U.S. Stage 5 Noise Rules Go Into Effect December 31

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2018, the FAA will require newly designed aircraft to be quieter. The new Stage 5 limits of FAR Part 36 ensure that the latest available noise-reduction technology is incorporated into new aircraft designs, the agency said. “As a result, new airplane type designs of subsonic jet airplanes and subsonic-transport category large airplanes will operate at least seven decibels (dBs) quieter than airplanes in the current fleet.”

Only the heaviest aircraft will be affected by next month’s deadline. It applies to any entity submitting an application for a new airplane type design with an mtow of 121,254 pounds or more. Presently, those aircraft include business airliner-size jets from Airbus and Boeing. The Stage 5 effective date for the vast majority of anticipated new business jet designs—those less than 121,254 pounds—is Jan. 1, 2021. The current noise limit applicable to new type designs Jan. 1, 2006 has been Stage 4. The current U.S. operating rules require that jet aircraft meet at least Stage 3 noise limits.

The change is intended to reduce the noise produced by new airplanes and harmonize the noise certification standards for airplanes certified in the United States with the new Chapter 14, Annex 16 ICAO noise standard that took effect on July 14, 2014. “Failure to harmonize the standards could result in a certification applicant having to show compliance with two different standards, unnecessarily adding to the cost of noise certification without any benefit,” the FAA said. Additionally, the Stage 5 rule allows the use of ICAO Annex 16 noise standards as an alternative to Part 36 for noise testing.  

Seven comments were received on the new limits when they were published as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in January 2016. Two commenters supported the rule as proposed, four suggested technical changes to the rule and one identified a typographical error in the NPRM. The Boeing Company and Airlines for America (A4A) supported all aspects of the proposal. The Los Angeles International Airport/Community Roundtable and the City of Culver City, California, requested that the FAA include a phase-out of existing Stage 3 airplanes as part of the adoption of the new Stage 5 noise standards.

The FAA replied that it considers the requests to initiate a phase-out of Stage 3 jets to be “beyond the scope of the proposed rule and does not provide any basis to attach an operational restriction.” The agency further emphasized that the Stage 5 rule is “intended only for new aircraft and “should not be interpreted as signaling the start of an action aimed at phasing out the existing noise standards that apply to the production or operation of current models.” 

However, a Stage 3 phase-out could eventually be mandated under separate rulemaking, as it was for Stage 2 aircraft. The previous eliminations of Stage 2 jet operations in the contiguous United States were required under two separate statutory provisions by Congress. For larger jets, the phase-out and ultimate prohibition on operation were mandated by the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990. For jets weighing less than 75,000 pounds, Congress mandated a cessation of operations as of Jan. 1, 2015.

There is no mention of supersonic aircraft noise limitations in this rule.