ADR.OPS.A.065 Reporting of the runway surface condition

REPORTING The aerodrome operator should disseminate an RCR through the aeronautical information services and air traffic services, when the runway is wholly or partly contaminated by standing water, snow, slush, ice or frost, or is wet associated with the clearing or treatment of snow, slush, ice or frost. When the runway is wet, not associated with the presence of standing water, snow, slush, ice or frost, the assessed information should be disseminated using the RCR through the air traffic service.

RUNWAY CONDITION REPORT

(a)The RCR should consist of the:

(1)aeroplane performance calculation section; and

(2)situational awareness section.

(b)The information should be included in an information string in the following order:

(1)aeroplane performance calculation section:

(i)aerodrome location indicator;

(ii)date and time of assessment;

(iii)lower runway designation number;

(iv)RWYCC for each runway third;

(v)per cent coverage contaminant for each runway third;

(vi)depth of loose contaminant for each runway third;

(vii)condition description for each runway third; and

(viii)width of runway to which the RWYCCs apply if less than the published width.

(2)Situational awareness section:

(i)reduced runway length;

(ii)drifting snow on the runway;

(iii)loose sand on the runway;

(iv)chemical treatment on the runway;

(v)snowbanks on the runway;

(vi)snowbanks on the taxiway;

(vii)snowbanks adjacent to the runway;

(viii)taxiway conditions;

(ix)apron conditions; and

(x)plain-language remarks.

GENERAL

(a)Assessing and reporting the condition of the movement area and related facilities is necessary in order to provide the flight crew with the information needed for safe operation of the aeroplane. The RCR is used for reporting assessed conditions through the issuance of SNOWTAM, when necessary.

(b)Generally, movement areas are exposed to a multitude of climatic conditions and consequently there is a significant difference in the conditions to be reported. The RCR describes a basic structure applicable for all these climatic variations. Assessing the runway surface condition relies on a great variety of techniques and no single solution can apply to every situation.

(c)The philosophy of the RCR is that the aerodrome operator assesses the runway surface condition whenever water, snow, slush, ice or frost are present on an operational runway. From this assessment, a RWYCC and a description of the runway surface are reported, which can be used by the flight crew for aeroplane performance calculations. This format, based on the type, depth and coverage of contaminants, is the best assessment of the runway surface condition by the aerodrome operator; however, all other pertinent information is taken into consideration and kept up to date, and changes in conditions are reported without delay.

(d)The RWYCC reflects the runway braking capability as a function of the surface conditions. With this information, the flight crew can derive, from the performance information provided by the aeroplane manufacturer, the necessary stopping distance of an aircraft on the approach under the prevailing conditions.

RUNWAY CONDITION REPORT

AEROPLANE PERFORMANCE CALCULATION SECTION

(a)The aeroplane performance calculation section is a string of grouped information, separated by a space ‘ ’ ending with a return and a two-line feed ‘<<≡’, in order to distinguish the aeroplane performance calculation section from the following situational awareness section or the following aeroplane performance calculation section of another runway.

(b)The information to be included in this section consists of the following:

(1)Aerodrome location indicator: a four-letter ICAO location indicator in accordance with ICAO Doc 7910 ‘Location Indicators’. This information is mandatory. Format: nnnn

(2)Date and time of the assessment: date and time (UTC) when the assessment was performed. This information is mandatory. Format: MMDDhhmm

(3)Lower runway designation number: a two- or three-character number identifying the runway for which the assessment is carried out and reported. This information is mandatory. Format: nn[L] or nn[C] or nn[R]

(4)Runway condition code for each runway third: a one-digit number identifying the RWYCC assessed for each runway third. The codes are reported in a three-character group separated by a ‘/’ for each third. The direction for listing the runway thirds is the direction as seen from the lower designation number. This information is mandatory. When transmitting information on the runway surface condition by air traffic services to flight crews, the sections are, however, referred to as the first, second or third part of the runway. The first part always means the first third of the runway as seen in the direction of landing or take-off as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Format: n/n/n Example: 5/5/2 [Figure or form omitted from this preview — available in the Avioverse workspace library.]Figure 1: Reporting of RWYCC from air traffic services to flight crew for runway thirds [Figure or form omitted from this preview — available in the Avioverse workspace library.] Figure 2: Reporting of RWYCC for runway thirds from air traffic services to flight crew on a runway with displaced threshold

