Section 3. DOE and Other Aircraft

5-3-1. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) FLIGHTS

DOE contracts for civil pilots to operate public aircraft to transport radioactive and/or high explosive materials within the conterminous United States. They will operate principally during daylight hours and, although they will be made in VFR conditions insofar as possible, an instrument flight plan will be filed and IFR procedures followed.

5-3-2. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIAL DOE FLIGHTS

a. When transporting radioactive/high explosive materials, DOE flights will be identified by using the prefix "RAC" followed by the last four digits of the aircraft registration number.

b. The special characteristics of the cargo dictate that the flight be carefully planned along selected routes. Pilots may refuse clearances that require route or altitude changes.

5-3-3. NOTIFICATION OF DOE REPORTED ACCIDENT/UNREPORTED AIRCRAFT

In the event a RAC flight is involved in an accident, inform the STMCIC of the appropriate center so that he/she may immediately notify local and state rescue and law enforcement authorities of the accident and tell them that the flight was transporting radioactive/high explosive materials. The STMCIC shall then notify the DOE duty officer in Albuquerque, NM, of the accident via urgent collect telephone: (505) 845-4667. The duty officer shall also be notified whenever a loss of radio/radar occurs en route or the flight is overdue at the destination.

5-3-4. ATMOSPHERE SAMPLING FOR NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION

a. Following a foreign nuclear weapons test, a planned arrival sampling schedule is established by the USAF. Although sampler aircraft are flight planned to the suspected atmosphere area of nuclear contamination, the aircraft are likely to require altitude and route changes which cannot be anticipated prior to departure. The purpose of those altitude and route changes is to permit direct contact with and sampling of the cloud debris whose exact location and altitude distribution cannot be accurately predicted.

b. To afford these operations optimum flexibility during in-flight profiles, ATC facilities shall honor in-flight clearance requests for altitude and route changes to the maximum extent possible. If necessary, other IFR traffic may be recleared so that requests by sampler aircraft are honored. However, in no case shall the separation minima outlined in FAAO JO 7110.65, Air Traffic Control, be compromised.

c. USAF aircraft engaged in aerial sampling missions shall use the call sign "SAMP" followed by the last three digits of the aircraft's serial number.

REFERENCE-
FAAO JO 7110.65, Para 9-3-15, SAMP.
FAAO JO 7610.4, Para 12-4-3, Atmospheric Sampling for Nuclear Contamination.

5-3-5. DUE REGARD OPERATIONS

a. Article 3 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Chicago Convention of 1944 includes the following:

1. This Convention shall be applicable to civil aircraft and shall not be applicable to state aircraft.

2. Aircraft used in military, customs and police services shall be deemed to be state aircraft.

3. The contracting States undertake, when issuing regulations for their state aircraft, that they will have due regard for the safety of navigation of civil aircraft.

b. Department of Defense and U.S. Customs Service have specified the following conditions for flight operations outside of U.S. Domestic airspace which are conducted under the "due regard" or "operational" prerogative of state aircraft and not in accordance with standard ICAO flight procedures. Under these conditions the PIC assumes the responsibility for separating his/her aircraft from all other air traffic.

1. Aircraft shall be operated in visual meteorological conditions (VMC);

2. Aircraft shall be operated within radar surveillance and radio communications of a surface radar facility;

3. Aircraft shall be equipped with airborne radar that is sufficient to provide separation from other aircraft; and

4. Aircraft shall be operated within Class G airspace.

c. Search and rescue actions for flights conducted under due regard provision are the responsibility of the parent organization.

5-3-6. WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS

The Air Force Reserve (AFRES) 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (53WRS) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) have responsibility for flying winter storm, hurricane, and tropical storm reconnaissance missions. When conducting these missions, aircraft from the 53WRS will utilize the call-sign "TEAL," and aircraft from the AOC will utilize the call-sign "NOAA." Due to the unique nature of these missions it is necessary to provide a degree of special handling to ensure that sufficient meteorological data is collected. The routes flown are dictated by storm movement, not traffic flows. The nature of these weather phenomena may result in very little time between the filing of a flight plan and the actual departure.

a. WINTER STORM MISSIONS.

1. Winter storm missions are flown in support of the National Winter Storm Operations Plan (NWSOP). Routes will normally follow published tracks as delineated in the Winter Storm Tracks LOA between CARF and AFRES.

