In news–NOTAM system failure has disrupted US flights recently
What is the NOTAM system?
- A NOTAM is a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations but not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means.
- It states the abnormal status of a component of the National Airspace System (NAS) – not the normal status.
- NOTAMs indicate the real-time and abnormal status of the NAS impacting every user.
- NOTAMs concern the establishment, condition, or change of any facility, service, procedure or hazard in the NAS.
- NOTAMs have a unique language using special contractions to make communication more efficient.
- Without NOTAMs, aeroplanes are at a risk of running into flocks of birds or remianing unaware of slippery conditions on runways, for example. NOTAMs are listed location wise with pilots needing to check “25 nautical miles to either side of your full route of flight” for relevant NOTAMs.
- The system relays information about changes in conditions such as weather, volcanic activity, airspace restrictions and other factors, as well as unusual events such as parachute jumps, rocket launches and military exercises.
- It also advises pilots of extraordinary situations at airports, including icing, malfunctioning lights and the presence of flocks of birds, reported Simple Flying.
- The US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) system, which alerts pilots and other flight personnel about hazards or any changes to airport facility services and relevant procedures, was not processing updated information, the civil aviation regulator’s website showed.
Source: The Indian Express
