Brown Field Municipal Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan

CHAPTER 4BACKGROUND DATA: BROWN FIELD MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AND ENVIRONS4.3.2 Compatibility Data: SafetyExhibit IV-12 depicts compatibility data associated with the safety zones at the Airport. The safetyzones illustrated on the map were developed based on guidance included in the Handbook. Safety zonestranslate aircraft accident distribution pattern data into a set of distinct zones with regular geometricshapes and sizes. For Runway 8L-26R, the safety zones were developed for a long general aviationrunway, with a length of 6,000 feet or more, and approach visibility minimums of less than 0.75 miles.For Runway 8R-26L, the safety zones developed were for a short general aviation runway, with a lengthof less than 4,000 feet, and having only visual approach capabilities.As stated in the Handbook, the generic safety zones must be adjusted to reflect the runway configurationand operational characteristics of a particular airport runway. Factors specifically considered in adjustingthe generic zones to apply to the Airport included:• The length of Runway 8R-26L—few turns are made close to the runway ends, especially on departuredue to the runway length (approximately 2,500 feet).• No arrivals from or departures to the south occur on either runway due to the proximity of theMexican border.• Arrival and departure routes are nonstandard because of high terrain in the vicinity of the Airport.High terrain (approximately 700 feet above the airport elevation) is located east of the Airport andrestricts the flight routes flown by airplanes.• Closed circuit (flight training) traffic pattern use by fixed-wing aircraft is minimal.• The direction of traffic is predominantly (80 to 90%) from east to west on Runways 26R and 26L—with arrivals from the east and departures to the west (see Exhibit BRO-4 in Appendix I).• Relatively low volume of future aircraft operations.The specific adjustments that were made to the generic safety zones for Runway 8L-26R are summarizedbelow:• Reduced Zone 1 for both ends of Runway 8L-26R to reflect 1,700-foot long runway protection zones.• Widened Zone 3 on northeast side to reflect close-in base leg traffic pattern.• Reduced Zone 3 on southwest and southeast sides to reflect lack of traffic pattern.• Added Zone 4 segment beyond Zone 3 on northeast side to reflect high volume of base leg flighttracks.• Widened Zone 6 to the north 7,000 feet from the runway centerline to encompass the wide trafficpattern.• Reduced Zone 6 to the south to reflect lack of traffic pattern.• Added Zones 1, 2, and 4 for existing and proposed heliports/helipads located north of the airfield.The safety zones for Runway 8R-26L follow basic safety zones for a short general aviation runway,except where subsumed within safety zones for Runway 8L-26R.4-39Brown Field Municipal Airport Land Use Compatibility PlanJanuary 25, 2010