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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFlying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission - 10/12/2017 APPROVED MINUTES FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOM I 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair, Keith Tschohl; Vice-Chair, Bob Barker; Braj Agrawal; Daniel Dorson; Dan Kiely; Mike Wilson COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Kurt Schendel STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: Nathan Bellefeuille STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES ABSENT: None STAFF: George Esbensen, Fire Chief; Jan Curielli, City Recorder GUEST: Rick Braunig, Manager, Aviation Safety and Enforcement, MnDOT I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Tschohl called the meeting to order at 7:04 P.M. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Kiely moved, seconded by Agrawal, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 6-0. III. PUBLIC COMMENT None. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. COMMISSION MEETING HELD THURSDAY,JULY 13, 2017 Tschohl had three corrections to Item V.B.: Page 3, Paragraph 3, change "14.4 incursions per 100" to "14 incursions per 100,000"; Page 4, Paragraph 2, change "wheels" to "RIELs"; Page 4, Paragraph 3, change"FCM" to "Anoka." MOTION: Barker moved, seconded by Kiely, to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2017, meeting as amended. Motion carried 6-0. V. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS UPDATE—MnDOT Aeronautics FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 2 Rick Braunig, representing MNDoT, gave a PowerPoint presentation on small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). He said sUAS, or drones, are defined as UAS aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds. According to a ruling last year, such aircraft between 0.55 lbs. and 55 lbs. do not need to be registered, except for commercial purposes. Effective August 29, 2016, Federal Aviation Regulation Part 107 covers sUAS regulations and creates a non-manned aircraft pilot certification for drone operators. It also includes other restrictions for drones including the requirements that they may be operated in daylight only and they may attain an altitude of 400 feet or less and may not operate within 400 feet of a structure. Use of drones in airspace within five miles of an airport requires permission, which can be requested by filling out a form online that requires the applicant to answer a question regarding how the operator can do the operation safely. He noted there are currently no guidelines for what that answer should be. Tschohl asked if the online form replaces the need to call the tower. Mr. Braunig replied under Part 107 the control tower is not supposed to give permission to fly. Wilson noted he still gets calls. Mr. Braunig said the Section 333 exemption still exists and can be used as an exemption to the requirement that only people operating the sUAS can be in the vicinity of the drone. In addition, there is an exemption from the certification process for designated public aircraft, such as those owned by MnDOT. There are additional regulations for hobby and recreational use models. He noted most people do not understand the process and the regulations, so recreational users may still be calling the control tower. Esbensen asked about the height restrictions within five miles of the airport. Wilson replied it is 400 feet,but there are issues if the drone is operated off the end of the runway. Esbensen asked if there are issues if the drone is operated within five miles of the airport. Wilson replied when they get a call they determine where the drone is located and check for any impact on airport operations. Kiely asked if a drone could be operated in the park near the airport. Mr. Braunig replied there are state regulations that deal with some situations. Mr. Braunig said a representative of the local Police Department would do enforcement, and they are not necessarily experts on drone operations. He noted they are beginning to see organizations for sUAS operators forming around the state. Such organizations may be able to help if there is a need to ask operators to stop certain operations. Mr. Braunig said in 2016 Congress passed HR636-17, which states sUAS cannot knowingly interfere with fire-fighting, law enforcement or emergency operations. He said AirMap, Inc., is a private company that maintains maps to help drone operators determine where they can fly. The FAA operates a website that gives similar information. AirMap is taking the lead on developing some kind of unmanned aircraft traffic management plan (UTM), and is currently working with the state of Kansas to develop a statewide infrastructure for UTM. Tschohl asked if Mr. Braunig thought the way the market for lower cost drones exploded a couple of years ago was something of a fad. Mr. Braunig said they have not seen a large FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 3 problem with recreational