SAFETY ALERT -- SYSTEM STRATEGIC NAVIGATION
SAFETY ALERT- A safety alert issued by ATC to
aircraft under their control if ATC is aware the
aircraft is at an altitude which, in the controller's
judgment, places the aircraft in unsafe proximity
to terrain, obstructions, or other aircraft. The
controller may discontinue the issuance of further
alerts if the pilot advises he is taking action
to correct the situation or has the other aircraft
in sight.
a. Terrain/Obstruction Alert- A safety alert
issued by ATC to aircraft under their control
if ATC is aware the aircraft is at an altitude
which, in the controller's judgment, places
the aircraft in unsafe proximity to terrain/obstructions;
e.g., "Low Altitude Alert, check your altitude
immediately."
b. Aircraft Conflict Alert- A safety alert issued
by ATC to aircraft under their control if ATC
is aware of an aircraft that is not under their
control at an altitude which, in the controller's
judgment, places both aircraft in unsafe proximity
to each other. With the alert, ATC will offer
the pilot an alternate course of action when
feasible; e.g., "Traffic Alert, advise
you turn right heading zero niner zero or climb
to eight thousand immediately."
The issuance of a safety alert is contingent
upon the capability of the controller to have
an awareness of an unsafe condition. The course
of action provided will be predicated on other
traffic under ATC control. Once the alert is
issued, it is solely the pilot's prerogative
to determine what course of action, if any,
he will take.
SAIL BACK- A maneuver during high wind conditions
(usually with power off) where float plane movement
is controlled by water rudders/opening and closing
cabin doors.
SAME DIRECTION AIRCRAFT- Aircraft are operating
in the same direction when:
a. They are following the same track in the
same direction; or
b. Their tracks are parallel and the aircraft
are flying in the same direction; or
c. Their tracks intersect at an angle of less
than 45 degrees.
SAR-
(See SEARCH AND RESCUE.)
SAY AGAIN- Used to request a repeat of the last
transmission. Usually specifies transmission or
portion thereof not understood or received; e.g.,
"Say again all after ABRAM VOR."
SAY ALTITUDE- Used by ATC to ascertain an aircraft's
specific altitude/flight level. When the aircraft
is climbing or descending, the pilot should state
the indicated altitude rounded to the nearest
100 feet.
SAY HEADING- Used by ATC to request an aircraft
heading. The pilot should state the actual heading
of the aircraft.
SDF-
(See SIMPLIFIED DIRECTIONAL FACILITY.)
SEA LANE- A designated portion of water outlined
by visual surface markers for and intended to
be used by aircraft designed to operate on water.
SEARCH AND RESCUE- A service which seeks missing
aircraft and assists those found to be in need
of assistance. It is a cooperative effort using
the facilities and services of available Federal,
state and local agencies. The U.S. Coast Guard
is responsible for coordination of search and
rescue for the Maritime Region, and the U.S. Air
Force is responsible for search and rescue for
the Inland Region. Information pertinent to search
and rescue should be passed through any air traffic
facility or be transmitted directly to the Rescue
Coordination Center by telephone.
(See FLIGHT SERVICE STATION.)
(See RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER.)
(Refer to AIM.)
SEARCH AND RESCUE FACILITY- A facility responsible
for maintaining and operating a search and rescue
(SAR) service to render aid to persons and property
in distress. It is any SAR unit, station, NET,
or other operational activity which can be usefully
employed during an SAR Mission; e.g., a Civil
Air Patrol Wing, or a Coast Guard Station.
(See SEARCH AND RESCUE.)
SECTIONAL AERONAUTICAL CHARTS-
(See AERONAUTICAL CHART.)
SECTOR LIST DROP INTERVAL- A parameter number
of minutes after the meter fix time when arrival
aircraft will be deleted from the arrival sector
list.
SEE AND AVOID- When weather conditions permit,
pilots operating IFR or VFR are required to observe
and maneuver to avoid other aircraft. Right-of-way
rules are contained in FAR Part 91.
