Attachment 3 - Gulf of Mexico.pdf

SBIS RFI-2 Attachment 3 1

Attachment 3 – Gulf of Mexico

1. Background The Gulf of Mexico air traffic and airspace is under the jurisdiction of Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The air traffic operations are primarily divided into two operations. In the offshore low airspace, which is at and below 10,000 feet mean sea level, the operations are predominately helicopter (over 400,000 operations per year), fish spotters and military operations. In the airspace from 10,000 feet mean sea level to FL600 (60,000 feet) there are over 150,000 yearly flight operations consisting of international and domestic air carriers, cargo carriers, business aviation, general aviation and military operations.

Prior to December 2009, air traffic provided non-surveillance separation service; had limited direct radio communication and predominantly used third-party radio communication; and had very limited weather reporting.

During the 2007-2009-time frame, the FAA installed 12 offshore ADS-B stations, nine offshore VHF Communication sites and 35 Automated Weather Observation Systems on oil platforms to improve air traffic operations in Houston ARTCC Offshore and Oceanic airspace. Additionally, the installed ADS-B stations provided the Flight Information Service Broadcast (FIS-B) service.

2. Gulf of Mexico Challenges The Gulf of Mexico offshore operating environment presents several challenges compared to domestic operations.

2.1. Platform Availability and Longevity

In domestic operations, equipment locations are more easily selected and access for installation, maintenance, inspection and removal are relatively simple. In the Gulf, the FAA must work with available oil platform locations that may not meet all FAA needs. Access to offshore platforms is restricted to helicopters or boats. These means of access are not always available when required. Platform longevity ranges from 10-30 years. However, oil prices impact platform longevity and premature shutdown of platforms are common when oil prices decline. The FAA has received as little as 30 days’ notice to remove equipment from an offshore oil platform.

2.2. Operating Environment

Tropical storms and hurricanes have a heavy impact on equipment on oil platforms. Damage or accelerated wear and tear on equipment is common. High temperature, high humidity and saltwater have impacted equipment.

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2.3. Preventative and Corrective Maintenance

Preventative and corrective maintenance as well as required inspections are a challenge due to platform access. The FAA is completely reliant on helicopter operators for transportation to these offshore platforms. There are no scheduled transportation methods available to FAA and FAA contractors, only space available.

2.4. Space Limitations

Finding space for FAA-funded service provider equipment on platforms is often a challenge. Oil platform operating equipment and helipad locations make it difficult to place such equipment.

Additionally, FAA-funded service provider equipment require an unobstructed line of sight for optimal coverage. This may require large and costly modification of the oil platform to accommodate such equipment.

2.5. Telecommunications

The FAA must rely on oil platform owners for telecommunication of FAA data. Oil platform telecommunication systems may not have been designed with aviation reliability requirements in mind.