The FAA appears to be shifting much of the burden related to information generation and gathering aimed at resolving the continuing quagmire over 5G C-band radio altimeter interference to avionics and aircraft OEMs, aircraft operators, and a civilian contractor to the agency. In a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) issued yesterday, the FAA requested that manufacturers of radio altimeters and aircraft, as well as operators, continue to voluntarily provide “specific information” related to those altimeters’ design, functionality, and usage; continue to test the equipment in cooperation with federal authorities; and report results to both civil aviation authorities and spectrum regulators.
The FAA said it is continuing to collaborate with the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on the issue as it assesses options beyond its previous airworthiness directives (ADs), which prohibit select aircraft operations in the presence of 5G cellphone tower interference as of July 1, 2023, and ban all Part 121 (airline) operations after Feb. 1, 2024, unless performed with a radio altimeter-tolerant airplane. The FAA called the requirements interim actions pending the development of a “Technical Standard Order for radio altimeters...that meets international minimum operational performance standards.”
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