On 07 Jul 2017, a near-disaster of Air Canada Flight 759 exemplified the problem of excessive NOTAMs. The pilots of the Airbus A320 mistakenly aligned with the parallel taxiway (TXY C) after being cleared to land on Runway 28R at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The airliner descended to about 60 ft. above the ground, then initiated a go-around after over-flying the first of four other airliners awaiting takeoff clearance on the taxiway. The minimum clearance between aircraft was 14 ft. Pilots of Air Canada flight did not realise their mistake till very late. The fact was that runway 28 L was closed. And due to this missing piece of information, the pilots aligned themselves with parallel taxy way. The worst aircraft disaster in the history was just 2-3 sec away. The NTSB determined that the pilots’ failure to see the NOTAM was the primary cause of the incident. The NOTAM that communicated this critical piece of information to them was lost in about 30 pages of NOTAMs.
At any point in time, the average number of active NOTAM worldwide is about 35,000; of these, 7,000 NOTAM are older than three months. In other words, there are potentially twenty percent of NOTAM appearing in pre-flight information packages for pilots that should not be there. The amount of NOTAM that pilots have to review is a large part of the reason why pilots are missing safety critical information. If we can eliminate all old NOTAM, we can significantly improve the quality of the NOTAM system.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE SYSTEM OF NOTAMS?
Annex 15 – Aeronautical Information Services defines the NOTAM as “a notice distributed by means of telecommunication containing information concerning the establishment, condition or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations”. The Annex states that “a NOTAM shall be originated and issued promptly whenever the information to be distributed is of a temporary nature and of short duration” (6.3.2.2) whereas “temporary changes of long duration (three months or longer) … shall be published as AIP Supplements” (6.3.1.3).
The Procedures for Air Navigation Services – Aeronautical Information Management (PANS-AIM, Doc 10066) elaborates that “within three months from the issuing of a temporary NOTAM of long duration, the information contained in the NOTAM shall be included in the AIP Supplement” (6.1.4.5), and further that “within three months from the issuing of a permanent NOTAM, the information contained in the NOTAM shall be included in the aeronautical information products affected” (6.1.4.4). In addition, “when a NOTAM with estimated end of validity unexpectedly exceeds the three-month period, a replacement NOTAM shall be issued, unless the condition is expected to last for a further period of more than three months; in this case, an AIP Supplement shall be issued” (6.1.4.6).
In simple words- a NOTAM should not be active for more than 3 months, and should not be replaced more than once. So if you still find old NOTAMS then the procedure is not being followed and should be questioned.
NOTAMS were turning into problem related to quality, quantity and a safety concern. To eliminate non- compliant NOTAM, on 8 April 2021, ICAO launched a new Global Campaign on NOTAM Improvement (NOTAM2021). The objective of ICAO’s Global Campaign on NOTAM Improvement is to enhance the quality of NOTAM by eliminating non-compliant NOTAM.
NOTAM OUTAGE IN US
On 11 Jan 2023, FAA paused all flight departures between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Flights already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations. This was due to ‘NOTAM outage’ or service interruption that took place on 10 Jan 2023. The outage was the first time since 11 Sep 2001. In view of this, President Biden signed the NOTAM Improvement Act into law on 03 Jun 2023, which requires the administrator of the FAA to establish a task force to provide recommendations for improvement of the agency’s Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) system.
Shifting our focus to India, where air travel is growing at rapid rate. India is now 3rd largest domestic air travel market. With increasing number of airfields under operations, as well as ongoing infrastructure projects, the number of NOTAMs over the years have increased. I have observed NOTAMS related to bird activity, animal activity, runway extension work , displaced thresholds at the same airfield for like 2-3 years or may be more. I would prefer-
- NOTAMS related to taxi ways, runways, instrument approach procedures highlighted in red text on the EFB itself.
- Airfield closure to be indicated in Red Banner when viewing the airfield information.
- A simpler language so that NOTAM is not misunderstood.
- If NOTAM is repeated or extended then issuing agency should be required to take extension permission and explain why it should not be included in AIP.
- NOTAMS should not be in capital letters.
Technology has improved and become cheaper. We must use that to our advantage. I look forward to more suggestions from the elite readers of my blog. Travellers over the world deserve a safe and dependable air travel service. Thanking you in advance.
Be safe. Be Alert.
