You have landed at an unmanned airfield, shut down and started putting away the aircraft. As far as you are concerned, the flight is over.
If Search and Rescue (SAR) was nominated on the flight plan, however, an Air Traffic Services Unit (ATSU) may still be waiting for confirmation that you arrived.
Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) currently reminds pilots to cancel nominated SAR with the ATSU or alerting post identified on the filed flight plan. ATNS warns that false overdue SAR operations place unnecessary strain on limited resources.
For pilots flying into aerodromes without an operating ATSU, understanding what SAR was nominated and who is expecting the arrival report is therefore an important part of closing the flight.
What Does SAR/ATSU/ETA1HR Mean?
ATNS uses the shorthand SAR/ATSU/ETA1HR in its current reminder to pilots. The actual entry in Field 18 of a South African flight plan identifies the ATSU that is to be notified of the aircraft’s arrival.
The current South African Civil Aviation Technical Standards (SA-CATS) give examples such as:
RMK/SARFAORETA1HR
In this example, FAOR identifies the ATSU to be notified, while ETA1HR means that the arrival notification must be received by the aircraft’s Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) plus one hour.
The standards also allow SAR to be nominated for a specific time. An example given in SA-CATS is:
RMK/SARFABL0930
This means that the nominated ATSU is to be notified of the aircraft’s arrival by 0930 UTC.
Under SA-CATS 172, Annexure F, Section 2, Chapter 8, paragraph 6.2, the nominated SAR time for this type of flight may not be less than one hour after the ETA at the destination.
In either case, the important part is that an ATSU has been nominated to receive confirmation that the flight has ended normally.
Landing Does Not Automatically Cancel SAR
The distinction becomes important when the destination does not have an operating ATSU.
Paragraph 6.4 of the current SA-CATS states that when a flight lands at an aerodrome where an ATSU is operating, the pilot may assume that the ATSU will close the flight plan on arrival.
That assumption does not apply in the same way when landing at an aerodrome without an operating ATSU.
Paragraph 6.6 states that a pilot-in-command who requests SAR for the applicable flight assumes responsibility for ensuring that an ATSU is informed when the flight is completed or abandoned.
SAR may be cancelled by radiotelephony (R/T). If the pilot does not receive acknowledgement of the cancellation message, the standards require the pilot to ensure that the ATSU identified in Field 18 receives the arrival notification before the nominated SAR time expires.
Simply landing and shutting down at an unmanned aerodrome does not provide that notification.
ATNS recommends contacting the ATSU nominated for SAR on the filed flight plan. ATNS also publishes an Air Traffic Service Units directory through its Aeronautical Information Management pages, including contact details and hours of operation.
What Happens If SAR Is Not Cancelled?
The consequences are set out clearly in the technical standards.
For SAR nominated as ETA plus a specified number of hours, paragraph 6.7(e) states that SAR action is instituted automatically if the ATSU nominated to receive the arrival notification has not received it by the aircraft’s ETA plus the stipulated period.
The same paragraph provides for SAR action following a missed position report while the aircraft is flying in controlled airspace.
This does not mean that a search aircraft necessarily launches at the moment the nominated time expires. It means that the aircraft has reached the point at which SAR action is instituted under the applicable procedures.
If the aircraft is already safely parked at its destination, the resulting overdue action is unnecessary. This is the situation behind ATNS’s current warning that false overdue SAR operations place strain on limited resources.
There may also be a financial consequence. Paragraph 6.1(d) states that a pilot-in-command who requested SAR and fails to cancel it is responsible for any costs incurred by the ATSU concerned in providing alerting or supporting services.
Know What SAR Has Been Nominated
The SAR entry also determines what protection has been requested.
For an ETA-plus arrangement under paragraph 6.7(e), SAR action is provided following a missed position report while the aircraft is in controlled airspace and if the nominated ATSU does not receive the arrival notification by ETA plus the specified period.
The same arrangement does not provide SAR action for missed position reports while the aircraft is flying in uncontrolled airspace, except in an emergency.
SA-CATS makes separate provision for arrangements where SAR protection based on position reporting is required while operating outside controlled airspace. Those arrangements carry their own requirements, including the ability to make the required position reports throughout the flight.
For the pilot, the practical issue is therefore broader than remembering to make a phone call after landing. Before departure, it should be clear what SAR has been nominated, which ATSU is expecting the arrival notification and when that notification is due.
Once the flight has ended at an aerodrome without an operating ATSU, that arrival notification is what closes the loop.
