Chapter 5. Special Flight Handling
Section
1. Presidential Aircraft
5-1-1. ADVANCE
COORDINATION
NOTE-
Presidential aircraft and entourage, referred to herein, include aircraft
and entourage of the President, the Vice President, or other public figures
designated by the White House.
a. An advance survey group
comprised of representatives of the Office of the Military Assistant to the
President, the U.S. Secret Service, the White House Staff, and a
Presidential Advance Agent may visit each location which the Presidential
aircraft will transit. The visit is normally made several days in advance of
the trip to determine security aspects and the availability of supporting
services. On this visit the group may meet with the airport operator, the
ATCT manager, and other interested parties. Based on the evaluation by this
group, a decision is made on the use of the airport, and further
coordination is planned for an advance group.
b. The advance
group, comprised of representatives of the same organizations stated in
subpara a, will meet with the same airport elements to complete security
measures and supporting services and determine the necessary restrictions to
air traffic operations before the arrival and the departure of the
Presidential aircraft and while the Presidential entourage is on the
airport. The security provisions may include stationing a guard in the tower
cab or at the tower entrance and maintaining two-way communications between
the control tower and agents on the ground. This meeting will be held
several days in advance of the planned arrival of the Presidential aircraft.
The advance group has been requested to have all elements of the group
coordinate with the FAA simultaneously.
1. The air
traffic manager shall appoint an air traffic supervisor to serve as
coordinator who will be responsible for attending all meetings and briefing
all affected personnel. Additionally, the coordinator shall brief the ATCSCC
and the appropriate ARTCC of any traffic delays or restrictions.
2. All advance
coordination shall be documented, with special attention given to routes,
radio frequencies, and assigned transponder codes. This documentation shall
be made available to the personnel on duty who will be handling the
Presidential movement.
3. The meeting
shall be attended by the ATCT manager, the coordinator, and, if available,
the supervisory specialist(s) who will be on duty and directly involved in
the control of airport traffic during the arrival and departure, and while
the Presidential entourage is on the airport.
4. The air
traffic manager shall take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the
Presidential flight, airplanes, helicopters, and entourage are given
priority. Restrictions will be placed upon normal air traffic operations to
provide priority unless directed otherwise by the Presidential advance agent
(USAF) or the Secret Service representative; the latter when the
Presidential advance agent (USAF) is not directly involved. ATCT personnel
shall be guided by the determinations of the advance group and shall
cooperate to the maximum extent possible. The air traffic manager shall
consider the following alternatives:
(a) Employing
air traffic control techniques to temporarily adjust or suspend the movement
of traffic to accommodate the arrival and the departure of the Presidential
aircraft and while the Presidential entourage is on the airport.
(b) Requesting
traffic, by NOTAM, to voluntarily conform to restrictions in the vicinity of
an airport. The NOTAM shall give details of the restrictions and should be
cleared by the advance group. It shall avoid any reference to Presidential
activities and shall be issued at least 8 hours in advance.
EXAMPLE-
ALL TRAFFIC CAN EXPECT DELAYS FROM (date/time) TO (date/time) AND FROM
(date/time) TO (date/time).
(c) The time
will normally be 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the arrival and the
departure time.
c. If the advance group determines that mandatory airspace restrictions
are required, the Washington headquarters office of the U.S. Government
agency responsible for the protection of the personage concerned will
contact FAA Headquarters in accordance with established procedures and
request the necessary regulatory action. The air traffic manager shall
advise the Service Area office of the regulatory proposal. (See 14 CFR
Section 91.141 and FAAO JO 7610.4, Special Operations.)
NOTE-
The actions established herein do not affect the provisions of 14 CFR
Section 91.113(b); i.e., an aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over
all other air traffic.
REFERENCE-
FAAO 7930.2, Para 7-1-1, FDC NOTAM Categories.
d. To ensure
radio communications and radar service, the following should be coordinated
with the advance group:
1. All aircraft
in the flight should be assigned a discrete transponder code. As a minimum,
the lead aircraft and the aircraft containing the President should turn
their transponders on when flying in formation. In the event of a formation
breakup, all aircraft should squawk their assigned code to facilitate
auto-acquire.
