Late on the night of January 10, 2023, a critical digital system known as NOTAM, operated by the Federal Aviation Administration, went offline. The FAA was able to continue to provide pilots with the information they needed at night using phone-based backups, but the makeshift response was unable to keep up with the morning flight rush, and it will not be available until 1 January 2022. On March 11th, the FAA grounded all commercial flights. United States In total, approximately 7,000 flights have been cancelled. Brian Strzempkowksi is interim director of the Center for Aviation Studies at Ohio State University and is a commercial pilot, flight instructor, and dispatcher. He explains what the NOTAM system is and why planes can’t fly when the system goes down.
What is Notam?
There are many acronyms in aviation, but Notams to Air Missions (NOTAM) is one that pilots learn early in their training. NOTAM is a message that is disseminated to all aircraft crews in the United States.
The NOTAM system is a computer network operated by the Federal Aviation Administration that provides flight crew with real-time updates on weather, infrastructure, ground conditions, or other conditions that may affect flight safety. Trained professionals (air traffic controllers, airport managers, airport operations personnel, FAA personnel responsible for national airspace infrastructure, etc.) can access the system and enter information that needs to be shared widely. increase.
Pilots, air traffic controllers, and anyone else who needs to know flight status can access the NOTAM system and make appropriate changes to the planned flight. It’s like checking traffic conditions on your phone or local news in the morning before you leave for work. Traffic reports notify you of potential hazards or backups on the road that might take you another route.
What is the NOTAM system and how is it used?
NOTAMs are issued for various reasons. Some notifications are useful to know, but they don’t affect your flight. For example, staff mowing grass along the runway, or cranes working on the building next to the airport. Others are more significant, such as a runway being closed due to snow, ice, or damage, forcing the plane to take off or land on another runway. Changes to access to airspace are also recorded in NOTAM. For example, the airspace is always closed over the president and during his travels. NOTAM warns pilots of changes in airspace closures.
Pilots review these NOTAMs during the pre-flight briefing. Usually this is done digitally with a computer, but a pilot or air traffic controller can access the system by calling a flight service his briefer can share live weather information and his NOTAM information. You can also An airline pilot relies on the dispatcher to relay her relevant NOTAMs not only before the flight, but also during the flight.
NOTAM itself uses a lot of abbreviations and is often incomprehensible to non-aviation people, but it can convey a lot of information in a small amount of text. Hundreds of different acronyms can convey information ranging from taxiway closures to suspension of use of certain types of airport lighting to notices that some pavement markings may be obscured. increase.
But not all NOTAMs are simple. I’ve seen notices from airports warning pilots that the fire department is setting fire to nearby homes.
Why can’t I fly if the NOTAM system is down?
The Federal Aviation Administration requires NOTAMs to be checked by flight attendants before every flight for safety reasons. Without access to this information, the plane cannot legally depart as there may be unknown dangers ahead.
As an example, a pilot flying from Seattle to Miami would need to know that Miami Airport is open, that the runway is clear, and that all navigation sources the pilot might use (GPS signals and ground navigation antennas). etc.) must be known. while working in the air. You could theoretically call the Miami airport, ask questions, and call the person who oversees all the navigational assistance on your route, but that would take a lot of time. A much more efficient way to collect this information pre- and in-flight is through the NOTAM system.
After all, the NOTAM system is about safety. If the system goes down, the pilot will not be able to fly safely. There’s a good reason planes aren’t going anywhere unless the NOTAM system is working.
Brian Strzempkowski is the interim director of the Ohio State University Aviation Research Center.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Please read the original article.
