The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has denied a request made in August 2017 by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and 13 other aviation groups to include surface weather observation sites in the FAA’s Weather Message Switching Center replacement.
Not including surface weather observation is a safety issue for general aviation, air ambulances, and some commercial aircraft, AOPA said. Hundreds of weather observation systems nationwide could provide information to pilots of these aircraft, but the systems are unavailable to them.
The FAA said weather observations systems made available to pilots must be Automated Weather Observing Systems III or better and must be FAA certified. The systems also must receive a minimum of three maintenance visits and undergo FAA recertification annually.
“There are hundreds of weather observation systems in operation but unavailable to the pilots who need them,” AOPA said. “We ask the FAA to reconsider denying pilots access to this valid and useful weather information.”
The FAA rule is archaic, AOPA said, and the required weather systems are expensive.
Pilots using visual references in instrument conditions is the top cause of weather-related accidents as well as the top cause of general aviation accidents, the association said. Increased weather reporting would save lives by reducing accidents, AOPA said.