{"id":22518,"date":"2023-06-06T09:45:55","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T13:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=22518"},"modified":"2023-06-07T09:04:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:04:41","slug":"us-will-not-delay-5g-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/us-will-not-delay-5g-deadline\/","title":{"rendered":"US will not delay 5G aircraft retrofit deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">Telecoms firms will be rolling out 5G near major US airports from July 1, 2023. <strong>Most aircraft need to upgrade<\/strong> <strong>their radio altimeters<\/strong> by this date to continue certain operations, and the FAA has said it will not be extending the deadline.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">What do you mean by \u201ccertain operations\u201d?<\/h4>\n<p>These ones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><em>Special Authorization CAT I, CAT II and above approaches.<\/em><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><em>Auto-landings. <\/em><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><em>Head-up display landings. <\/em><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><em>Enhanced vision systems through touchdown.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\">For ease of reference, we\u2019re going to call these <strong>\u201cfancy landings\u201d<\/strong> for the rest of this article.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">What do you mean by \u201cmost aircraft\u201d?<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">Aircraft that need to do this are \u201cTransport and Commuter Category Airplanes.\u201d Just like it says in the FAA rules!<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">What FAA rules?<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">The initial set of rules (Airworthiness Directive 2021-23-12) was published in Dec 2021. But that got superseded in May 2023 (right at the death, with only 1.5 months to go until the July 1st deadline!) with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2023\/05\/26\/2023-11371\/airworthiness-directives-transport-and-commuter-category-airplanes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Airworthiness Directive 2023-10-02<\/a>. This really is the place to go to find answers to all questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b>The rules set two deadlines:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #faf448;\"><b>July 1, 2023:<\/b><\/span> All transport and commuter category airplanes, regardless of the type of operation (Part 91, Part 135, Part 121), will be <strong>prohibited from performing these fancy landings at any US airport unless they have upgraded their radio altimeters.<\/strong> Aircraft without upgraded radio altimeters will be able to operate into any airport, but cannot fly the fancy landings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b><span style=\"background-color: #faf448;\">Feb 1, 2024:<\/span><\/b> US aircraft operating under <strong>Part 121<\/strong> need to have upgraded their radio altimeters to be able to operate <strong>anywhere in the contiguous US.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">What are \u201ctransport and commuter category airplanes&#8221;?<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Commuter Airplanes<\/strong> = multi-engine, max pax seats 19, max takeoff weight of 19,000lbs. If you have more than 19 seats, or you\u2019re heavier than 19,000lbs, that makes you a <strong>Transport Airplane.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">So this basically means everyone.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">EVERYONE everyone? Or just N-reg aircraft?<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">Yeah ok, not EVERYONE everyone. <strong>The rules only apply to N-reg aircraft.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">So, technically, if you\u2019re not N-reg you can carry on flying the fancy landings in the US after July 1st even if you haven\u2019t upgraded your radio altimeter. But that\u2019s probably not a great idea, because <strong>the 5G interference is still going to be an issue for you!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As the FAA says in the rules (in response to no fewer than eleven foreign airlines who asked this very same question):<\/p>\n<pre class=\"p1\"><i>\u201cUnder ICAO Annex 8, Airworthiness of Aircraft, the state of registry of an airplane \r\n<\/i><i>is the state responsible for its airworthiness. For this reason, FAA ADs apply only \r\nto U.S.-registered airplanes. To the extent the FAA's bilateral partners agree with \r\nthe FAA's finding of an unsafe condition in U.S. airspace, the FAA encourages those \r\nauthorities to adopt the FAA AD or similar requirements as mandatory continuing \r\nairworthiness instructions for airplanes registered in other countries. \r\nThe FAA also plans to publish information in the FAA's Aeronautical Information \r\nPublication to alert international operators to the 5G C-Band situation in the U.S., \r\nincluding the agency's use of Domestic Notices. The FAA strongly urges operators of \r\nforeign-registered airplanes to voluntarily comply with the actions required by this \r\nAD when operating in the contiguous U.S. given the unsafe condition affects their \r\nairplanes as much as the airplanes subject to this AD.\u201d<\/i><\/pre>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">What if I don\u2019t care about these fancy landings?<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">If you&#8217;re N-reg but don\u2019t have approvals to do these fancy landings, you don\u2019t need to worry &#8211; <strong>no radio altimeter upgrade is required.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Before July 1st, just stick this table into your AFM, and you\u2019re done:<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/d\/2023-11371\/p-209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-22519 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-rules-1024x642.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-rules-1024x642.png 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-rules-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-rules-768x482.png 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-rules-1536x964.png 1536w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-rules.png 1744w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">Which airports are affected?<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">Right now, there are almost 200 US airports with 5G interference issues. <strong>The FAA has an interactive map<\/strong> of them all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>, where you can check all the restrictions for each one.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-22520 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-map-1024x815.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-map-1024x815.png 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-map-300x239.png 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-map-768x611.png 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/US-5G-map.png 1322w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">This list of airports is probably going to increase after July 1st, as more 5G towers are installed across the country.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">What\u2019s the backstory to all this? Please make it short<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">In Dec 2021, the FAA had concerns about 5G networks interfering with aircraft radio altimeters due to similar frequencies. They banned fancy landings at some airports, issued some guidelines, and allowed some exemptions. In the end, a deal was made to delay activation near major airports, initially until July 2022 but extended to July 2023.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\">Where can I find more info?<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\">Really, truly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2023\/05\/26\/2023-11371\/airworthiness-directives-transport-and-commuter-category-airplanes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">head here first<\/a> for the <strong>FAA rules<\/strong> on all this, to get it from the horse\u2019s mouth.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Then if you\u2019re still keen, you can check<a href=\"https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span class=\"s3\">here<\/span><\/a> for the <strong>FAA website on all things 5G.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">And also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LYD2Suk9Etw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> for a recent <strong>webinar by AIN<\/strong> on the impact of 5G, with a focus on bizav.<\/li>\n<li>Then finally <a href=\"https:\/\/drs.faa.gov\/browse\/excelExternalWindow\/DRSDOCID133751746320230524174917.0001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> for the most recent <strong>special airworthiness information bulletin<\/strong> issued by the FAA on 24th May 2023, where they&#8217;re basically asking manufacturers and operators to continue assessing the whole 5G issue and report back to them their findings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Telecoms firms will be rolling out 5G near major US airports from July 1, 2023&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":22527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1874],"class_list":{"0":"post-22518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-5g"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22518"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22548,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22518\/revisions\/22548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}