AIM Text
- SAFOs contain important safety information that is often time-critical. A SAFO may contain information and/or recommended (non-regulatory) action to be taken by the respective operators or parties identified in the SAFO. The audience for SAFOs varies with each subject and may include: Air carrier certificate holders, air operator certificate holders, general aviation operators, directors of safety, directors of operations, directors of maintenance, fractional ownership program managers, training center managers, accountable managers at repair stations, and other parties as applicable.
- InFOs are similar to SAFOs, but contain valuable information for operators that should help them meet administrative requirements or certain regulatory requirements with relatively low urgency or impact in safety.
- The SAFO and InFO system provides a means to rapidly distribute this information to operators and can be found at the following website:
http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo and
http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info or search keyword FAA SAFO or FAA INFO. Free electronic subscription is available on the “ALL SAFOs” or “ALL InFOs” page of the website.
Source: FAA Aeronautical Information Manual · current edition · paragraph 7-7-5.
Research Notes
AIM 7-7-5 covers Runway Friction Reports — the systematic measurement of runway surface conditions.
The friction measurement: Many airports use specialized vehicles (Mu-meter, Saab-friction-tester) to measure runway friction. Results are reported as Mu values or as RCAM codes.
RCAM (Runway Condition Assessment Matrix): The standardized framework for reporting runway condition. Each code (1-6) corresponds to a specific contamination level and corresponds to expected braking action.
Reference: AC 150/5200-30D (Airport Field Condition Assessments and Winter Operations Safety); AIM 7-7-5.