Professional Pilot, October 2016

Assessment criteria Downgrade assessment criteria Slippery when wet wet runway Dry snow or wet snow any depth over compacted snow Greater than 1 8th in 3mm depth of Dry snow Wet snow Warmer than 15 C outside air temperature Compacted snow 3 RCAM assessment diagram L R Runway condition RCAM reporting codes of 6 to 0 friction type measuring equipment Mu readings and braking downgrade assessment Codes will report in groups of 3 correlating to each runway segment touchdown midfield and rollout Note on the far right the braking action as reported by the pilot landing on the runway contributing factor has been a contaminated runway snow ice slush water etc being more slippery than pilots expected This typically has been due to methods of estimating available runway friction levels not being timely accurate or able to be correlated to airplane stopping performance Advisory Circular 150 5200 30D provides airport management instructions in the use of TALPA The previous used Mu surface friction values 70 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2016 terms are not to be used to correlate runway conditions or used in any NOTAM concerning runway condition SAFO 06012 issued in 2006 was followed by AC 25 32 on Dec 22 2015 for landing performance data at time of arrival Like the SAFO the AC is not mandatory but highly recommended Time of arrival is described as the point in time as close to the airport as possible but no later than the start of the approach consistent with the ability to obtain and safely assess the most current meteorological data This is further elaborated as an assessment by a trained crew of average skill followed by normal flight procedures for the conditions at hand Runway Condition Assessment Matrix RCAM During the winters of 2009 2010 and 2010 2011 2 airlines cooperated at 29 airports to validate runway Runway condition description Dry Frost Wet includes damp and 1 8th in depth or less of water 1 8th in 3mm depth or less of Slush Dry snow Wet snow 15 C and colder outside air temperature Compacted snow Greater than 1 8th in 3mm depth of Water Slush Ice Wet ice Slush over ice Water over compacted snow Dry snow or wet snow over ice Code 6 5 4 2 1 0 Mu m 1 Pilot reported braking action 40 or higher 30 to 39 21 to 29 20 or lower Vehicle deceleration or directional control observation Braking deceleration is normal for the wheel braking effort applied and directional control is normal Braking deceleration or directional control is between good and medium Braking deceleration is noticeable reduced for the wheel braking effort applied or directional control is noticeably reduced Braking deceleration or directional control is between medium and poor Braking deceleration is significantly reduced for the wheel braking effort applied or directional control is significantly reduced Braking deceleration is minimal to non existent for the wheel braking effort applied or directional control is uncertain Good Good to medium Medium Medium to poor Poor Nil