Possible New Rules by FAA for Night Landings

A final determination will be made early next year on rules concerning airport night landings for private and charter flights. The American Air Almanac is the current guide used by the FAA to determine night landing curfew times, but officials no longer see the almanac as a fit guideline.

Topography, as well as when the sun rises and sets in certain areas, may soon determine when night landings can be made. This rule change comes after a 2001 crash at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, that 18 people. The plane crashed after curfew, when the crew lost sight of the runway in the snowy darkness. The prospect of a narrower time frame for private jets and charter planes to land at airports in mountainous regions has provoked opposition from the aircraft owners and pilots association, among others.