CAT.OP.MPA.311 Reporting on runway braking action

GENERAL Since both the ATC and the aerodrome operator rely on accurate braking action reports, flight crew should use standardised terminology in accordance with ICAO Doc 4444 ‘PANS ATM’. The following Table 1 shows the correlation between the terminology to be used in the AIREP to report the braking action and the RWYCC. Table 1: Association between AIREP and RWYCC

An AIREP should be transmitted to the ATC, in accordance with one of the following specifications, as applicable:

(a)Good braking action is reported as ‘BRAKING ACTION GOOD’.

(b)Good to medium braking action is reported as ‘BRAKING ACTION GOOD TO MEDIUM’.

(c)Medium braking action is reported as ‘BRAKING ACTION MEDIUM’.

(d)Medium to poor braking action is reported as ‘BRAKING ACTION MEDIUM TO POOR’.

(e)Poor braking action is reported as ‘BRAKING ACTION POOR’.

(f)Less than poor braking action is reported as ‘BRAKING ACTION LESS THAN POOR’. In some cases, the differences between two consecutive levels of the six braking action categories between ‘Good’ and ‘Less than Poor’ may be too subtle for the flight crew to detect. It is therefore acceptable for the flight crew to report on a more coarse scale of ‘Good’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Poor’. Whenever requested by ATC, or if the braking action encountered during the landing roll is not as previously reported by the aerodrome operator in the RCR, pilots should provide a braking action report. This is especially important and safety relevant where the experienced braking action is worse than the braking action associated with any RWYCC code currently in effect for the portion of the runway concerned. When the braking action experienced during landing is better than that reported by the aerodrome operator, it is also relevant to report this information, which may trigger further actions for the aerodrome operator in order to update the RCR. If an aircraft-generated braking action report is available, it should be transmitted, identifying its origin accordingly. If the flight crew have a reason to modify the aircraft-generated braking action report based on their judgement, the commander should be able to amend such report. A braking action AIREP of ‘Less than Poor’ leads to a runway closure until the aerodrome operator can improve the runway condition. An air safety report should be submitted whenever flight safety has been endangered due to low braking action.

GENERAL The role of the flight crew in the runway surface condition reporting process does not end once a safe landing has been achieved. While the aerodrome operator is responsible for generating the RCR, flight crew are responsible for providing accurate braking action reports. The flight crew braking action reports provide feedback to the aerodrome operator regarding the accuracy of the RCR resulting from the observed runway surface conditions. ATC passes these braking action reports to the aerodrome operator, which in turn uses them in conjunction with the RCAM to determine if it is necessary to downgrade or upgrade the RWYCC. During busy times, runway inspections and maintenance may be less frequent and need to be sequenced with arrivals. Therefore, aerodrome operators may depend on braking action reports to confirm that the runway surface condition is not deviating significantly from the published RCR.