Flying can be a perilous occupation, considering all the various things that could potentially impact a flight. NOTAMS – or a notice to air missions – are something pilots review before each flight for safety purposes.
The information contained within NOTAMS comprises of any potential hazards that could affect a flight. It turns out that some of the things included in these updates are superfluous at best.
NOTAMS on the Verge of Collapse?
There is a video that came out recently called “NOTAMS: The Majestic, Endangered Species on the Verge of Collapse” that has been put on YouTube. It runs for just over seven minutes and is by SoCal Flying Monkey. This pokes fun at some of the more irrelevant information that appears in these missives.
It’s well worth a look, even if you are not a pilot or into aviation. The presentation illustrates, quite humorously, that it is perhaps time to make some changes to how these bulletins operate.
What is amazing is that this has been left to go on for so long. According to the video, the system has been in place since 1920, with the same format since 1924. Now that’s bordering on 100 years, which is remarkable.
Clearly it has worked for all this time, but it does show an extreme example of how aviation is sometimes glacially slow to adapt to changing times. I wonder if this video will prompt a review.
Overall Thoughts
If NOTAMS are ringing a bell, then you might remember it from the disruption on 11 January 2023, when the system went offline in the United States. This resulted in the grounding of commercial flights in the US until it was fixed. Not all that much fun if you were caught up in it, I’ll bet.
Anyway, what did you think of the video? Is it highlighting an important issue here or what? I’d love to hear what some flight crew think. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Dragoș Grigore on Unsplash.
