InFO 13007: North Atlantic (NAT) Resource Guide for U.S. Operators

Approved by: AFS-200 OPR:AFS-470

InFOInformation for Operators

U.S. Department InFO 13007

of Transportation DATE: 5/8/13

Federal Aviation

Administration Flight Standards Service

Washington, DC http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info An InFO contains valuable information for operators that should help them meet certain administrative, regulatory, or operational requirements with relatively low urgency or impact on safety.

Subject: North Atlantic (NAT) Resource Guide for U.S. Operators

Purpose: This InFO announces the publication of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NAT Resource Guide for U.S. Operators and states where it may be viewed.

Background: FAA Special Areas of Operation (SAO) specialists observed a large increase in the number of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) parts 91 and 91 subpart K (91K) and 135 operators pursuing authorization and the information necessary to operate in the NAT Minimum Navigation Performance Specifications (MNPS) airspace. There are many different Operators that share the NAT airspace and it has quickly become the busiest oceanic airspace in the world. In 2011 approximately 450,000 flights crossed the North Atlantic. The NAT Resource Guide for U.S. Operators portable document format (PDF) was developed to meet this growing need. The NAT Resource Guide for U.S.

Operators brings together multiple sources of domestic and international regulatory guidance relevant to flight operations in NAT airspace. This guide provides operators and FAA inspectors an easy "one stop" access to multiple sources of information used to promote the highest standards of horizontal and vertical navigation performance and accuracy in the NAT.

Discussion: FAA Flight Standards AFS-470 Performance-Based Flight Systems branch surveyed operators and inspectors and developed this PDF to consolidate numerous domestic and international regulatory documents that are applicable to NAT operations. The NAT Resource Guide for U.S. Operators is updated every month and provides operators with current and relative information necessary to mitigate Large Height Deviations (LHD) and Gross Navigation Errors (GNE) in the NAT.

Recommended Action: US Operators which transit the NAT Region should be familiar with the NAT Resources for U.S. Operators file when preparing aircrews for operations in NAT airspace. This file is located at: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ avs/offices/afs/afs400/afs470/ media/NAT.pdf.

Contact: Questions or comments regarding this InFO should be directed to Trent Bigler, Aviation Safety Inspector, Performance Based Flight Systems Branch, AFS-470, at (202) 385- 4504.