users. There are a lot of recreational drones out there,but he was not sure how many drone owners have stayed with it. He said they are seeing a lot of businesses starting to use drones, and MnDOT recently purchased two drones for their own use. Barker asked if the MnDOT drones are used for bridge inspection. Mr. Braunig replied they are used for bridge inspection and land surveys. He noted they are starting to see more applications for drones to document construction projects. Tschohl asked if the recent court decision regarding Massachusetts and restrictions on operations gave guidance for local operations. Mr. Braunig said they haven't seen a lot of push to put regulations for drone operations in place. The City of St. Bonifacius does have a drone ordinance; however, he believed it is early in the history of drone regulations. He said there are three areas to which cities have access that should enable them to keep things safe: municipal laws,privacy laws, and trespass laws. A city is able to designate a no-drone zone for an event. It may sometimes be necessary to contact a drone operator to let them know their drone operation is not safe. Tschohl asked how a local realtor or an inspector would make sure they have access to operate. Mr. Braunig didn't believe anyone is outlawing those uses. Local operators can get a commercial operator's license from the State. MnDOT goes out to talk to people ahead of starting a project that will involve using a drone in a certain area. Agrawal asked about drones over 55 pounds. Mr. Braunig replied anything over 55 pounds goes through manned aircraft procedures. They would apply to the FAA and must show they meet the safety requirements. He noted it is still an arduous process to get an aircraft certified. It is clear in Part 107 they did not want to include commercial operations in the regulations. Barker asked if other states have similar registration systems at the state level. Mr. Braunig replied other states register aircraft. Minnesota has an exemption in our state law that says a model aircraft does not have to be registered. His department has asked the legislature to make changes; however, that hasn't gone anywhere. His department still wants to have some registration process for drones under 55 pounds to have a handle on what is going on. He noted there is a lot of work to be done to help regulate drones and to help the industry develop safely. VI. STANDING DISCUSSION ITEMS Tschohl welcomed Nathan Bellefeuille to the Commission and reviewed how the meetings work. He said the Commission was formed in response to a need for an interface between the City of Eden Prairie and the MAC. The Commission's role is to monitor how things are going with the airport and the relationship between City residents and the MAC. We receive reports on noise monitoring and changes at the airport. He noted it is fairly rare for the Commission to have public participation at the meetings; however, there have been occasions when citizens have come to make complaints. We listen to their comments and complaints, and the MAC will look into the situation. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 4 A. NOISE REPORT—MAC Tschohl noted Ms Lewis is not here tonight so Mr. Wilson will give the report. Wilson distributed copies of the quarterly noise report and noted the information can be found at macnoise.com under the tab, "MSP Reliever Interactive Reports." He reported Flying Cloud Airport is the only reliever airport seeing an increase in operations. FCM has 32% of the total reliever airport operations and receives 50% of the complaints. Wilson reviewed the quarterly data for FCM, including the comparison of 2017 to 2016. He said there have been a lot of phone calls about the increase in the number of operations, and this correlates to the data we have. There are a couple of new complainants who recently purchased homes near the airport. He invited one of them to attend tonight's meeting,but he is not here tonight. Tschohl asked if there is any correlation of the data to night-time training operations. Wilson replied a lot of noise complaints correlate to King Air take offs. He has not heard of any particular training recently. There is a 50150 mix of jets to turbo props. He reviewed the complaint map and noted they asked the tower to push jet run-ups away from the area near Hennepin Village. Kiely asked if a realtor is required to inform a buyer about the proximity of the airport. Wilson replied all realtors should know the airport is there. Esbensen said the original purchase documents disclose the location of the airport,but that disclosure essentially goes away when the property is resold. Tschohl asked how the City determines if it has to be part of the development agreement. Wilson said they put in a letter opposing one of the developments in the area. Barker noted the Planning Commission would require the developer to include the disclosure. He asked if there is any way to include it in subsequent purchases. Esbensen replied it was his understanding there was nothing included in subsequent