800 Independence Ave., S.W. 

Washington, DC 20591 

Jun 18 2010 

Mr. David M. Shinn 

6264 East Saddleback Street 

Mesa, AZ 85215 

Dear Mr. Shinn: 

In your March 6, 2010 letter, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

to amend Part 71 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). 

You have made some good points. However, when the FAA responds to petitions for 

rulemaking, it must follow the requirements of 14 CFR Part 11, particularly those 

guidelines for processing petitions for rulemaking found in § 11.73. As stated in that 

section, the FAA uses the following criteria when making a decision as to whether or not 

to amend current regulations based on a petition for rulemaking: 

1) the immediacy of the safety or security concerns the petition raises; 

2) the priority of other FAA issues; and 

3) the resources we have available to address these issues. 

The reclassification of airspace of Falcon Field Airport (KFFZ) in Mesa, Arizona, from 

Class D to Class B as proposed by the petitioner would place an inordinate burden on the 

air traffic control (ATC) system and General Aviation Operations, and potentially 

interfere with the operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. In addition, 

KFFZ does not meet the minimum 5 million enplaned passengers or the 240,000 air 

carrier operations annually required for a Class B airspace designation. 

You believe the reclassification of airspace would result in a significant reduction of 

aircraft operating over housing developments in close proximity to KFFZ without having 

an appreciable impact on its operations. 

The reclassification of the KFFZ Airspace would impose unnecessary restrictions on a 

large number of pilots and aircraft. The negative ramifications that would result from an 

implementation of Class B Airspace would have a serious impact on current primary 

flight training activities conducted at KFFZ. Furthermore, some types of preliminary 
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flight training cannot be conducted within Class B airspace. This is particularly 

important for the use of practice areas for general aviation flight training, which at times 

involve the distractive environment of a flight instructor providing a learning experience 

for a fledgling student pilot. You stated that you were advised “that in Class D airspace, 

pilots can do whatever they want without regard to operations over anything.” All 

aircraft operations in Class D airspace are subject to FAA operating rules and equipment 

requirements specified in Part 91. Prior to entering a Class D airspace area, pilots are 

required to contact the controlling air traffic control facility and comply with ATC 

instructions. 

Additionally, you stated that the reclassification of the airspace would result in moving 

the aircraft traffic patterns to uninhabited desert area; there is no information to provide a 

foundation for this contention. 

For the reasons above, we are unable to consider and thereby deny your petition for 

rulemaking in accordance with 14 CFR § 11.73. 

Accordingly, Docket No. FAA-2010-0472 is being closed. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

Elizabeth Ray 

Director, Aerospace and Aeronautical Information Management