2. Prior to a NWSOP mission, the 53WRS Current Operations or the AOC Flight Operations Division shall submit an Altitude Reservation Approval Request (ALTRV APREQ) for a published or adhoc winter storm track to CARF and include the following data:

(a) Mission call-sign.

(b) Estimated time over start fix.

(c) Storm track to be flown.

(d) Location of dropsonde release points.

(e) Requested altitude(s) if other than
FL290B310.

(f) Any requests to deviate from published routes.

NOTE-
1. The passing of this data does not pre-empt the mission commander's responsibility to file a flight plan, nor does it constitute an ATC clearance.

2. A dropsonde is a cylinder shaped 18-inch long metal weather sensor, weighs 3 and ¹/₂ pounds, and has a parachute attached. The flight will release dropsondes at pre-designated points along the published track. The aircraft commander will want to follow a specific pressure gradient (as opposed to altimeter setting of 29.92) when flying these missions. The correct pressure for dropsondes release is normally found at altitudes between FL290 and FL310. These dropsondes are configured to fall at an average rate of 1,000 feet per minute.

3. Flight between departure airport and ALTRV ingress point, as well as between ALTRV egress and destination airport will be via normal flight plan filing.

3. CARF shall pass this information to impacted facilities and upon receipt of this data, appropriate facility personnel shall ensure that the information is properly distributed to all control positions involved.

4. Requests to permanently change a published winter storm track or drop site shall be coordinated with CARF and impacted facilities. Requests to change any other portion of the NWSOP shall be coordinated with System Operations and Safety.

b. HURRICANE AND TROPICAL CYCLONE MISSIONS.

1. These missions are flown in support of the National Hurricane Operations Plan (NHOP). Prior to a hurricane/tropical cyclone reconnaissance mission the 53WRS Current Operations or the AOC Flight Operations Division will contact the ATCSCC, and provide the following data:

(a) Mission call-sign.

(b) Departure point and estimated time of departure.

(c) Approximate route(s) to be flown.

(d) Requested altitude(s).

(e) Any special requests.

NOTE-
The passing of this data does not pre-empt the mission commander's responsibility to file a flight plan, nor does it constitute an ATC clearance.

2. Upon receipt of this data, the ATCSCC shall ensure that the information is properly distributed to all impacted facilities.

3. The appropriate facility personnel shall, upon receipt of this data, ensure that it is distributed.

4. Should it become necessary to contact a TEAL or NOAA flight and all other methods of communication are not possible (e.g., direct radio, ARINC, aircraft relay), the Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance Coordinator, All Hurricanes (CARCAH) may be requested to relay messages to/from the aircraft. You may receive a phone call from CARCAH to authenticate the request.

5. Requests to change any portion of the NHOP shall be coordinated with System Operations and Safety.

5-3-7. OPEN SKIES TREATY AIRCRAFT

a. The David J. Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) shall be the FAA coordination unit between the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and field facilities for all OPEN SKIES operational information. This includes initial notification and follow-up information on each mission.

b. ARTCCs shall designate and advise the ATCSCC of a focal point within that facility for OPEN SKIES information.

c. Advance scheduled movement information of OPEN SKIES aircraft received from the DTRA will be forwarded by the ATCSCC.

d. Upon notification of an OPEN SKIES flight, the affected ARTCCs shall inform all affected FAA facilities and any other facility/agency it deems necessary within their area of responsibility of the flight path and possible deviation path of the aircraft.

NOTE-
The possible deviation path for an OPEN SKIES aircraft is defined by treaty as fifty (50) kilometers or twenty seven (27) nautical miles either side of the intended route of flight. OPEN SKIES flights will not deviate from approved route of flight without ATC clearance.

e. The air traffic manager of each facility through which the OPEN SKIES aircraft transits shall ensure that a supervisory specialist(s)/CIC monitors the aircraft while in the facility's airspace. The supervisory specialist(s)/CIC shall monitor the movement of the OPEN SKIES aircraft from the flight's entry into the facility's airspace until the flight exits the facility's airspace, to ensure that priority handling, separation, control, and coordination are accomplished.

REFERENCE-
FAAO JO 7110.65, Subpara 2-1-4n, Operational Priority.
FAAO JO 7110.65, Para 9-3-20, Open Skies Treaty Aircraft.
TREATY ON OPEN SKIES, TREATY DOC. 102-37.

f. Air traffic facilities shall notify the ATCSCC immediately in the event of any incidents or problems generated by OPEN SKIES aircraft.

g. The ATCSCC shall immediately notify System Operations Security/Strategic Operations Security for resolution of problems or incidents, if necessary.