It’s Not Snowing Yet, But . . .

"N91AA braking action is reported as medium by a Gulfstream and the RCC is 3/3/3." Are you ready to hear that from ATC? On approach is not the time to look at the pilot next to you and ask “What does RCC of 3 mean?"

The FAA will begin using new standards beginning October 1, 2016 to help clarify the reporting of runway conditions at all federally funded and Part 139 airports in the U.S.

Airport Operators, Pilots, and Dispatchers should become familiar with these new standards that were recommended by the Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment (TALPA) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC).

The goal is to help airport operators and ATC better communicate actual runway conditions to flight crews so that runway overruns may be reduced. To help accomplish this, the Runway Condition Assessment Matrix (RCAM) will replace subjective judgements on runway conditions with objective assessments tied directly to contaminant type and depth categories. The new reporting values should provide a better correlation between the actual conditions on the runway with aircrafts’ contaminated performance data. Aircraft manufactures and Operators are encouraged to incorporate these new values into their manuals and procedures.

The RCAM will pull from a chart of possible runway contaminants to assign a Runway Condition Code (RwyCC) for each one-third of the paved runway. This RwyCC value will replace Mu values in the NOTAM field condition reports. The RCAM is available in FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 91-79A.

Additionally, ATC will continue to accept and distribute Pilot Braking Action reports. Please note the new RCAM changes the reporting value from Fair to Medium.

Advanced Aircrew Academy's Winter Operations eLearning module has been updated for the FAAs new RCAM information.