4.1 Inspection

Inspection requirements should be established for the airport facilities, maintenance vehicles, and navigational aids owned by the airport to ensure that the facility is maintained to standards and to reduce risk. The goal of an airport self-inspection program is to find potential hazards and address them to keep the airport in good operating condition. Inspection checklists are helpful to ensure the inspections are consistent and comprehensive and corrective action is taken as needed.

ACRP Legal Research Digest 33: Overview of Airport Duties and Standards of Care in Airfield Accident Cases
Overview of the legal duties and standards of care that may create liability when operating a public airfield. It discusses negligence principles and reviews duties and standards of care in an airfield accident context, including the extent to which federal preemption may apply. The digest concludes with a section discussing many types of airfield conditions that have allegedly contributed to an accident or to liability concerns in past cases.

ACRP Synthesis 26: Current Airport Inspection Practices Regarding FOD (Foreign Object Debris/Damage)
Details the components of a comprehensive FOD management program and compiles current practices, techniques, and lists of tools available for use or those currently being used by airports for FOD inspections.

ACRP Synthesis 27: Airport Self-Inspection Practices
Provides insight into common airport self-inspection practices. For the purposes of ACRP Synthesis 27, a comprehensive self-inspection program includes the components of training; inspecting; reporting discrepancies and findings; follow-up, resolution, and close-out; and quality control.

FAA Standard Operating Procedure 8: Runway Safety Area Determination
Establishes uniform procedures for creating Runway Safety Area Determination (RSAD) documentation for the FAA Office of Airports in a manner compliant with applicable FAA orders. It also helps FAA personnel decide when to assess or reassess the runway safety area, identify appropriate policy to reference, and capture the assessment in an RSAD.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5000-17: Critical Aircraft and Regular Use Determination
Provides guidance on the use of “critical aircraft” in facility planning and design studies, and related FAA decision making, for federally obligated airports. It also defines the term “regular use,” which replaces the term “substantial use” that was used in previous definitions of critical aircraft.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-18: Airport Safety Self-Inspection
Provides information to airport operators about airport self-inspection programs and identifies what should be included in such programs.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-30: Airport Field Condition Assessments and Winter Operations Safety
Provides guidance to assist airport operators in developing a snow and ice control plan, assessing and reporting airport conditions through the utilization of the Runway Condition Assessment Matrix, and establishing snow removal and control procedures.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13: Airport Design
Establishes the FAA standards and recommendations for the geometric layout and engineering design of runways, taxiways, aprons, and other facilities at civil airports. Identifies airport reference code, approach reference code, departure reference code, and taxiway design group that are used in identifying the appropriate design standards for an airport.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-1: Standards for Airport Markings
Contains the FAA standards for markings used on airport runways, taxiways, and aprons.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-18: Standards for Airport Sign Systems
Contains standards for the siting and installation of signs on airport runways and taxiways, including taxiway ending markers, location signs, runway distance remaining signs, mandatory hold signs, and many others.

FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-30: Design and Installation Details for Airport Visual Aids
Provides guidance and recommendations about the installation of airport visual aids including runway and taxiway lighting, land and hold-short lighting systems, rotating beacons, windcones, obstruction lights, medium-intensity approach lighting systems, omnidirectional approach lighting systems, runway end identifier lights, and precision approach path indicators.

FAR Part 139: Certification of Airports

§139.319(g): Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting: Operational Requirements
Prescribes the rescue and firefighting capability that must be maintained on the airport during air carrier operations.

§139.327: Self-Inspection Program
Prescribes the rule governing the airport self-inspection program required for the certification and operation of airports in the United States or any U.S. territory or possession.

Airport Inspection Policy and Checklist Template
Editable airport inspection checklist and associated policy template.

Snow and Ice Control Plan Template
Editable snow and ice control plan template.