Aug. 27, 2021
The FAA issued a safety alert on Aug. 25 notifying users of the Chart Supplement (CS) Northeast U.S. that due to an internal error the Washington DC SFRA Special Terms and Procedures were inadvertently omitted for the CS with an effective date of Aug. 12, 2021.
The agency issued an alert with the omitted information.
The Aug. 12 charts depict the Washington DC SFRA boundary, but the eight pages of Special Terms and Procedures information hold the keys to operating to, from and within this airspace, starting with the entry/exit filing gates for DC SFRA Flight Plans. Following the general information that describes the DC SFRA are the ATC terms specific to it.
The procedures section covers everything from traffic pattern work at towered and nontowered airports and transponder failure to a reminder to review interception procedures in the Aeronautical Information Manual. First on the list of standard requirements is completing the online training at www.faasafety.gov for VFR aircraft operations, which is mandatory for pilots flying within 60 nautical miles of the DCA VOR/DME.
After providing the Potomac TRACON phone numbers, the FAA gives the specific procedures for VFR Outbound, VFR Inbound and VFR DC SFRA Transitions. It concludes with the DC Flight Restricted Zone and a boldface statement that operators flying VFR should consider it a no-fly area.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.