835 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 171.159 

§ 171.155 Minimum requirements for 

approval. 

(a) The following are the minimum 

requirements that must be met before 
the Federal Aviation Administration 
will approve an IFR procedure for a 
non-Federal DME: 

(1) A suitable frequency channel 

must be available. 

(2) The facility’s performance, as de-

termined by air and ground inspection, 
must meet the requirements of 
§ 171.157. 

(3) The installation of the equipment 

must meet the requirements of 
§ 171.159. 

(4) The owner must agree to operate 

and maintain the facility in accord-
ance with § 171.161. 

(5) The owner must agree to furnish 

periodic reports, as set forth in 
§ 171.163, and must agree to allow the 
Federal Aviation Administration to in-
spect the facility and its operation 
whenever necessary. 

(6) The owner must assure the Fed-

eral Aviation Administration that he 
will not withdraw the facility from 
service without the permission of the 
Federal Aviation Administration. 

(7) The owner must bear all costs of 

meeting the requirements of this sec-
tion and of any flight or ground inspec-
tions made before the facility is com-
missioned, except that the Federal 
Aviation Administration may bear cer-
tain of these costs subject to budgetary 
limitations and policy established by 
the Administrator. 

(b) If the applicant for approval 

meets the requirements of paragraph 
(a) of this section, the Federal Aviation 
Administration commissions the facil-
ity as a prerequisite to its approval for 
use in an IFR procedure. The approval 
is withdrawn at any time the facility 
does not continue to meet those re-
quirements. 

§ 171.157 Performance requirements. 

(a) The DME must meet the perform-

ance requirements set forth in the 
‘‘International Standards and Rec-
ommended Practices. Aeronautical 
Telecommunications, Part I, Para-
graph 3.5’’ (Annex 10 to the Convention 
of International Civil Aviation). 

(b) It must be shown during ground 

inspection of the design features of the 

equipment that there will not be condi-
tions that will allow unsafe operations 
because of component failure or dete-
rioration. 

(c) The monitor must be checked pe-

riodically, during the in-service test 
evaluation period, for calibration and 
stability. These tests and ground tests 
of the functional and performance 
characteristics of the DME transponder 
must be conducted in accordance with 
the maintenance manual required by 
§ 171.161(b). 

(d) Flight inspection to determine 

the adequacy of the facility’s oper-
ational performance and compliance 
with applicable ‘‘Standards and Rec-
ommended Practices’’ must be accom-
plished in accordance with the ‘‘U.S. 
Standard Flight Inspection Manual.’’ 

[Doc. No. 10116, 35 FR 12715, Aug. 11, 1970, as 
amended by Amdt. 171–13, 50 FR 4875, Nov. 27, 
1985] 

§ 171.159 Installation requirements. 

(a) The facility must be installed ac-

cording to accepted good engineering 
practices, applicable electric and safe-
ty codes, and Federal Communications 
Commission requirements. 

(b) The facility must have a reliable 

source of suitable primary power, ei-
ther from a power distribution system 
or locally generated, with a supple-
mental standby system, if needed. 

(c) Dual transmitting equipment 

with automatic changeover is preferred 
and may be required to support certain 
IFR procedures. 

(d) There must be a means for deter-

mining from the ground, the perform-
ance of the equipment, initially and pe-
riodically. 

(e) A facility intended for use as an 

instrument approach aid for an airport 
must have or be supplemented by the 
following ground air or landline com-
munications services: 

(1) At facilities outside of and not im-

mediately adjacent to controlled air-
space, there must be ground-air com-
munications from the airport served by 
the facility. Separate communications 
channels are acceptable. 

(2) At facilities within or imme-

diately adjacent to controlled airspace, 
there must be the ground-air commu-
nications required by paragraph (e)(1) 

836 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 171.161 

of this section and reliable communica-
tions (at least a landline telephone) 
from the airport to the nearest Federal 
Aviation Administration air traffic 
control or communications facility. 
Separate communications channels are 
acceptable. 

Compliance with paragraphs (e) (1) and 
(2) of this section need not be shown at 
airports where an adjacent Federal 
Aviation Administration facility can 
communicate with aircraft on the 
ground at the airport and during the 
entire proposed instrument approach 
procedure. In addition, at low traffic 
density airports within or immediately 
adjacent to controlled airspace, and 
where extensive delays are not a fac-
tor, the requirements of paragraphs (e) 
(1) and (2) of this section may be re-
duced to reliable communications (at 
least a landline telephone) from the 
airport to the nearest Federal Aviation 
Administration air traffic control or 
communications facility, if an adjacent 
Federal Aviation Administration facil-
ity can communicate with aircraft dur-
ing the proposed instrument approach 
procedure, at least down to the min-
imum en route altitude for the con-
trolled airspace area. 

[Doc. No. 10116, 35 FR 12715, Aug. 11, 1970, as 
amended by Amdt. 171–16, 56 FR 65665, Dec. 
17, 1991] 

§ 171.161 Maintenance and operations 

requirements. 

(a) The owner of the facility shall es-

tablish an adequate maintenance sys-
tem and provide qualified maintenance 
personnel to maintain the facility at 
the level attained at the time it was 
commissioned. Each person who main-
tains a facility shall meet at a min-
imum the Federal Communications 
Commission’s licensing requirements 
and show that he has the special 
knowledge and skills needed to main-
tain the facility, including proficiency 
in maintenance procedures and the use 
of specialized test equipment. 

(b) The owner must prepare and ob-

tain Federal Aviation Administration 
approval of, and each person operating 
or maintaining the facility shall com-
ply with, an operations and mainte-
nance manual that sets forth proce-
dures for operations, preventive main-
tenance, and emergency maintenance, 

including instructions on each of the 
following: 

(1) Physical security of the facility. 
(2) Maintenance and operations by 

authorized persons only. 

(3) Federal Communications Commis-

sion’s requirements and maintenance 
personnel. 

(4) Posting of licenses and signs. 
(5) Relations between the facility and 

Federal Aviation Administration air 
traffic control facilities, with a de-
scription of the boundaries of con-
trolled airspace over or near the facil-
ity, instructions for relaying air traffic 
control instructions and information 
(if applicable), and instructions for the 
operation of an air traffic advisory 
service if the DME is located outside of 
controlled airspace. 

(6) Notice to the Administrator of 

any suspension of service. 

(7) Detailed and specific maintenance 

procedures and servicing guides stating 
the frequency of servicing. 

(8) Air-ground communications, if 

provided, expressly written or incor-
porating appropriate sections of Fed-
eral Aviation Administration manuals 
by reference. 

(9) Keeping of station logs and other 

technical reports, and the submission 
of reports required by § 171.163. 

(10) Monitoring of the facility. 
(11) Inspections by U.S. personnel. 
(12) Names, addresses, and telephone 

numbers of persons to be notified in an 
emergency. 

(13) Shutdowns for routine mainte-

nance and issue of ‘‘Notices to Airmen’’ 
for routine or emergency shutdowns, 
except that private use facilities may 
omit the ‘‘Notices to Airmen.’’ 

(14) An explanation of the kinds of 

activity (such as construction or grad-
ing) in the vicinity of the facility that 
may require shutdown or reapproval of 
the facility by Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration flight check. 

(15) Commissioning of the facility. 
(16) An acceptable procedure for 

amending or revising the manual. 

(17) The following information con-

cerning the facility: 

(i) Location by latitude and lon-

gitude to the nearest second, and its 
position with respect to airport lay-
outs.