"Visibility refers to the greatest
horizontal distance at which prominent objects can be
viewed with the naked eye" (PKAH, 2016). Simply put, visibility is how far you can see. Pilots take visibility into account when they are doing their pre-flight planning. Visibility will be provided by meteorologists in the aviation routine weather report (METAR) report (PHAK, 2016). Visibility that is less than 3 statute miles will require instrument approaches to land at the airports (ERAU, 2016). Otherwise, pilots would essentially be landing blind.
What affects visibility?
Precipitation can lower the cloud ceiling and reduce visibility. Thunderstorms are the most known culprit for doing this. It just takes moisture, an unstable atmosphere, and a lifting mechanism such as a cold front to form a thunderstorm (PHAK, 2016). Some thunderstorms extend upwards of 60,000 ft making it impossible for a small aircraft to fly over them. Other factors such as haze, smoke, mist, fog, and trapped pollution can also reduce visibility (ERAU, 2016).
Here is what could potentially happen due to flying with low visibility.
Pilots should always take all weather conditions into account when flying. The weather is changing all the time. Hazards such as visibility can be devasting. It is always best to prepare and train for such events.
VAS Aviation [VAS Aviaition]. (2020 December 23). Hawker 800 Makes Crash Landing at Farmingdale, NY | Low Visibility. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGIGd2hMQsw
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides air traffic services to millions of passengers annually in the United States. They manage the airspace to provide safe and efficient flights. While the efforts of all the air traffic control entities are needed to have secured national airspace, the Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) and Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) play large roles in managing the airspace.
The ATCSCC meets throughout the day with multiple organizations to mitigate potential flight challenges for nearly 30 million square miles of national air space (FAA, 2020). The ATCSCC coordinates with weather services, airlines, and air traffic control towers to avoid any type of delay (FAA, n.d.). They generate daily plans to keep the air space flowing smoothly. The preparations become crucial when unpredictable events arise such as power outages, runway closures, national emergencies, or even tornados (FAA, 2020). ATCSCC can manage these situations easily by being prepared. The planning and coordination efforts by ATCSCC help minimize flight challenges and keep the airspace safe.
ATCT is necessary for commercial flying. Busy airports would have many collisions without the help of ATCT controllers. They coordinate take-off, landing, and ground traffic around the airport (Moehlenbrink et al., 2012). Similarly to ATCSCC, they can also navigate pilots around weather and other unforeseen circumstances. ATCSCC often works with ATCT controllers to relay diverts and other important information about the airport.
ATCT helps pilots navigate in a safe and efficient manner. One way they do this is by using transponders. Mode C of the transponder works by using air traffic control radars to send out a request for the aircraft’s position and altitude (Cornell Law School, n.d.). The aircraft’s transponder will respond back with the data. This allows the ATCT to track the positions of the aircrafts to avoid collisions. It’s mandated that aircrafts that are flying above 10,000 MSL or above class B and C controlled airspace must be equipped with an operating Mode C transponder (PHAK, 2016). Mode A is a 4-digit squawk code uniquely assigned to each aircraft. This squawk code is sent to ATC’s secondary radar system. The pilot can input digits 0-7 to form the squawk code. In the event the pilot loses radio contact, they can input code 7600 to signal radio failure (VFR Procedures Tutorials, 2022). They can also put in codes to signal to ATCT that they have an emergency or possible hijacking. Transponders are used effectively to communicate between pilots and ATCT controllers.
The network of professional aviators all work together to keep a safe and secure national airspace. Many times, passengers do not see all the planning and coordination that air traffic control entities do to keep flights on time. The safe secured air space would not be possible without ATCT and ATCSCC.
Moehlenbrink, C., Papenfuss, A., & Jakobi, J. (2012). The Role of Workload for Work Organization in a Remote Tower Control Center. Air Traffic Control Quarterly, 20(1), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.2514/atcq.20.1.5
There are several environmental factors that airport managers mustaccount for. These environmental hazards include noise, air pollution, and pollutants in the airport runoff water. One of the biggest impacts on the environment is runoff water from the airport. Runoff water can contain pollutants from deicing the runways, aircraft washes, hangar cleaning, or even fuel spills. These actions put hazardous pollutants, such as heavy metals, glycols, detergents, pesticides, formaldehyde, and phenols into the stormwater (Sulej-Suchomska et al., 2021). This toxic water is harmful to aquatic life, animals, and to those who live in close proximity to the airport. It not only poses health risks, but the environmental impact also drives down property value (Sulej et al., 2012).
What is in place to prevent the toxic stormwater from entering the soil? There are filtration systems around the airport that collect the water where it can then be sampled. Sulej and fellow researchers (2012) suggest that the sampling should be more frequent and at intervals. Another effective method would be to have efficient training for employees on how to prevent spillage of hazardous waste into the soil and drains. Having adequate training and resources to quickly respond to spills could alleviate the pollutant stormwaters. The more people that are coming together to prevent pollution into the stormwater, the better the environment will be around the airports.
Note. Photo of a fire being extinguished taken by CBS News
Note. Photo of aircraft fuel spill taken by Brian Gavin at Daily Mail
References
Sulej-Suchomska, A. M., Przybyłowski, P., & Polkowska, Ż. (2021). Potential Toxic Effects of Airport Runoff Water Samples on the Environment.Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 13(13), 7490–. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137490
Sulej, A. M., Polkowska, Ż., & Namieśnik, J. (2012). Pollutants in Airport Runoff Waters. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 42(16), 1691–1734. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2011.569873
The Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939 was a pivotal point in aviation. The act was signed by President Roosevelt on June 27, 1939, in response to similar civilian flight training programs implemented by the rival European countries prior to World War II (Kraus, n.d.). The U.S wanted to significantly ramp up the number of trained civilian pilots. The act outlined, "none of the benefits of training or programs shall be denied on account of race, creed, or color" (FAA, n.d.). It gave minorities and women the opportunity to receive formal flight training at educational institutions.
The Civilian Aeronautics Authority (CAA) was the preceding agency to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The CAA regulated flight training for the Civilian Pilot Training Program (Kraus, n.d.). The training curriculum consisted of two parts. The first part consisted of a 72-hour ground school training. The second was that there was a flight school instruction of at least 35 hours (Kraus, n.d.). The student ratio of women to men was 1:10. Once the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed an executive order that transitioned the Civilian Pilot Training Program into the War Training Service. The new program ordered graduate pilots to enlist in the U.S. military as combat pilots. Women were not allowed to serve in the military at that time, but around 2,500 women graduated from the program and joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). WASP flew at 126 U.S. bases and ferried over half of thecombat aircraft fleet. It was notuntilover 30 years later that the WASP efforts were recognized as honorableactive-duty service.Another notablepiece of history that came from the Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939 wasthe Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were America’s first black aviators in the military.
The Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939 had a positive impact on aviation. It was one of the first steps to having more diverse pilots. With the act, we got to see our first female pilots in the military, and other heroes like General Daniel James Jr, “Chappie” who was a Tuskegee Airman.
Federal Aviation Administration [FAA]. (n.d.). Timeline of FAA and aerospace history. Timeline of FAA and Aerospace History | Federal Aviation Administration. https://www.faa.gov/about/history/timeline
