N.J. Admin. Code § 16:54-2.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024
Section 16:54-2.1 - Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Accident" means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft that takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and when all persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage.

"Aeronautical activity" means any of the following aviation related commercial activities generally provided to the public or any segment thereof, at an aeronautical facility either by the licensee or his or her tenants or invitees, with or without compensation:

1. Aircraft: sales, charter, rental, lease, storage, operation, hangaring, tiedown, and parking; and parachuting operations, MEDEVAC operations, and sightseeing;
2. Instruction: aircraft flight and ground instruction of all types, license examinations and proficiency checks, crew member training, parachute jumping training,
3. Maintenance: all types of maintenance, repair, inspection, testing, modification, overhaul, corrosion control or painting of aircraft, engines, systems, avionics, parachutes, or ancillary air or ground support equipment; and
4. Servicing: aircraft fueling using fixed, hydrant, mobile, or portable equipment; aircraft engine or systems servicing, including hydraulics, pneumatics, oxygen, lavatory, aircraft catering, electronics, aircraft cleaning, and passenger and crew and associated services.

"Aeronautical facility" means any airport, seaplane base, heliport, helistop, parachute drop zone, ultralight recreational facility, airship base, balloonspot, or vertiport.

1. The facility includes all property, paving, appliances, structures, seaplane docks, runways, taxiways, seaways, sealanes, aprons, hangars, or safety equipment dedicated to or associated with the aeronautical activities conducted on the premises and property and all land depicted on the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) including all safety zones required for visual or instrument approach procedures as required under FAA, Part 77, Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace.

"Aircraft" means any contrivance now known or hereafter invented, used, or designed for air navigation or flight in the air. It includes, but is not limited to: airplanes, airships, blimps, dirigibles, gyroplanes, gliders, helicopters, hot air or gas balloons, seaplanes, tiltrotors, ultralights, and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones.

"Air navigation" means the operating, steering, directing, or managing of aircraft in or through the air, and on the ground or water.

"Airpark" means any area of land, adjacent to an airport, which is authorized by the Department to be utilized as a combined single family residence and aircraft storage facility, and where aircraft stored at adjacent aircraft storage facilities have taxiway access to and from the airport.

"Airplane" means an engine-driven, fixed-wing aircraft that is heavier than air and supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of air against its wings.

"Airport" means a designated area of land, water, or both, which is licensed for the landing and takeoff of airplanes and other aircraft, and which may provide facilities for shelter, security, and service of aircraft.

"Airport layout plan" or "ALP" means a graphic presentation to scale of existing and proposed facilities at an aeronautical facility. It includes their location on the site and the pertinent clearance and dimensional information required to show conformity with applicable standards.

"Airport reference point" or "ARP" means the centroid of the runways plotted using formulas found in FAA A/C 150-5300-13. The ARP is identified in latitude and longitude to the hundredth of a second.

"Airport safety zone" means an area delineated on an airport open to the public that is geometrically constructed for each runway in accordance with N.J.A.C. 16:62, Air Safety and Zoning.

"Airship" means an engine-driven, lighter than air, aircraft that can be steered.

"Airship base" means any area of land or water of defined dimensions licensed for the takeoff and landing of airships.

"Alteration" means any construction, demolition, or modification to the surface, design, or operational areas of an aeronautical facility which affects, increases, or diminishes its operational capabilities.

"Approach/departure path" means a prescribed area extending outward and upward at a prescribed ratio from a landing or takeoff area, along the intended route of flight conducted into or out of an approved aeronautical facility.

"Appropriate governing body" means the office of the mayor or other chief executive official of the municipality in which the proposed aeronautical facility is located.

"Balloon" means a lighter than air aircraft whose lift is derived from the buoyancy of hot air or certain gases and which is not engine driven.

"Balloonspot" or "balloonport" means any areas of land or water of defined dimensions licensed for the takeoff of manned, free-flight balloons.

"Building restriction line" means a line that is a specified distance from the centerline of a runway.

"Bureau" means the Bureau of Aeronautics in the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

"Certified plan drawing" means a drawing certified as accurate by a licensed land surveyor, licensed professional planner, or licensed professional engineer, and bearing the raised seal of the person certifying the drawing. The drawing may include final plans, specifications, surveys, structural analyses, or other documentation required for the issuance of a construction permit for new structures and additions or renovations of existing structures.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation or such person as the Commissioner may designate, when legally permissible.

"Crewmember" means an individual who assists in the preflight inflation, launch, chase, landing (arrival) and recovery of a balloon; or any person authorized and assigned to perform duties in any aircraft during flight.

"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

"Director" means the Director of the Division of Multimodal Services.

"Division" means the Division of Multimodal Services in the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

"Effective runway length" means that distance on a runway, beginning at a point on the runway surface where the obstruction-free, applicable approach slope intersects the runway, and measured along the runway centerline to the end of the runway in the landing direction.

"Exemption" means relief from a specific provision of this rule permanently or for a specified extended period of time.

"FAA" means the Federal Aviation Administration.

"Final approach and takeoff area" or "FATO" means a defined area over which the pilot completes the final phase of the approach to a hover or a landing and from which the pilot initiates takeoff.

"Free-flight" means the act of flying a manned balloon which is not tethered to the ground.

