When The Earth Moves

Everyone aboard the Beech Model 17 Staggerwing in which I was a passenger had been to the Driggs, Idaho, airport (KDIJ) dozens of times, perhaps even hundreds. Driggs Reed Memorial Airport is one of the more scenic airports in the country, much less Idaho. But as we approached, we could tell something was amiss. The pattern was busier than usual, and we heard a call for Runway 22. All three of us knew with confidence that Driggs single runway is laid out 03-21, but a second and third plane called in approaching the same, seemingly wrong runway.

Mike Hart

Friday, November 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Runway designations frequently change due to the Earth's shifting magnetic poles, but updates to physical markings, charts, electronic flight bags (EFBs), and flight management system (FMS) databases are often unsynchronized, causing significant confusion for pilots.
This lag in information propagation creates safety risks, leading to conflicting data sources, potential runway misidentification, incorrect heading instructions (e.g., "fly runway heading"), and challenges, particularly with reciprocal runways or during international flights.
The FAA struggles to coordinate these comprehensive updates across different departments and systems due to various factors like funding, construction availability, and complex FMS database interdependencies, often resorting to NOTAMs as a temporary, imperfect solution.
Pilots are therefore responsible for diligently checking all available information sources, including NOTAMs, airport diagrams, and EFBs, to ensure they have the most current data and understand magnetic variation for safe navigation.

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Everyone aboard the Beech Model 17 Staggerwing in which I was a passenger had been to the Driggs, Idaho, airport (KDIJ) dozens of times, perhaps even hundreds. Driggs Reed Memorial Airport is one of the more scenic airports in the country, much less Idaho. But as we approached, we could tell something was amiss. The pattern was busier than usual, and we heard a call for Runway 22. All three of us knew with confidence that Driggs’ single runway is laid out 03-21, but a second and third plane called in approaching the same, seemingly wrong runway. If it had been just one pilot, we would have ignored it and chalked it up to an out-of-towner’s mistake.

I looked at the electronic flight bag (EFB) app on my recently updated iPad. It showed an extended centerline icon projecting Runway 03-21. When I pulled up the current airport diagram, it also showed Runway 03-21. But then I noticed the Notam icon at the top of the display. A click on the icon showed that Runway 3-21 changed to Runway 4-22 a couple of weeks earlier. Related screenshots are below. Equipped with this new information, our Staggerwing’s pilot turned and made the correct position call for right traffic for the newly designated runway. A plane full of old-timers got schooled by out-of-towners using the correct (albeit new) runway designator.