Document
OAS-28A (5/15)
Interagency Aviation
Information Bulletin
No. IA IB 21-06 Date: July 07, 2021 Page 1 of 2 Subject: Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) Management and Considerations Area of Concern: Airspace Distribution: Aviation Operations and Dispatch Centers Discussion: Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) should be appropriately scaled, operationally aligned, and managed to mitigate adverse impact to the National Airspace System (NAS). FAA Advisory Circular No: 91-63D advises restrictions to be kept to a minimum area and duration necessary to address the specific situation.
Title 14 CFR §91.137(a)(2) is the Administrative Law that provides the authority and privilege as NOTAM originators to impact the National Airspace System. Land management agencies have a responsibility not to impact any more airspace than what is necessary and have an obligation to mitigate adverse impact of the National Airspace System (NAS). The originating agency for a TFR has the responsibility to ensure TFR requests are appropriately scaled, operationally aligned, and considers the legitimate need to establish a §91.137(a)(2) restriction. Once issued, there is an obligation to monitor and evaluate to ensure the airspace restricted is consistent with achieving overall incident hazard relief objectives or subsequent response and recovery objectives and should seek opportunities to return all or portions of the TFR to the NAS as safety permits. Land management agencies must commit to addressing unnecessary impacts to the NAS.
Considerations for TFRs: • Consider establishing daytime-only operational hours for incident TFRs to align with aviation daytime operations. (Exception for night aircraft operations, including UAS).
• Consider the criteria for recommending a TFR, located in PMS 520 NWCG Standards for Airspace Coordination.
• Annual review of the PMS 520 NWCG Standards for Airspace Coordination chapter 6 for §91.137(a)(2) Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) is recommended.
• Consider NAS advisory measures to meet operational objectives.
• Continually assess TFR dimensions, including vertical and horizonal size and shape; cancel or modify the TFR when considered safe to do so and return all or portions of the incident airspace back to the NAS as soon as practicable.
• Utilize Aerial Supervision to assist with airspace assessment.
No. IA IB 21-0 6 Date: July 07, 2021 Page 2 of 2 Helpful Links : • AC 91-63D - Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) and Flight Limitations (faa.gov) • NWCG Standards for Airspace Coordination , PMS 520 • Electronic Code of Federal Regulations §91.137 - Temporary flight restrictions in the vicinity of disaster/hazard area Note: This is not an all-inclusive list for TFR management.
For questions, contact: Kim Owczarzak, National Interagency Airspace Coordinator at kimberley.owczarzak@usda.gov or 208-296-9818.
s/ Keith C. Raley /s/ Lori Clark Keith C. Raley Lori Clark Chief, Aviation Safety, Training, Program Branch Chief Evaluation, and Quality Management Aviation Safety Management Systems DOI, Office of Aviation Services USDA, Forest Service