Upper Cumberland Regional Airport passed its commercial flight pre-inspection by the FAA.
Airport Manager Dean Selby said the part one-39 inspection is the section of the federal code the airport would fall under when it is licensed for commercial flight. He said the three-day intensive inspection involved a representative from the FAA looking at everything from the angle of the runway lights to the fencing around the airport itself.
“I think it is a great thing the stuff we’re looking at for inspection should be safety areas regardless of whether you’re certified for commercial flights,” Selby said. “It doesn’t matter that it’s a commercial airliner or it’s one of the regional jets that flies in here that doesn’t operate as a commercial carrier. We should be operating the same level of safety across the board.”
Selby said both the airport and the FAA representative learned new things from the inspection. He said the main portion involved making sure the airport’s paperwork was filed and documented correctly.
Selby said now that they have passed the pre-inspection, the real work begins. He said the airport will have to collect up to 24 months of data and make necessary safety improvements before it is ready for the final inspection.
“We have several things that the clock starts on that takes a minimum of 12 to 18 months to do,” Selby said. “And we knew this going into that. Sot hat was part of this inspection to set up some of these action items that have a time frame that you have to have. For instance, we have to have 12 months of specific records and now we have to find those records. That was part of what this was, what records are we keeping and which ones are a part of this process. It will be an interesting few months working towards that.”
Selby said they will work with other entities like the USDA to improve fencing deficiencies where wildlife could potentially get in as well.
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