"Helicopter" means a rotary wing aircraft that depends principally upon the lift generated by engine-driven rotors rotating on a substantially vertical axis for its primary means of propulsion.

"Heliport" means a dedicated area of defined dimensions, either at ground level or elevated on a structure, designated for the landing or takeoff of helicopters and used solely for that purpose.

"Helistop" means an area of defined dimensions, either at ground level or elevated on a structure designated for the landing or take off of helicopters, but not limited in use to that sole purpose. Helistops generally provide minimal or no support facilities and may be located in multiple use areas such as parking lots, dock areas, parks, athletic fields or other suitable open areas.

"Incident" means an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operation of an aircraft, or which affects or could affect the operational capability of an aeronautical facility, or in which any person suffered an injury which was not a serious injury and which did not result in death.

"Licensee" means any person(s) whose name appears on the license of, and who is responsible for, or who controls operations at, an aeronautical facility.

"Manager" means the Manager of the Bureau of Aeronautics.

"MEDEVAC" means helicopter air ambulance operations certified by the New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services, in accordance with 14 CFR Part 135 , Subpart L and FAA Advisory Circular 135-14B, as amended and supplemented, which are dispatched through an air medical helicopter dispatch center.

"MSL" means mean sea level.

"Moored or tethered flight" means the act of operating a balloon secured to the ground by sufficient and suitable means to permit vertical movements where no intention of launch into free-flight exists.

"Notice to Air Mission" or "NOTAM" means a notice or advisory concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure, or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations.

"NTSB" means the National Transportation Safety Board.

"Obstruction to air navigation" means an object of greater height than any of the heights or surfaces in accordance with 14 CFR Part 77 , Subpart C and N.J.A.C. 16:62, Air Safety and Zoning.

"Parachute drop zone" means an area of defined dimensions, on the earth's surface, designated for the landing of parachutists.

"Parachuting exhibition" means the operation by specially qualified individual(s) engaged in parachuting to a specifically authorized drop zone, for exhibition purposes.

"Public use aeronautical facility" means any area of land, water, or both which is licensed for the landing or takeoff of aircraft and open to the public for aeronautical operations. Public use aeronautical facilities may be utilized, advertised, and represented as such.

"Reference point" means a point on the earth's surface, identified in terms of latitude and longitude to the nearest second, from which all linear measurements originate when applying the criteria of this chapter to helicopter facilities. The facility reference point will always be the exact center of the helicopter touchdown area.

"Restricted use aeronautical facility" means any area of land, water or both, which is licensed for the landing or takeoff of aircraft under the conditions or restrictions imposed by the Bureau of Aeronautics, the licensee, or both.

"Runway" means a defined rectangular area of airport land prepared for the landing or takeoff of aircraft along its length.

"Runway safety area" means a defined surface surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to aircraft in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or excursion from the runway.

"Safety area" means a defined area on a heliport surrounding the FATO intended to reduce the risk of damage to helicopters accidentally diverging from the FATO.

"Seaplane base" means any landing area of water (with or without land support facilities) that is licensed for the landing or takeoff of aircraft that are able to utilize a water surface.

"Shelter" means an enclosed structure to provide for the comfort of persons against rain, wind, sun and adverse water.

"Special use aeronautical facility" means any area of land, water, or both which is licensed for the landing and takeoff of specifically designated aircraft piloted by specifically identified individuals, as authorized by the Bureau, in writing on the license, or on an attachment to that license.

"Taxiing" means a powered movement of an aircraft on the ground or water from one area to another. This definition includes hover-taxi as well as ground taxi for helicopters depending on the type of landing gear and the surface area being used.

"Taxiway" means a defined pathway established for movement of an aircraft on an aeronautical facility.

"Touchdown and liftoff area" or "TLOF" means a load-bearing, generally paved area, normally centered in the FATO, on which the helicopter lands or takes off.

"Ultralight aircraft" means an aircraft which conforms to the Federal Aviation Administration specifications for an ultralight aircraft as established by Federal regulation under 14 CFR 103.1.

"Ultralight recreational facility" means a designated area of land, water, or both, which is licensed for the landing and takeoff of ultralight aircraft only, and which may provide facilities for shelter, security, and service of ultralight aircraft.

"Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)" or "drones" means an aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or without the aircraft that is controlled by an operator on the ground.

"Vertical flight aircraft" means any powered aircraft which is capable of vertical or near vertical takeoff and landing operations including but not limited to rotor wing aircraft, tiltrotor aircraft, tilt wing aircraft, and fan in wing aircraft.

"Vertiport" means an area of land, or a structure, used or intended to be used, for electric, hydrogen, and hybrid VTOL aircraft landings and takeoffs and includes associated buildings and facilities.

"VFR" means visual flight rules.

"VTOL" means vertical take-off and landing.

"USPA" means United States Parachute Association. Information, manuals, and circulars can be found at www.uspa.org.

"Waiver" means relief from application requirements of this rule or temporary relief from other provisions of this rule for a specified limited time period.

N.J. Admin. Code § 16:54-2.1

Amended by 48 N.J.R. 1684(a), effective 8/15/2016
Amended by 51 N.J.R. 92(a), effective 1/7/2019
Amended by 55 N.J.R. 2417(a), effective 12/4/2023