Most people, even those who work at an airport have no idea what an “Alert” is, but they may have heard the term once or twice. To put it simply, Alerts are when aircraft encounter a problem and the pilot informs Air Traffic Control (ATC) who passes the information onto airport authorities through the proper means, typically AVCOM (Aviation Communications) who then signals ARFF units (Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting) and Airport Operations.

Alerts are classified into three types:

• ALERT I– is reported when an aircraft has a minor problem. This would include an oil leak, one engine out on a three or four engine aircraft, or one engine out on a twin engine general aviation aircraft weighing less than 12,500 lbs. During an Alert I, the fire department and rescue equipment will stand by near the fire house (on the airfield) and Operations will respond to the approach end of the landing runway. Once the aircraft has landed, Operations will conduct a sweep of the runway for any FOD and turn it back over to ATC. The Alert would then be terminated provided the aircraft landed without incident and is able to taxi to the ramp on its own.

• ALERT II– is more critical than an Alert I. This Alert indicates that the aircraft is in major difficulty. This could be anything from smoke in the cabin, faulty landing gear, loss of hydraulic pressure, or one engine out on a twin engine aircraft weighing more than 12,500 lbs. The fire department will be deployed to their staging points near the approach end of the landing runway. Operations will conduct a sweep of the runway behind the rescue equipment after the aircraft lands and turn control back over to ATC if appropriate.

• ALERT II(B)– This Alert involves a type of bomb threat made against the aircraft. In this situation the aircraft will be told to taxi to the isolation pad (usually a run-up or blast pad).

• ALERT II(H)– This Alert involves an aircraft that has been hijacked or an attempt has been made to take over the control of the plane. The plane will also be told to taxi to the isolation pad.

• ALERT III– This is the most severe type of Alert. This is when an aircraft has been involved in an actual incident. Common examples are when the pilot has claimed that the gear will not extend and a “wheels up” landing is expected, or an aircraft has become disabled. The Fire Department and Operations will respond in the same manner as an Alert II. Operations will establish access routes, and external call-out responders to the staging area, provide escorts, and coordinate with field units of off-airport agencies.