FAA Goes Back To Ten-Mile Separation Rule For 747-8

The FAA has gone back to its original rule setting the following distance behind the new, larger 747-8 at ten miles, after announcing the rule and then retracting it about three weeks ago.

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1. Purpose of This Notice. This notice provides interim air traffic procedures applicable to B748
operations. The procedures specified in this notice supplement existing guidance contained in Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) Order JO 7110.65, Air Traffic Control.
2. Audience. This notice applies to the following Air Traffic Organization (ATO) service units:
En Route and Oceanic, Terminal, and System Operations.
3. Where Can I Find This Notice? This notice is available on the MyFAA employee Web site at
https://employees.faa.gov/tools_resources/orders_notices/ and on the air traffic publications Web site at
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/.
4. Explanation of Policy Change. The procedures in this notice establish interim wake turbulence
separation criteria for the B748 aircraft.
5. Procedures. Standard air traffic control procedures contained in FAA Order JO 7110.65 and
facility letters of agreement must be applied in support of the B748 with the following
additions/changes:
a. TERMINAL.
1. Separate aircraft operating directly behind or directly behind and less than 1,000 feet below or
following an aircraft conducting an instrument approach by:
NOTEConsider
parallel runways less than 2,500 feet apart as a single runway because of the possible effects of wake
turbulence.
(a) Heavy behind B748 – 10 miles.
(b) Large behind B748 – 10 miles.
(c) Small behind B748 – 10 miles.
(d) When applying wake turbulence separation criteria for terminal operations that are defined in
minutes, add 1 additional minute.
2. Visual separation rules specified in FAA Order JO 7110.65, Chapter 7, Section 2, Visual
Separation, must not be applied with respect to B748 aircraft.
b. EN ROUTE.
1. Small/large/heavy behind a B748 – 5 miles.
2. Small/large/heavy behind a B748 being handed off/transferred to terminal facilities – 10 miles
when the trailing aircraft crosses the terminal/en route airspace boundary.

3. Visual separation rules specified in FAA Order JO 7110.65, Chapter 7, section 2, Visual
Separation, must not be applied with respect to B748 aircraft.
6. Distribution. This notice is distributed to the following ATO service units: Terminal, En Route
and Oceanic, and System Operations; the ATO Office of Safety; Office of the Service Center;
the Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service; the William J. Hughes Technical Center; and the
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center.
7. Background. The FAA has not yet issued final standards for this aircraft. Pending the issuance of
such standards, the ATO will continue to issue interim guidance to support the operation of the B748
aircraft in U.S. controlled airspace.
8. Safety Management System. The analyses of computational models suggest that the B748 wake
vortices are similar to those generated by the B744. The separation standards and procedures contained
in this notice are conservative. Flight test data is currently being collected for the B748. Final guidance
will be issued once the flight test data have been evaluated.

FAA