Danger Area Proposal within 2nm Radius Langhorne ALA

Seeking to create Danger Area 2 nautical mile (n mile) radius of Langhorne Airport (YLGH) to increase stakeholder situational awareness of the frequent parachuting operations undertaken at this location.

The issue

• Create published Danger Area to make the PJE zone more visible to traffic transiting the area.
• Increase safety margins by increasing separation between parachute descents and Aircraft.

Purpose

SA Skydiving believe that the frequent skydiving operations undertaken at Langhorne are not readily apparent to pilots unfamiliar with the local area. There have been 5 reported incidents since Jan 2022 where traffic has transited the area while parachuting operations were in progress seemingly unaware of the operation and unresponsive to radio calls.

The current depiction of YLGH on visual navigation charts does not accurately represent the separation we require between parachutes and aircraft transiting the zone. Often when aircraft report that they are remaining clear of the airfield, the separation between parachutes and aircraft is not sufficient, though the aircraft is in fact not directly overflying the airfield. This is because parachutes are regularly dropped up to 1.5 miles around the airfield itself due to the prevailing weather conditions and the requirements of the specific parachutist (see VNC Extract 1).

The purpose of the expanded danger area is not to restrict traffic movements through the area. The danger area does not prevent traffic from entering and remaining inside the zone. A danger area is designated where an activity within or over the area is a potential danger to aircraft flying over the area. While no approval is required to fly through a DA, pilots are encouraged to be particularly vigilant if electing to do so (AIP ENR 1.4). We simply would like the representation of the danger area to be more visible on the VTC/VNC to give pilots a better understanding of our operation.

Relevant documentation