Even though a judge at least temporarily halted the planned closure of East Hampton Airport on May 17 and its reopening two days later as a private facility with curfews and use restrictions, the ruling came too late to stop certain technical changes that may impact some flight operations.
On May 19, the airport’s official identifier, “KHTO,” and its publicly available GPS-based instrument approach procedures disappeared right on schedule from the air traffic control system and from aeronautical charts.
The approach procedures are required to conduct landings when the ceiling and visibility fall below the minimums for visual flight.
As of May 19, the day on which GPS databases and aeronautical charts underwent their most recent 28-day updates, the airport’s new identifier appears as “KJPX,” and two new, “special” instrument approach procedures took effect. They provide guidance on GPS displays in the cockpit both laterally and vertically to each end of runway 10-28.
Each approach is considered private and is not published in government approach charts. Town and FAA permission is required to obtain the charts and to fly them.
Permissions have already been granted to a number of charter operators that regularly fly to East Hampton.
A controller at the New York Tracon, which manages the traffic flow in the airspace around and above the airport, told an inquiring pilot by phone on May 19 — a day when instrument conditions prevailed, with low ceilings and visibility — that traffic was light and there had been no confusion, disruptions or problems. A person at the airport reported that the day’s few arrivals had been routine.
Tracon has no ability to vet arriving aircraft to confirm that they have permission to use the new approaches. If an inbound pilot requests one of the new approaches — implying that he or she has the chart and necessary database to fly it — the controller will issue a clearance as traffic permits.
If a pilot illegally used an old database to fly one of the old public approaches, which has an identical track, the controller would have no way of knowing.
Changes also appeared on the newest regional chart for visual fliers that covers the airport. Known as a “sectional” chart, it marks the airport’s location with an “R” in a circle, which indicates its use is restricted. Above its new name, “East Hampton Town” instead of the former “East Hampton,” the abbreviation “Pvt” appears in parentheses.
When and if the town is allowed to close the airport and reopen it as a private “prior permission” facility, as the FAA in April authorized it to do, commercially operated aircraft — whether helicopter, business jet or seaplane — each will be limited to one landing and takeoff per day. Other restrictions including an overnight curfew will apply.
Private flights, known as “Part 91” operations, will not have a quota. Part 91 can cover everything from small Cessnas and Pipers to corporate jets and helicopters that are not used for hire. Aircraft above 50,000 pounds will be banned.
Left out in the cold by the charting and database changeovers last week were scores of frustrated private pilots with aircraft based at the airport who are instrument-rated and whose airplanes are equipped for instrument flight.
They can’t legally fly approaches into KJPX in instrument weather conditions until they obtain town and FAA permission to use them. That process was delayed when the FAA this spring reneged on a promise to batch-approve their applications after they had been processed and approved by the town.
The local office of the FAA in Farmingdale, where phone inquiries always go to voicemail, is said to be reviewing them individually.
