Definition
An FAA-issued Operations Specification authorization that permits an eligible operator to use a certified Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) to descend below the published Decision Altitude, Decision Height, or Minimum Descent Altitude on a straight-in instrument approach procedure, down to 100 feet above the touchdown zone elevation, provided the required EFVS visual references are continuously distinctly visible and identifiable to the pilot.
Plain English
It is an official FAA approval that lets a qualifying operator fly an instrument approach lower than the normal minimums by using an enhanced vision system that shows the runway environment on a cockpit display.
Context Anchor
Seen in EFVS discussions, company manuals, FAA authorizations, and approach planning for operators that use enhanced flight vision equipment.
Derivation
OpSpec is short for Operations Specifications, the formal document the FAA issues to a certificate holder listing what that operator is and is not authorized to do. C073 is simply the paragraph number within that document covering EFVS operations to 100 feet above touchdown zone elevation.
Why Pilots Care
It legally permits lower landing minima with EFVS, expanding operational capability in marginal weather without compromising safety.
Intuition Check
OpSpec C073 is not the EFVS equipment itself. It is the FAA authorization that controls how that equipment may be used in that operator’s flights.
Example Sentence 1
Before dispatching the flight into low-visibility conditions, the captain confirmed the company held OpSpec C073 and that the aircraft's EFVS was operational.
Example Sentence 2
Before using the system on an approach, the crew verified that OpSpec C073 was listed in their operations specifications.