(5)Per cent coverage contaminant for each runway third: a number identifying the percentage coverage. The percentages are to be reported in an up-to-nine character group separated by a ‘/’ for each runway third. The assessment is based upon an even distribution within the runway thirds using Table 1. This information is conditional. It is not reported for any runway third that is dry or covered with less than 10 per cent. Format: [n]nn/[n]nn/[n]nn Example: 25/50/100 In case of uneven distribution of the contaminants, additional information is given in the plain-language remark part of the situational awareness section of the RCR. Where possible, a standardised text is used. When no information is to be reported, ‘NR’ is inserted at the relevant position of the message, to indicate to the user that no information exists.

(6)Depth of loose contaminant: dry snow, wet snow, slush or standing water for each runway third: a two- or three-digit number representing the assessed depth (mm) of the contaminant for each runway third. The depth is reported in a six-to nine-character group separated by a ‘/’ for each runway third as defined in Table 2 of AMC1 ADR.OPS.A.065(b);(c). The assessment is based upon an even distribution within the runway thirds following an assessment. If measurements are included as part of the assessment process, the reported values are still reported as assessed depths. This information is conditional. It is reported only for DRY SNOW, WET SNOW, SLUSH and STANDING WATER. Format: [n]nn/[n]nn/[n]nn

(7)Condition description for each runway third: to be reported in capital letters using the terms specified in ADR.OPS.A.065 point (a). The condition types are separated by an oblique stroke ‘/’. This information is mandatory. Format: nnnn/nnnn/nnnn

(8)Width of runway to which the RWYCCs apply if less than the published width: two-digit number representing the width of cleared runway in metres. This information is conditional. Format: nn If the cleared runway width is not symmetrical along the centre line, additional information is given in the plain-language remark part of the situational awareness section of the RCR.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS SECTION

(a)All individual messages in the situational awareness section end with a full-stop sign, in order to distinguish the message from subsequent message(s).

(b)The information to be included in this section consists of the following:

(1)Reduced runway length The information is conditional when a NOTAM has been published with a new set of declared distances affecting the landing distance available (LDA). Format: Standardised fixed text – RWY nn [L] or nn [C] or nn [R] LDA REDUCED TO [n]nnn

(2)Drifting snow on the runway This information is conditional. Format: Standardised fixed text – RWY nn [L] or nn [C] or nn[R] DRIFTING SNOW

(3)Loose sand on the runway This information is conditional. Format: RWY nn[L] or nn[C] or nn[R] LOOSE SAND

(4)Chemical treatment on the runway This information is conditional. Format: RWY nn[L] or nn[C] or nn[R] CHEMICALLY TREATED

(5)Snowbanks on the runway This information is conditional. Left or right distance in metres from centre line. Format: RWY nn[L] or nn[C] or nn[R] SNOWBANK Lnn or Rnn or LRnn FM CL

(6)Snowbanks on taxiway This information is conditional. Format: TWY [nn]n or TWYS [nn]n/[nn]n/[nn]n/… or ALL TWYS SNOWBANKS

(7)Snowbanks adjacent to the runway penetrating level/profile set in the aerodrome snow plan This information is conditional. Format: RWY nn[L] or nn[C] or nn[R] ADJ SNOWBANKS

(8)Taxiway conditions This information is optional. Format: TWY [nn]n POOR or TWYS[nn]n/[nn]n/… POOR or ALL TWYS POOR

(9)Apron conditions This information is conditional. Format: APRON [nnnn] POOR or APRONS[nnnn]/[nnnn]/… POOR or ALL APRONS POOR

(10)Plain-language remarks using only allowable characters in capital letters Where possible, standardised text is used. This information is optional except for the conditional information ‘UPGRADED’ or ‘DOWNGRADED’ used whenever the assessed RWYCC differs from what follows directly from the runway condition assessment matrix (RCAM). When present, this information is to be the first piece of information of the plain language remarks in order to ease readability and to recognise its importance as part of the situational awareness prior to aeroplane performance calculations. Format: Combination of allowable characters where use of full stop ‘.’ marks the end of the message. Allowable characters:

A B C D E F G H I J K LM N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 / [oblique stroke] ‘.’ [period]’ ‘ [space] If ICE, SNOW or SNOW ON ICE affects only the runway edge, the following text may be used: RWY nn[L] or nn[C] or nn[R] ICE or SNOW or SNOW ON ICE Lnn or Rnn or LRnn FM EDGE

