{"id":10437,"date":"2020-09-23T02:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T06:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=10437"},"modified":"2025-06-03T05:52:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T09:52:25","slug":"one-contingency-procedure-to-rule-them-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/one-contingency-procedure-to-rule-them-all\/","title":{"rendered":"One Contingency Procedure to rule them all"},"content":{"rendered":"

From 5 Nov 2020, there will be one standard set of Contingency and Weather Deviation Procedures for all oceanic airspace worldwide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been flying in the North Atlantic Region<\/strong> over the past year and a half, you\u2019ll be familiar with how it works – the new procedures were introduced there back in March 2019, and now they\u2019re being rolled out everywhere<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The FAA has already published a Notice<\/a> to say that these procedures will take effect in US oceanic airspace from 5 Nov 2020, and ICAO is expected to formally publish the Standard in an update to PANS-ATM (ICAO Doc 4444) to take effect from the same date.<\/p>\n

Rarely do we see worldwide oceanic contingency procedures undergo a formal revision. The last time a major revision occurred was in 2006 when ICAO standardized a 15 NM offset executed with a turn of at least 45 degrees. Prior to that, the North Atlantic and the Pacific had used different offset distances and a 90 degree turn.<\/p>\n

Wait… what are “contingency procedures”?<\/span><\/h4>\n

These are basically any time you have to do things differently if you need to deviate from your cleared route, and for one reason or another you cannot get permission from ATC first.<\/p>\n

Why would you need to bust your clearance? You may not have the ability or capacity to communicate with ATC, or they may not be able to respond to your request quickly enough for a variety of reasons \u2013 meteorological conditions (severe turbulence and weather avoidance), aircraft performance, loss of pressurisation, immediate diversion, or a loss of navigational accuracy.<\/p>\n

What are the new procedures?<\/span><\/h4>\n

The short answer
\n<\/b>Contingency offsets that previously were 15 NM are basically now all 5 NM offsets with a turn of at least 30 degrees (not 45 degrees).<\/p>\n

The long answer
\n<\/b>Read the FAA Notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The slightly less long answer
\n<\/b>– Turn at least 30 degrees (reduced from 45) to the left or right of track and establish yourself on a parallel track that is offset by 5nm (reduced from 15).
\n– The direction of turn is up to you, but you should consider airways around you \u2013 the likely direction of other aircraft, the applicable SLOP procedures, the direction of your diversion airport and of course terrain. (If going left or right is a 50\/50 choice, going right is probably better \u2013 it gets you out of the way of all the SLOP offset traffic that might be coming at you from the opposite direction!)
\n– When established on your offset track, maintain an altitude that is vertically offset by 500 feet from normal levels (or 1000 feet if above FL410).
\n– In areas of parallel airways, it is recommended you descend below FL290.
\n– Watch your TCAS, and if possible, keep your eyes outside for other aircraft.
\n– Make sure your transponder is set to TA\/RA (if able).
\n– Be seen \u2013 turn on as many exterior lights as possible.
\n– Squawk 7700.
\n– Try and talk to ATC via voice or CPDLC, and declare a PAN PAN, or MAYDAY.
\n– Establish comms with other aircraft on 121.5 MHz or 123.45 MHz. Make a position\/intention report as you would in TIBA procedures.<\/p>\n

The best answer
\n<\/b>A picture! So often the best answer. And this one\u2019s pretty neat. Not least because you can click on it, download it, print it out, and put it in your flight bag to take with you. (If you\u2019d also like to laminate it, we\u2019re ok with that).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Click to download PDF.<\/p><\/div>\n

Weather deviations<\/span><\/h4>\n

If you have to deviate from your assigned track due to anything weather-related, there\u2019s a whole different procedure to follow.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to do:<\/strong><\/p>\n