purchases. Agrawal didn't understand how the purchaser would have access to a listing and not realize there was an airport there. Wilson said the property owner who is complaining wants an ultimate solution and has asked for no nighttime flights at the airport. He told the complainant the MAC cannot put such restrictions on flights,but we do reach out to pilots about complaints received. He has sent a lot of information regarding federal law to the property owner, but the owner has told people that we are not being humane. Agrawal asked if the owner will go to the FAA about it. Wilson said he will probably go to both the FAA and the City Council. Barker asked if there is anything the Commission can do to help work with the resident. Wilson reiterated he offered to have him come here to the meeting so we could listen to his concerns. His property is located right where our noise mitigation efforts have aircraft turn south to go over the river. He didn't see how FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 5 we can correct the problem;however, the owner wants a solution, not more information. He will keep inviting him to the Commission meetings. Dorson said the owner's homeowners' association would be the one that would have information about the airport. He thought working with the homeowners' association is a way to disseminate information to the nearby neighborhoods. Wilson said there is a resident in Maple Plain who puts in many complaints about Flying Cloud Airport. He thought it correlates to a flight landing on the lakes up there that was tracked to a takeoff from FCM. He said three households put in 74% of the complaints, and there were 25 first-time complaints in the quarter. Barker asked if we have tracked that metric before. Wilson replied we track it, but this is an uptick in numbers. They sent 30 letters to operators in the quarter for about 80 operations. Kiely asked if there was a sense some of the complaints were tied to construction on the south side where there are bigger hangars and bigger aircraft. Wilson replied there is a pretty good mix of complaints by location. The number of operations out of the south area is not that great, and one large hangar there is still under construction. B. AIRCRAFT INCIDENTS AND RUNWAY INCURSIONS--MAC 1. Off-airport Aircraft Accident, October 4, 2017—MAC/EPFD Wilson distributed the preliminary report on the fatal accident at Resurrection Church on October 4. No one at the airport had seen that aircraft fly before, although it had done high speed taxis in the past. There were a lot of witnesses at the airport who stopped to watch the aircraft when they saw how unique it was. The aircraft had an erratic flight, and it descended steeply into the church parking lot. Barker asked if there was any communication from the pilot. Wilson replied there was none. Tschohl asked about the City's response to an incident like that. Esbensen said the response would include the Fire Department, Police Department and an ambulance. He said we prefer the federal government perform the investigation, so scene preservation is the key component for the City. Barker asked if this would be handled differently than would a fatal car crash. Esbensen replied the incident is different; however, we would do scene preservation for both, and both types of incident would be treated as a crime scene. Barker asked if there were any areas where responders would act differently for aircraft. Esbensen replied there really are no differences. We don't always know what caused the person to be deceased or injured, so it is important to preserve the scene. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 6 Barker asked when the final report would be available. Wilson replied it is hard to know how long it will take. The Fire and Police Departments did an excellent job on scene preservation. The FAA responded within one hour of the crash, and the NTSB was there later the first night. The wreckage was taken away the next day to be analyzed at a storage site that keeps wreckage from several sites. Esbensen said the final reports can take up to a year because there is a lot riding on the reports. Dorson asked if there was an impact on airport operations from the incident. Wilson replied they did a runway inspection; however, they didn't close the airport. It would have been handled differently had the crash occurred at the airport. Esbensen noted we have had fatal aircraft crashes out there in the past, so we have a process to deal with those. He thought the aircraft operator did a good job of avoiding structures and highways. Wilson said they gathered up reports from the witnesses at the airport and gave the information to the NTSB. C. AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT UPDATES--MAC 1. Non-aeronautical Development Wilson said the day care is going up, and they are marketing one other property there. 