Friday, April 26, 2013

FAA Obstruction Lights And Regulations

By Cherry Mercer


The concept behind FAA obstruction lights is very simple. Anything that is high enough for a flying vehicle, such as an airplane, to hit while in flight needs to be lit up or somehow marked for the pilot to be able to see and avoid the object. It is a matter of keeping not only the airplane and its passengers safe, but the public as well.

There are a variety of different rules and regulations for what needs to be lit and what does not. There are also a variety of ways to mark these so called obstructions such as with lighted strobes or by painting with reflective of some other noticeable paint.

Various companies exist to help any construction project move forward with these regulations. Many, if not all of these companies have years of experience in not only adding these lights and other materials to various buildings, towers, and signs, but also in dealing with the FAA and the required paperwork. Just like anything else that is done in our world today, paperwork is going to be needed.

In many ways, if you are not sure what needs to be done in your area the easiest way to learn what needs to be done is to contact one of these companies and see what they can do to help. Again, their experience in these matters can sometimes be undeniable. As a matter of fact, these requirements many times go beyond just putting lights on a tower of a certain height.

There are various rules and regulations to getting prior approval for a project. The size of the construction, the shape, and even the planned colors of the tower or building will be scrutinized in regards to what lighting will be needed. All of this information will be required for the paperwork to be in order. This is of course something that should be easily taken care of at this point in the construction.

While these can sometimes be an eyesore I would much rather know that a plane will not be falling from the sky than to worry about what type of strobe lights are on top of a 200 foot tower in my backyard. Safety is always the number one concern and in this case the FAA and government offices involved do a wonderful job of making sure these measures remain intact.

In many ways this can come down to what exactly is being constructed. If the project is going to involve a tower for example that will be erected on flat land where nothing else exists and normal air traffic is common, it makes sense that some sort of lighting will be necessary for the tower to be seen by pilots.

Then again, if traffic in the area does not normally flow where a construction project is planning to be erected and the tower for example is not going to be in the way at all then FAA obstruction lights may not even be necessary. It is all a matter of proper planning. Again, looking through the requirements for various areas and projects might be a good idea. Planning is always a necessary problem that helps to avoid other problems.




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