Feb. 13, 2023
The FAA recently updated InFO 22001 – Arrival Alert Notice (AAN) and Airport Diagram Symbols for Wrong-Surface Hotspots – which provides information on the testing of AANs and updated airport diagram symbols in an effort to mitigate runway confusion.
The revised InFO serves as a reminder of wrong-surface hotspot symbology and adds Las Vegas, NV, North Las Vegas (VGT) to the list of test airports utilizing AANs.
In May 2022, the FAA began a test period to evaluate the concept of using AANs to provide a visual graphic of wrong-surface landing hotspots. The FAA, industry and safety experts recommended three standardized shapes for both surface-based and wrong-surface hotspots:
Cylinders
represent wrong-surface hotspots (landing surface)
Circlesor ellipses
represent surface-based hotspots, depending on the size of the hotspot
These symbols are published in the Chart Supplement. The cylinder is charted on applicable airport diagrams at the runway ends associated with the hot spot and labeled with “HS” followed by a number, correlating with the Chart Supplement Hot Spot tabulation section.
“Runway safety continues to be a focus of business aircraft operators as wrong-surface landings remain a top safety issue for the FAA,” said Heidi Williams, NBAA’s senior director, air traffic services and infrastructure. “Operators utilizing these airports should include the information in this InFO in their training programs and pilots should familiarize themselves with this symbology.”
This symbology is added to charts based on historical data regarding wrong-surface events. Since 2017, more than 80% of the wrong-surface incidents documented by the FAA involved general aviation aircraft.
The test began with eleven airports; but with the addition of Las Vegas, NV (VGT) in December 2022, 12 airports are now test and evaluation airports.
- Tucson, AZ, Tucson International (TUS)
- Reno, NV, Reno/Tahoe International (RNO)
- Palm Springs, CA, Palm Springs International (PSP)
- San Jose, CA, Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara County (RHV)
- Rochester, NY, Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International (ROC)
- Honolulu, HI, Daniel K Inouye International (HNL)
- Idaho Falls, ID, Idaho Falls Regional (IDA)
- Atlanta, GA, DeKalb-Peachtree (PDK)
- Dallas, TX, McKinney National (TKI)
- Minneapolis, MN, Flying Cloud (FCM)
- Lincoln, NE, Lincoln (LNK)
- Las Vegas, NV, North Las Vegas (VGT)
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.