2. Normal
frequencies are preferred over discrete frequencies.
NOTE-
Secret Service personnel will transmit progress reports on the Presidential
entourage to the affected tower as soon as possible.
e. Prior to the
actual operation, action shall be taken to ensure that all air traffic
specialists who will be on duty during the arrival and departure of the
Presidential aircraft are thoroughly briefed concerning the arrangements
pertaining to the operation, including movements of the Presidential
entourage while on the airport.
f. At military
airports, the base commander will determine the restriction or delay of
flight operations into that airport and the need to issue a NOTAM. He/she
should coordinate his/her actions with the appropriate FAA facilities if air
traffic will be affected.
5-1-2. MONITORING THE
PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT FLIGHT
a. Advance
scheduled movement information of Presidential aircraft received from the
White House shall be distributed to the air traffic manager of each facility
through which the Presidential aircraft will transit. The air traffic
manager will be notified of the scheduled movement by the appropriate
Service Area office or, when time critical, by national headquarters through
the ATCSCC.
b. Presidential
aircraft shall be aurally and visually monitored by a supervisory
specialist/controller-in-charge (CIC) from departure to arrival. The air
traffic manager of each facility through which the Presidential aircraft
transits shall ensure that a supervisory specialist/CIC aurally and visually
monitors the aircraft while in the facility's airspace. The supervisory
specialist/CIC shall:
1. Be present
at each sector/position providing ATC service to the Presidential aircraft
from the flight's entry in the facility's airspace until the flight exits
the facility's airspace.
2. Aurally and
visually monitor the flight to ensure that separation, control, and
coordination are accomplished.
NOTE-
Supervisors and managers at FAA Contract Towers (FCT) are qualified to
perform the duties required in para 5-1-2.
5-1-3. USE OF FAA
COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS
Operations personnel
shall expedite the movement of Presidential aircraft and related control
messages when traffic conditions and communications facilities permit. Honor
any request of the pilot concerning movement of the aircraft if the request
can be fulfilled in accordance with existing control procedures. Also, honor
any request of the pilot, Office of the Vice President, Secret Service, or
White House Staff for the relay, via FAA communications circuits, of
information regarding the movement or proposed movement of the aircraft.
5-1-4. SECURITY OF
INFORMATION
FAA personnel shall
not release any information concerning Presidential flights to anyone
outside the FAA except properly identified White House staff members, Secret
Service personnel, or appropriate military authorities. Any inquiries from
the press or others for information regarding the movement of these aircraft
shall be referred to the White House, the Secret Service, the Air Force, or
their representatives at either the point of departure or arrival. These
security measures also apply to information regarding the movement of
Presidential or Vice Presidential family aircraft.
5-1-5. MOVEMENT INFORMATION
Honor any request of
the pilot concerning movement of the Presidential aircraft if it can be
fulfilled in accordance with existing control procedures. Also, honor any
request of the pilot, Secret Service, White House Staff, or Office of the
Vice President for the relay, via FAA communications circuits or Defense
Switching Network (DSN), of information regarding the movement or the
proposed movement of these aircraft.
5-1-6. COORDINATION
ARTCCs shall call CARF
direct for ALTRV approval on any Presidential aircraft international flight
plan received less than 4 hours before departure.
5-1-7. RESCUE SUPPORT
AIRCRAFT
When rescue support
aircraft are used, the aircraft will depart from various bases and will file
flight plans which will place the aircraft on tracks in proximity of the
Presidential aircraft for contingency purposes. Orbits may also be used by
the rescue support aircraft. These aircraft will be identified in the
remarks section of the flight plan as "Rescue" for purposes of radio and
interphone communications.
REFERENCE-
FAAO JO 7110.65, Para 2-4-20, Aircraft Identification. |
