October 28, 2011 - Jeppesen, recently received the aviation industry's first Type 1 Letter of Acceptance endorsement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), supporting Jeppesen's processing of navigation obstacle data.  

The endorsement letter notes that Jeppesen complies with FAA Advisory Circular 20-153A acceptance of aeronautical data processes and associated databases and RTCA/DO-200A standards for processing aeronautical data.   

The FAA letter of acceptance ensures that Jeppesen's industry-leading obstacle database complies with documented data quality requirements necessary for providing essential aviation navigation information for customers.

The Jeppesen obstacle database contains approximately 750,000 global obstacle data points generated from more than 200 worldwide sources.

"Jeppesen is proud to receive the first Type 1 letter of acceptance from the FAA, which verifies our standards and processes used to create the most complete navigation obstacle database available in the aviation industry," said Tim Huegel, director, Jeppesen Aviation Portfolio Management.   

"Jeppesen obstacle data services are a critical component of our aviation navigation solutions offering and help to increase situational awareness related to man-made and natural obstacles for our aviation customers worldwide."  

Jeppesen obstacle data is extracted and processed from source material provided by governmental civil aviation authorities and military agencies around the world.  Obstacle information in the Jeppesen database include (if known): obstacle type, geographic coordinates, elevation above mean sea level, coordinate datum, height above ground level, number of structures per obstacle, lighting and vertical and horizontal accuracy.  

Jeppesen obstacle data is used to enhance situational awareness through presentation of information in terrain awareness warning system (TAWS) applications and synthetic vision systems (SVS), flight performance calculator systems and simulators.  The obstacle database also meets the operational requirements put forth by Jeppesen's original equipment manufacturer (OEM) avionics partners. 

The Type 1 Letter of Acceptance from the FAA is based on generic data requirements and provides recognition of a data supplier's compliance with RTCA/DO-200A standards.  The endorsement letter ensures that the processes for producing aeronautical data comply with the advisory circular and documented data quality requirements.