Alaska News

Public comment sought on Bettles Airport lighting proposal

The Federal Aviation Administration is considering decommissioning the approach lighting system at Bettles Airport, and is seeking input from the public on the plan.

The move would reduce the level of instrument flight rules service available at the airport. A localizer approach at Bettles was previously decommissioned, leaving the airport with two RNAV approaches and a VOR/DME with required minimums of 1 mile or more.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association strongly opposes the FAA proposal, and stated in a recent article that Bettles "is virtually the only IFR airport along this 436 nautical mile route which has IFR approaches, weather reporting, fuel and other infrastructure to support stranded travelers, and as such is important as a regional facility."

Bettles has only a small year-round population but sports a 5,190-foot gravel runway that was originally constructed during World War II. It is the jumping-off point for Gates of the Arctic National Park and as such enjoys busy summer months hosting visitors and seasonal employees. The village also serves as a staging area during fire season, a base for regional search and rescue missions, and the primary service provider for flights operating in the area on a variety of year-round research and tour flights into the Brooks Range.

The airport's history as an important transportation hub north of Fairbanks -- and the establishment of the modern-day Bettles Lodge -- dates to the Wien Air Alaska era. As pilot James Anderson detailed in his book, "Arctic Bush Pilot," he established the Bettles base for the company in 1948 and flew out of there for more than a decade serving customers throughout the Interior.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is currently having Bettles surveyed to determine if an LPV (Localizer performance with vertical guidance) approach can be supported there and if the current medium-intensity approach light system with runway alignment indicator lights will allow for lower approach visibility minimums. AOPA Alaska Regional Manager Tom George is asking that the FAA wait until this survey is completed before decommissioning the approach lighting system.

As George makes clear in his letter to the FAA, Bettles is a far more important airport than a cursory survey of its demographics suggests. "Given the availability of fuel, weather reporting, and other facilities," wrote George, "it is important to improve the infrastructure at Bettles, and not to further diminish it."

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Pilots flying to Deadhorse or Barrow are all too aware of how limited their emergency landing options are while en route. Having Bettles as a multiple-option IFR-capable airport is a welcome asset during times of crisis. For pilots operating under visual flight rules who encounter weather problems, the ability to contact air traffic control and obtain an approach to Bettles is a safety of flight asset that should not be regarded lightly. Everyone who flies into the Brooks Range is familiar with Bettles; it is a small town, but well-known to the aviation community for the flight planning security it provides. Many pilots and aircraft owners should be weighing in on this proposal.

Airport users who wish to weigh in on the lighting proposal should contact the FAA via email or mail to FAA, Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Ave. SW, Renton, WA 98057. Members should include "Aeronautical Study Number: 14-AAL-12NR" in their comments. Comments are due Sept. 25. The AOPA asks that a copy of your comments be forwarded to them as well.

Contact Colleen Mondor at colleen[at]alaskadispatch.com.

Colleen Mondor

Colleen Mondor is the author of "The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska." Find her at chasingray.com or on Twitter @chasingray.

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