Last month, a viewer asked WMAZ to verify if the BB&T and Fickling & Co. buildings located in downtown Macon are following Federal Aviation Administration lighting guidelines.
Erick DeLeon manages the Middle Georgia Regional Airport and says it's important to consider what obstructions surround the facility.
DeLeon says the FAA recommends that large obstructions like skyscrapers, radio, and cell phone towers be marked with red, flashing lights.
About 10 miles north of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, you'll find a few tall buildings, but are they in compliance with the FAA's rules?
"Normally anything over 200 feet the FAA looks at," says DeLeon.
By e-mail, FAA rep Kathleen Bergen told WMAZ if a building is over 200 feet or close to an airport, the owner has to file a notice that triggers an FAA airspace study. Bergen says lights could be required if the building is close to a flight path or airport.
Bergen says the FAA database lists the BB&T building at 236 feet tall and the Fickling & Co. building at 221 feet.
The agency has studied both structures since they are over 200 feet.
According to Bergen, the FAA says the BB&T building doesn't need lights.
But AT&T filed a new request with the FAA in April to add a cell phone tower to the Fickling and Co. building. Bergen says the FAA recommends adding red lights once that tower goes up.
So we verified that both buildings are currently in compliance with FAA recommendations.
Bergen says if business owners do not take the FAA's recommendations, they will not be fined, but their insurance may be affected, and they may not get locally required business permit from the FCC.
Here are the requirements for an airspace study:
Who Needs to File
The requirements for filing with the Federal Aviation Administration for proposed structures vary based on a number of factors: height, proximity to an airport, location, and frequencies emitted from the structure, etc. For more details, please reference 14 CFR Part 77.9.
OR
In accordance with 14 CFR Part 77.9, if you propose any of the following types of construction or alteration, you must file notice with the FAA at least 45 days prior to beginning construction: ##any construction or alteration that exceeds an imaginary surface extending outward and upward at any of the following slopes:
##100 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 20,000 ft. from the nearest point of the nearest runway of each airport described in 14 CFR 77.9(d) with its longest runway more than 3,200 ft. in actual length, excluding heliports
##50 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 10,000 ft. from the nearest point of the nearest runway of each airport described in 14 CFR 77.9(d) with its longest runway no more than 3,200 ft. in actual length, excluding heliports
##25 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 5,000 ft. from the nearest point of the nearest landing and takeoff area of each heliport described in 14 CFR 77.9(d); ##OR any highway, railroad, waterway or other traverse way for mobile objects, of a height which, if adjusted upward as defined in 14 CFR 77.9(c) would exceed a standard of 14 CFR 77.9 (a) or (b); ##OR your structure will emit frequencies, and does not meet the conditions of the FAA Co-location Policy; ##OR your proposed structure will be in proximity to a navigation facility and may impact the assurance of navigation signal reception; ##OR any construction or alteration exceeding 200 feet above ground level, regardless of location; ##OR any construction or alteration located on an airport described in 14 CFR 77.9(d); ##OR filing has been requested by the FAA.