COMPLETE INFORMATION STRING An example of a complete information string prepared for dissemination is as follows: COM header and abbreviated header] (Completed by AIS)

GG EADBZQZX EADNZQZX EADSZQZX 070645 EADDYNYX SWEA0151 EADD 02170055 SNOWTAM 0151 [Aeroplane performance calculation section] EADD 02170055 09L 5/5/5 100/100/100 NR/NR/NR WET/WET/WET EADD 02170135 09R 5/2/2 100/50/75 NR/06/06 WET/SLUSH/SLUSH EADD 02170225 09C 2/3/3 75/100/100 06/12/12 SLUSH/WET SNOW/WET SNOW [Situational awareness section] RWY 09L SNOWBANK R20 FM CL. RWY 09R ADJ SNOWBANKS. TWY B POOR. APRON NORTH POOR.

REPORTING BY AERODROMES WITH MULTIPLE RUNWAYS On aerodromes with multiple runways, SNOWTAM includes all the runways, in case that at least one runway is contaminated. This improves pilots’ situational awareness and support their decision on the selection of the landing/take-off runway.

REPORTING OF CHEMICALLY TREATED AND LOOSE SAND The terms ‘CHEMICALLY TREATED’ and ‘LOOSE SAND’ do not appear in the aeroplane performance calculation section but are used in the situational awareness section of the RCR.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES A change in the runway surface condition used in the RCR should be considered significant whenever there is any:

(a)change in the RWYCC;

(b)change in the contaminant type;

(c)change in reportable contaminant coverage according to Table 1;

(d)change in contaminant depth according to Table 2; and

(e)other information, for example a SPECIAL AIR-REPORT of runway braking action, which according to assessment techniques used, is known to be significant.

Table 1: Percentage of coverage for contaminants

Table 2: Depth assessments for contaminants Note 1: For STANDING WATER, 04 (4 mm) is the minimum depth value at and above which the depth should be reported. From 3 mm and below, the runway third should be considered WET. Note 2: For SLUSH, WET SNOW and DRY SNOW, depths up to and including 3 mm should be reported as 03 (3 mm). Note 3: Above 4 mm for STANDING WATER and above 3 mm for SLUSH, WET SNOW and DRY SNOW, an assessed value should be reported and a significant change relates to the observed change from this assessed value.

EXAMPLE OF REPORTING DEPTH OF CONTAMINANT WHENEVER THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE

(a)After the first assessment of runway condition, a first RCR is generated. The initial report is: 5/5/5 100/100/100 03/03/03 SLUSH/SLUSH/SLUSH Note: The full information string is not used in this example.

(b)With continuing precipitation, a new RCR is required to be generated as a subsequent assessment reveals that the depth of contamination has increased from 3 mm to 5 mm along the entire length of the runway and therefore a change in the RWYCC is needed. A second RCR is therefore created as: 2/2/2 100/100/100 05/05/05 SLUSH/SLUSH/SLUSH

(c)With even more precipitation, a further assessment reveals that the depth of contamination has increased from 5 mm to 7 mm along the entire length of the runway. However, a new RCR is not required because the RWYCC has not changed (change in depth is less than the significant change threshold of 3 mm).

(d)A final assessment of the contamination reveals that the depth has increased to 10 mm. A new RWYCC is required because the change in depth from the last RCR (second RWYCC), i.e. from 5 mm to 10 mm is greater than the significant change threshold of 3 mm. A third RCR is thus created as below: 2/2/2 100/100/100 10/10/10 SLUSH/SLUSH/SLUSH For contaminants other than STANDING WATER, SLUSH, WET SNOW or DRY SNOW, the depth is not reported. The position of this type of information in the information string is then identified by /NR/. When the depth of the contaminants varies significantly within a runway third, additional information is to be given in the plain-language remark part of the situational awareness section of the RCR.

USE OF FRICTION MEASUREMENTS Friction measurements cannot be used by flight crews to determine landing performance requirements, because there is no correlation between the measurements and aeroplane performance data. Nevertheless, continuous friction measuring devices may be used, together with all other available means, to support upgrade or downgrade of the RWYCC, by using friction measurements in a comparative way and not as absolute values.