AIS-AIMSG /8-IP/3
03/11/2013
AERONAUTICAL INFORMATION SERVICES TO AERONAUTICAL
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT STUDY GROUP (AIS-AIMSG)
EIGHTH MEETING
Montréal, 4 to 8 November 2013
Agenda Item 5:
Temporality and Distribution
5.3: NOTAM Proliferation
NOTAM PROGRAM ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
(Presented by Greg Pray)
SUMMARY
The attached document provides a summary of recent improvements to the
NOTAM Program Office. It represents a document version of a presentation
at the recent Air Transportation Information Exchange Conference (AITEC)
conference in Silver Spring, MD. The presentation is attached.
The group is invited to consider this material.
1.
Organizational changes
The US NOTAM program has undergone organizational changes, moving under the aegis of the Flight
Services Program, which is responsible for entering NOTAM into the system.
2.
US NOTAM System changes
Implementation of the updated order (JO 7930.2N, Notices to Airmen), was delayed until October 2013.
Significant changes include:
•
All NOTAMs have an effective/expiration time
–
Estimated (EST), permanent (PERM) or auto-expire
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•
3.
Field Condition (FICON) NOTAMs
–
Conditions Not Monitored
–
Observed At
Additional NOTAM Originators
In 2012, E-NOTAM could be entered by Lockheed Martin Flight Services, Technical Operations control
Center Personnel and Tower Light Operators. These originators enter lighting, NAVAID and
communications system NOTAM.
Soon, the Aeronautical Navigation Products Office and the Center for Altitude Reservation Function
(CARF), along with the Technical Operations – System Operations Center, will have the capability to
enter NOTAM directly.
4.
Policy Analysis and Changes
Pilots and flight dispatchers have sought to limit NOTAM to facilities and services that are published on
charts/publications, while providing the information required to meet the pilot-in-command’s legal
responsibilities1
The NOTAM policy office (Safety and Operations Policy Group) is working with other offices within the
FAA to restrict the use of NOTAMs for “publicizing” or “promoting” new technology which do not meet
NOTAM criteria.
The NOTAM Order was recently revised to bring standardization to the NOTAM and to help the United
States get closer ICAO compliance. The template now ensures that.
1

Only ICAO-approved contractions are used or the term is spelled out in plain language.

Every NOTAM has a start and stop time. NOTAM may exceed 90 days, but will contain an
expiration time.

The following may no longer be used:
o
“With Effect From (WEF)”,
o
“With Immediate Effect (WIE)”,
o
“Until Further Notice (UFN)”, and
o
“TIL”.
US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR 91.103, Preflight Action), -
Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. Thi
information must include—
(a) For a flight under IFR or a flight not in the vicinity of an airport, weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives
available if the planned flight cannot be completed, and any known traffic delays of which the pilot in command has been
advised by ATC;
(b) For any flight, runway lengths at airports of intended use, and the following takeoff and landing distance information:
(1) For civil aircraft for which an approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual containing takeoff and landing distance data is
required, the takeoff and landing distance data contained therein; and
(2) For civil aircraft other than those specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, other reliable information appropriate to the
aircraft, relating to aircraft performance under expected values of airport elevation and runway slope, aircraft gross weight, and
wind and temperature.\
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Pilots’ Bill of Rights
5.
As part of a law known as the Pilots’ Bill of Rights, the FAA is required to initiate a NOTAM
Improvement Program (NIP), with the following goals
(1) to decrease the overwhelming volume of NOTAMs an airman receives when retrieving airman
information prior to a flight in the national airspace system;
(2) make the NOTAMs more specific and relevant to the airman’s route and in a format that is more
useable to the airman;
(3) to provide a full set of NOTAM results in addition to specific information requested by airmen;
(4) to provide a document that is easily searchable; and
(5) to provide a filtering mechanism similar to that provided by the Department of Defense Notices to
Airmen.
6.
NIP
As one part of the NIP, the FAA is planning to implement a keyword search capability to provide pilots
and flight planners the ability to filter the NOTAM to those impacting the proposed flight path. The
initial keywords are Aerodrome (AD), Runway (RWY), Taxiway (TWY), APRON, Service (SVC), and
Communications (COM)
Surface Name/
Designator
KEYWORD
Feature, Service,
Facility or System
Limitation
7.
Surface Segment
Descriptive comments about
Feature, Facility, Service or System
Exceptions/PPR
Geographic Location/
Description
Condition
Other Comments
Future work
While we have made significant changes this year, we face other challenges, such as:

Reviewing the increasing number of NOTAM issued directly by airports through the new
NOTAM Manager System (i.e., submission through the flight service stations is no longer
required).
o
Increased training for airport operators so NOTAMs are issued correctly and based on
NOTAM criteria
o
Reducing free text NOTAM

Determining the need for a more predictive NOTAM as the navigation services rely more heavily
on satellite-based systems (i.e, service rather than equipment)

Considering how NextGen services are provided and the possible need to update the purpose and
scope of NOTAM
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