Fixing The Notam Mess

As more and more technology is welcomed into our formerly round-dial cockpits, many pilots have expressed growing frustration over the lingering need to do some things the old-fashioned way. In the new, high-tech cockpit, flat-panel screens, all-electronic flight instruments and portable, tablet-size computers with built-in GPS dominate our must-have lists. Along the way, these much-welcomed advances have helped simplify the pre-flight planning task. But much of the information we need for every flight remains stuck in the abbreviated, ALL CAPS format used when DC-3s and J3 Cubs were the cat’s meow. The notice to airmen (Notam) function is perhaps the best/worst example of how international regulatory agencies have failed leveraging new technologies to improve dissemination of flight-critical information. But now, thanks to an unlikely set of circumstances, an overhaul of the Notam system is underway. Here’s what’s going on, why and what you can expect.

Amy Laboda

Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The traditional Notam (Notice to Airmen) system is outdated, inefficient, and prone to missing critical flight information, a problem famously highlighted by Senator Inhofe's incident of landing on a closed runway.
This prompted the "Pilot's Bill of Rights" legislation, which mandated an overhaul of the Notam system to improve its timely dissemination, relevance, and accessibility for pilots.
In response, the FAA is implementing the Federal Notam System (FNS), an all-digital initiative that streamlines Notam origination, drastically reduces processing times, and provides pilots with a user-friendly "PilotWeb Portal" to access filtered, accurate, and graphically enhanced flight information.

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But much of the information we need for every flight remains stuck in the abbreviated, ALL CAPS format used when DC-3s and J3 Cubs were the cat’s meow. The notice to airmen (Notam) function is perhaps the best/worst example of how international regulatory agencies have failed leveraging new technologies to improve dissemination of flight-critical information. But now, thanks to an unlikely set of circumstances, an overhaul of the Notam system is underway. Here’s what’s going on, why and what you can expect.