Airport Transitional Surface

What is an Airport’s Transitional Surface?

Each runway has several imaginary surfaces, one being called a Transitional Surface that exists primarily to prevent existing or proposed manmade objects, objects of natural growth or terrain from extending upward into navigable airspace.

A basic definition of an Airport Transitional Surface is a surface extending outward and upward, at right angles to the runway centerline and extended runway centerline, from the sides of the Primary Surface and the Approach Surfaces at a slope of 7 to 1. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will frequently issue a Notice of Presumed Hazard or a Determination of Hazard in response to an FAA Form 7460-1 filing for any proposed structure that penetrates the Airport’s Transitional Surface. 

Once a sponsor has received an unfavorable determination based upon the penetration of an Airport’s Transitional Surface, it would be prudent to engage an aviation consultant who has extensive expertise in developing innovative and workable solutions that will either allow them to develop their structure as planned or that will mitigate the FAA’s issues resulting in a favorable determination.

Williams Aviation Consultants Inc. has been very successful in receiving a favorable determination from the FAA for our clients that had previously received a Notice of Presumed Hazard or a Determination of Hazard.