2. Public Viewing Area Wilson said the sheet metal work is complete. They need to have signs for the facility before holding the grand opening. Wilson said the Police Department came out three times in September for training at the airport and ran through about a dozen training scenarios. There were over 60 officers who went through the training to get familiar with the airport before the Super Bowl. He noted they have not had the full Police Department out there in the past, so it was great to see the training being held. Esbensen noted the Fire Department trains out there regularly. Wilson gave a report on preparations for Super Bowl LII. He showed a PowerPoint presentation with photos taken at the Ryder Cup event. He noted they have had a lot of meetings about the Super Bowl already and will have more going forward. They expect 1500 jets coming through for the Super Bowl event, with 60-75% of those aircraft on the ground at one time. He reviewed slides with plans for ground transportation and vehicle movement, movement and non- movement areas, deicing and fueling/parking areas, aircraft flow on Runway 10R, and aircraft flow on Runway 28L He said each FBO will escort vehicles to the aircraft and will have specific parking areas. A written operations plan will be distributed to the FBO's and to the Fire Department. The ground reservation system will begin Wednesday, January 31, 2018, and will end on Tuesday, February 6. He noted the ground reservation system has been used for the last 13 FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 7 years. Each FBO will have its own unique login to the reservation system. The FAA plans to hold outreach meetings, and he will be holding pilots' meetings. There will be one controller dedicated to FCM traffic, and there will probably be a special clearance frequency. Wilson reviewed the number of available inbound and outbound slots for the event for Flying Cloud. Barker asked if the FBO's are selling the slots. Wilson replied it will probably be about$1500 per slot. The airport fee is $100 per slot for transients to cover the airport's extra expenses for the event. Barker asked if they have estimated the net financial impact from the event. Wilson replied they expect the businesses at the airport to break even because they need to pay for deicing equipment and contract employees. The hotels in the City are already full. Wilson noted the website, Fly2sb52.org,has a tab for FCM and provides good information about the event. Tschohl asked Wilson to send a copy of his presentation to Esbensen for distribution to Commission members. Wilson said he would do that. Wilson noted there have been more incursions than the 14.4 per 100,000 he reported at the last meeting. The FAA Certification Safety officer came out, and the tower told him we need to move forward with the new tower location. The FAA officer just asked them to repaint the runway markings. The FAA team is coming back on November 7 to discuss runway incursions. He said Commission members who are pilots can express ideas and concerns at the November 7th meeting. D. EDUCATIONAL ITEMS Tschohl noted he emailed Commission members copies of the article regarding the court decision on restrictions at East Hampton Airport(KHTO) which determined the airport cannot restrict a certain type of operations. He handed out an article about the FAA's final ruling on noise standards, including standards for Stage 5 jet aircraft noise restrictions. He noted it would be good to have a presentation on that ruling at a future Commission meeting. VII. OTHER OLD BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. JOINT AIRPORT ZONING BOARD (JAZB) Esbensen said the Joint Airport Zoning Board (JAZB) will be meeting again. He would like to have Commission Chair Tschohl attend, with Vice Chair Barker as alternate. There is one meeting scheduled for October 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and another in December. Wilson said the JAZB is being reconvened because an agency threatened to cut off funding. The JAZB will refresh the old information produced from 2012-2014. It will probably take about eight meetings to get through everything. He said they expect whatever is submitted to the FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES October 12, 2017 Page 8 commissioner will be kicked back because it doesn't meet the State laws regarding the length of the runway so the safety zones don't meet the requirements. Tschohl said he will be traveling in October, so he asked Vice Chair Barker to attend the October meeting if he is able. B. UPCOMING EVENTS AND TOPICS FOR FUTURE FCAAC MEETINGS 1. Semiannual Mac Noise Abatement Seminar(November 4) 2. Super Bowl LII Updates (January 2018) 3. Review City Council Workshop Presentation (January 2018) 4. Review 2035 Flying Cloud LTCP Draft (2018, date TBD) Wilson said work on the Flying Cloud Airport long term care plan (LTCP) has been pushed back because of the re-opening of the JAZB. They will probably work on Anoka next because that airport is not part of the JAZB. IX. ADJOURNMENT A. NEXT COMMISSION MEETING—January 11, 2018 MOTION: Barker moved, seconded by Kiely, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Tschohl adjourned the meeting at 9:30 P.M.