffic controllers, and can lead to delays, more fuel use, and extra noise and pollution.
BUR experiences a high number of TCAS alerts, with a rate far exceeding the NAS average. Reducing these alerts during landing is important to enhance safety and efficiency, while also considering environmental effects. To cut down on TCAS alerts for BUR flights, the FAA plans to run two evaluation periods where planes flying in the east VNY airspace will fly 100 feet lower than usual for 90 days, then 200 feet lower for the next 90 days, for a total of 180 days. Aircraft will fly at the pattern at 900-foot above-ground-level (AGL) (about 1,700 feet mean sea level (MSL) altitude) for a period of 90 days, then 200 feet lower (1,600 feet MSL). The FAA performed a safety review of this planned evaluation and did not identify additional safety hazards.
The FAA intends to start these tests in July and will share updates online. After the tests are done, they will examine the test data to decide the best approach moving forward, making safety the top priority.