DIFFERENCES AND COMPARISON BETWEEN FAA AND ICAO OBSTACLE RESTRICTION REGULATIONS

Abstract

FAR Part 77 “Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace” is commonly only used in the US, whereas ICAO Annex14 “Obstacle Restriction and Removal” is accepted by all other countries. These two systems were constructed with a different baseline, restrictive area and height. Since government regulations or research publications usually adopt one of them exclusively, users and researchers may perceive ambiguous figures. The purpose of this paper is to compare safety airspaces and identify differences. The results indicate that the FAA imaginary surfaces system specifies a more extensive obstruction clearance than ICAO’s. We also show that airports which apply the FAA regulations restrict urban development around airports more.