Preliminary Assessment of Lower Landing Minima Capabilities in the Small Aircraft Transportation System Program

Abstract

A preliminary assessment is presented of the required lower landing minima (LLM) capabilities needed to support the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Program. The goal of this analysis is to understand the number of potentially challenged SATS airports and to identify methods to remove obstacles by using technology solutions. Four obstacle removal methods are considered to assess the challenges faced by the SATS Program in providing LLM capabilities to 3,416 U.S. airports. Two views of runway obstacle analysis are presented: a critical object analysis and a detailed multiobject analysis that includes terrain information. A comparison is made between decision altitudes (DAs) derived by approach lighting infrastructure and glide path angle thresholds and DA values considering other airport characteristics such as terrain. A detailed case study is presented to compare the single critical object analysis with the more detailed multiobject analysis, which was performed for Blacksburg Airport, in Virg...