Keep Out Zone (KOZ)

"Keep Out" warnings on the perimeter of Groom Lake/Area-51

A "Keep Out Zone" (KOZ), also known as restricted airspace, is a designated area within an airport or airspace where aircraft or personnel are prohibited or restricted for safety and security reasons, often found around runways, control towers, and military installations.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Purpose

Keep Out Zones are established to ensure the safe and secure operation of airports and airspace by preventing unauthorized activities.

Types of Restricted Airspace

• Prohibited Areas: These are areas where the flight of any aircraft is prohibited, established for security or other reasons.
• Restricted Areas: These are areas where flight operations are not entirely prohibited, but are subject to restrictions, often due to activities that could be hazardous to non-participating aircraft.

Examples of Areas with Keep Out Zones

• Runways: Keep Out Zones are crucial around runways to prevent aircraft from entering while other aircraft are landing or taking off.
• Control Towers: Restricted areas around control towers ensure the safety and security of air traffic controllers and the airspace they manage.
• Military Installations: Keep Out Zones are often established around military installations to protect sensitive facilities and operations.

Depiction on Charts

Restricted areas are depicted on aeronautical charts, often with a blue hatched border and labeled with the letter "R" followed by a serial number.

Operation in Restricted Airspace

To fly through a restricted area, pilots typically need permission from the controlling or using agency.

Monitoring and Enforcement

It's important to have a system in place for monitoring and enforcing these zones, which may include assigning specific individuals to monitor the zones and ensuring that only authorized personnel can enter.

FAA Definition

From FAA ENR 5.1 Prohibited, Restricted, and Other Areas:

1.2 Prohibited Areas "Prohibited areas contain airspace of defined dimensions identified by an area on the surface of the earth within which the flight of aircraft is prohibited. Such areas are established for security or other reasons associated with the national welfare. These areas are published in the Federal Register and are depicted on aeronautical charts."

1.3 Restricted Areas "Restricted areas contain airspace identified by an area on the surface of the earth within which the flight of aircraft, while not wholly prohibited, is subject to restrictions. Activities within these areas must be confined because of their nature or limitations imposed upon aircraft operations that are not a part of those activities or both. Restricted areas denote the existence of unusual, often invisible, hazards to aircraft such as artillery firing, aerial gunnery, or guided missiles. Penetration of restricted areas without authorization from the using or controlling agency may be extremely hazardous to the aircraft and its occupants. Restricted areas are published in the Federal Register and constitute 14 CFR Part 73."

References

• FAA
• NACo