THE AUTOMATED ATIS WX RPT FOR ORD WAS NOT ACCURATE AND OVER AN HR OLD. WX ADVERTISED AS 1200 FT OVCST; RPTR STATED THEY BROKE OUT AT 500 FT WHILE ON THE ILS RWY 27L APCH.
Synopsis
THE AUTOMATED ATIS WX RPT FOR ORD WAS NOT ACCURATE AND OVER AN HR OLD. WX ADVERTISED AS 1200 FT OVCST; RPTR STATED THEY BROKE OUT AT 500 FT WHILE ON THE ILS RWY 27L APCH.
Narrative
ARRIVED AT AROUND XC10Z. WE HAD ATIS FROM XA56Z THAT SAID 1200 FT OVCST 5 MI VISIBILITY AND WIND 290 DEGS AT 9 KTS. WE DID THE ILS RWY 27L AND BROKE OUT AT 500 FT AGL AND HAD A 10 KT TAILWIND WHICH TWR DID TELL US. ONCE ON THE GND I TOLD THEM THAT THE CEILING WAS ACTUALLY 500 FT AND GND SAID THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING THE ATIS. THIS WAS AT XC13Z. THE NEXT OFFICIAL WX RPT WAS NOT ISSUED UNTIL XC56Z. OHARE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE SLOW ABOUT UPDATING THEIR ATIS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN A MONTH THAT I HAVE ADVISED ORD THAT THE CEILING RPTED ON THE ATIS WAS INACCURATE. I GET THE FEELING THAT THEY ARE NOT TOO CONCERNED ABOUT IT. WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET ACCURATE WX RPTS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH FACILITY OPS SPECIALIST REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: ANALYST TALKED WITH THE FACILITY OPS SPECIALIST WHO INDICATED THE JOB OF UPDATING THE ATIS BELONGS TO THE FLT DATA CTLR BUT WHEN BUSY THE SUPVR OR TMC WILL USUALLY TAKE CARE OF IT. RPTR IS UNAWARE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT CAUSED THE ATIS UPDATE DELAY BUT SPECULATED THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DUE TO STAFFING OR ACTIVITY. SPECIALIST SAID THERE WILL BE A DIGITAL ASOS LINK TO THE AUTOMATED ATIS BUT THAT INSTALLATION IS ON HOLD DUE TO SOFTWARE PROBS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.