Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Procedures at class C airport when tower and approach are unavailable

Asked by: 4746 views Airspace, FAA Regulations, Private Pilot

I saw these NOTAMs for my local class C airport (KLEX) and would appreciate some guidance:

SERVICE AIRPORT CONTROL TOWER CLOSED CLASS D SERVICE NOT AVAILABLE CONTACT INDIANAPOLIS ARTCC AT 126.37. 22 OCT 01:00 2016 UNTIL 23 OCT 09:00 2016. CREATED: 20 OCT 17:52 2016

SERVICE LEXINGTON APPROACH CONTROL CLOSED CLASS C SERVICE NOT AVAILABLE CONTACT INDIANAPOLIS ARTCC AT 126.37. 22 OCT 01:00 2016 UNTIL 23 OCT 09:00 2016. CREATED: 20 OCT 18:10 2016

NAVIGATION ILS RUNWAY 22 LOC/GP NOT MONITOR, MONITORING, OR MONITORED. 23 OCT 01:00 2016 UNTIL 23 OCT 09:00 2016. CREATED: 20 OCT 17:27 2016

SERVICE ATIS 126.300 OUT OF SERVICE. 23 OCT 01:00 2016 UNTIL 23 OCT 09:00 2016. CREATED: 20 OCT 01:00 2016

TERMINAL AREA SURVEILLANCE RADAR/SECONDARY SURVEILLANCE RADAR OUT OF SERVICE. 23 OCT 01:30 2016 UNTIL 23 OCT 02:30 2016. CREATED: 21 OCT 16:58 2016

I called airport operations and they said they would be operating "zero ATC" for maintenance and procedures would be as if it's a non-towered airport. I asked about self reporting and they said to use the tower frequency of 119.1. 

So, here are my questions:

1. Am I free to taxi to my runway without clearance from anyone? Ground frequency is not available. Do I just self report on tower frequency what I'm doing?

2. Do I have to contact Indianapolis on 126.37 prior to takeoff or do I just self announce on tower frequency that I'm taking off? I don't understand why it says Class D Sevice not available. 

3. I plan to contact Indy once airborne to pick up an IFR clearance after taking off VFR. I'm assuming clearance delivery will not be available but will check. Any other suggestions on this?

4. When I return to KLEX I'm assuming I contact Indy for approach control - correct?

5. If I return IFR will Indy cancel my IFR flight plan for me or do I need to cancel on my own?

6. Does the airspace become Class E to the surface when the tower is closed?

Ive never experienced this situation before, so I would apprciate any guidance you can provide. I'm trying to gather as much information as possible before flying in this situation.

Thanks

mm

 

 

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Mark Kolber on Oct 22, 2016

    Just treat it as you would any non-towered airport. To answer your questions (which are really just variations on the same theme). I am assuming you are asking solely from an IFR standpoint; the answers are even easier if you are VFR. The real key is, don’t overthink it.

    1. From whom would you ask for taxi clearance if no one is there to give one?

    2. It says Class D service is not available because no one is there to sequence ground and runway traffic.

    3. See question 1.

    4. Yep, that’s who they say to contact for IFR approaches. But really, when you are IFR, you are going to be handed off to the appropriate folks on the way in, just like always.

    5. You can cancel IFR with whatever ATC facility you are talking to, just like always.

    6. That’s a good question. Here’s a post I did on a similar one dealing with the rules of Class D reversion when the Tower is normally closed. Given the complexity, I’m surprised the NOTAM doesn’t mention it.

    ==============================
    It’s really buried.

    It’s alluded to very briefly in the AIM discussion of Class D in 4-3-2:
    “Not all airports with an operating control tower will have Class D airspace. These airports do not have weather reporting which is a requirement for surface based controlled airspace….”

    The best FAA source is probably FAA Order 7400.2K – http://1.usa.gov/1RLvN4u. Even then you have to look at a few different paragraphs in the 350+ page document.
    Paragraph17-2-10 discusses the requirement for weather observation for Class D. 18-1-3 applies that requirement to Class E surface areas.

    But notice that the requirement isn’t just for weather. The Class E surface area must also have the 17-2-9 requirement for some way to contact ATC from the surface. If you look at the AFD entry for KFNL near Denver, for example, you will see there is a dedicated CD frequency.
    ==============================

    So, of you can pick up AWOS (it might be on the ATIS frequency or a published one) and you can reach Indy Center from the ground, it’s Class E; if one of those is missing, it should be Class G. The only practical difference to an IFR pilot is whether there might be VFR aircraft operating under a low ceiling.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 1 Votes



  2. mmosier1 on Oct 22, 2016

    Thanks for the response!

    mm

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.