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Categorical Exclusion for Letter of Agreement Update to Automate a 250° Westerly Turn for Southbound Turboprops When Seattle–Tacoma International Airport is Operating in North-Flow Between the Hours of 6 am and 10 pm

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CATEX 250 Turn

This April 2018 Federal Aviation Administration document describes a proposed procedural change at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to automatically direct southbound turboprop aircraft to a 250-degree westerly heading during north-flow operations between 6 am and 10 pm, rather than requiring air traffic controllers to manually coordinate each turn. The nighttime hours of 10 pm to 6 am were excluded from the automatic turn procedure in response to community concerns from the City of Burien and other residents about flight noise over sensitive areas. The document evaluates this preferred alternative alongside other options, including changes to heading angles and missed approach procedures, which were ultimately eliminated due to safety and airspace separation requirements.

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FAA Categorical Exclusion (CATEX) prepared by the Federal Aviation Administration, Renton, WA, April 2018, for a Letter of Agreement (LOA) update between SEA ATCT and S46 (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Burien area airspace) to automate a 250° westerly turn for southbound turboprop departures during north-flow operations between 6 am and 10 pm. The Preferred Alternative suspends automatic westerly turns between 10 pm and 6 am in response to comments from the City of Burien. Document includes analysis of No Action alternative, flight track data from 60 random days August 2015–January 2016, Missed Approach Heading Range evaluation, and alternatives considered but eliminated including heading changes and missed approach procedure modifications. NEPA environmental review document referencing NEPA, CEQ regulations, and ACI-NA comments on concurrent multi-agency environmental reviews.

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