CSG TRACON APCH CTLR RECEIVES PLT RPTS CONTRADICTING THE LGC AWOS. CTLR STATES LGC AWOS IS 'NOTORIOUSLY INACCURATE.'
Synopsis
CSG TRACON APCH CTLR RECEIVES PLT RPTS CONTRADICTING THE LGC AWOS. CTLR STATES LGC AWOS IS 'NOTORIOUSLY INACCURATE.'
Narrative
ACFT X INBOUND TO LGC RPTED THAT THE LGC AWOS 3 WAS RPTING SKY CONDITIONS AS 'CLR' (CLR BELOW 12000 FT); BUT HE COULD SEE A LOW OVCST OVER THE ENTIRE AREA AS HE DSNDED. A DEPARTING ACFT Y RPTED THE CEILING AS 300 FT OVCST (AGL). THE AWOS 3 AT THIS ARPT IS NOT FEDERALLY OWNED/MAINTAINED. IT IS NOTORIOUSLY INACCURATE AT RPTING CEILING AND VISIBILITY. LOCALLY BASED PLTS EXPECT IT TO BE WRONG AND SAY THEY HAVE RPTED IT REGULARLY TO THE ARPT MGMNT; WITH NO IMPROVEMENT. THIS ARPT IS UNCTLED WITH NOBODY TO AUGMENT OR VALIDATE THE AWOS 3. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR DID NOT RESPOND TO ANALYST'S CALLS. ANALYST CALLED CSG APCH CTL. FACILITY SPECIALIST ADVISED OF WKLY RPTS FROM PLTS THAT LGC AWOS WAS NOT XMITTING CORRECT FIELD CONDITIONS. SPECIALIST STATED THAT CEILING AND VISIBILITY WERE COMPONENTS MOST RPTED INCORRECT. SPECIALIST ADVISED THAT ARPT DEPENDED ON CIVIL VENDOR FOR MAINT AND REPAIR. ANALYST CALLED ATL-SMO. ATL-SMO HAS RECENTLY IDENTED A SPECIALIST TO TRACK AND EVALUATE NON FEDERAL AWOS INSTALLATIONS. THE SPECIALIST STATED THAT LGC ARPT'S AWOS IS AN 'ARTHSIS' MODEL; INSTALLED AND MAINTAINED BY AN ARTHSIS TECHNICIAN. THE SPECIALIST ADVISED THAT HE HAD PLANNED TO EXAMINE THE LGC AWOS SITE WITHIN THE NEXT 45 DAYS. HE ADVISED THAT HE WAS AWARE OF PLT COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE AWOS SITE PERFORMANCE.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.