SEGMENTED CIRCLE- A system of visual indicators
designed to provide traffic pattern information
at airports without operating control towers.
(Refer to AIM.)
SEGMENTS OF AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE-
An instrument approach procedure may have as many
as four separate segments depending on how the
approach procedure is structured.
a. Initial Approach- The segment between the
initial approach fix and the intermediate fix
or the point where the aircraft is established
on the intermediate course or final approach
course.
(See ICAO term INITIAL APPROACH SEGMENT.)
b. Intermediate Approach- The segment between
the intermediate fix or point and the final
approach fix.
(See ICAO term INTERMEDIATE APPROACH SEGMENT.)
c. Final Approach- The segment between the final
approach fix or point and the runway, airport,
or missed approach point.
(See ICAO term FINAL APPROACH SEGMENT.)
d. Missed Approach- The segment between the
missed approach point or the point of arrival
at decision height and the missed approach fix
at the prescribed altitude.
(Refer to FAR Part 97.)
(See ICAO term MISSED APPROACH PROCEDURE.)
SELECTED GROUND DELAYS- A traffic management procedure
whereby selected flights are issued ground delays
to better regulate traffic flows over a particular
fix or area.
SEPARATION- In air traffic control, the spacing
of aircraft to achieve their safe and orderly
movement in flight and while landing and taking
off.
(See SEPARATION MINIMA.)
(See ICAO term SEPARATION.)
SEPARATION [ICAO]- Spacing between aircraft, levels
or tracks.
SEPARATION MINIMA- The minimum longitudinal, lateral,
or vertical distances by which aircraft are spaced
through the application of air traffic control
procedures.
(See SEPARATION.)
SERVICE- A generic term that designates functions
or assistance available from or rendered by air
traffic control. For example, Class C service
would denote the ATC services provided within
a Class C airspace area.
SEVERE WEATHER AVOIDANCE PLAN- An approved plan
to minimize the affect of severe weather on traffic
flows in impacted terminal and/or ARTCC areas.
SWAP is normally implemented to provide the least
disruption to the ATC system when flight through
portions of airspace is difficult or impossible
due to severe weather.
SEVERE WEATHER FORECAST ALERTS- Preliminary messages
issued in order to alert users that a Severe Weather
Watch Bulletin (WW) is being issued. These messages
define areas of possible severe thunderstorms
or tornado activity. The messages are unscheduled
and issued as required by the National Severe
Storm Forecast Center at Kansas City, Missouri.
(See AIRMET.)
(See SIGMET.)
(See CONVECTIVE SIGMET.)
(See CWA.)
SFA-
(See SINGLE FREQUENCY APPROACH.)
SFO-
(See SIMULATED FLAMEOUT.)
SHF-
(See SUPER HIGH FREQUENCY.)
SHORT RANGE CLEARANCE- A clearance issued to a
departing IFR flight which authorizes IFR flight
to a specific fix short of the destination while
air traffic control facilities are coordinating
and obtaining the complete clearance.
SHORT TAKEOFF AND LANDING AIRCRAFT AIRCRAFT- An
aircraft which, at some weight within its approved
operating weight, is capable of operating from
a STOL runway in compliance with the applicable
STOL characteristics, airworthiness, operations,
noise, and pollution standards.
(See VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING AIRCRAFT.)
SIAP-
(See STANDARD INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE.)
SIDESTEP MANEUVER- A visual maneuver accomplished
by a pilot at the completion of an instrument
approach to permit a straight-in landing on a
parallel runway not more than 1,200 feet to either
side of the runway to which the instrument approach
was conducted.
(Refer to AIM.)
SIGMET- A weather advisory issued concerning weather
significant to the safety of all aircraft. SIGMET
advisories cover severe and extreme turbulence,
severe icing, and widespread dust or sandstorms
that reduce visibility to less than 3 miles.
(See AIRMET.)
(See AWW.)
(See CONVECTIVE SIGMET.)
(See CWA.)
(See ICAO term SIGMET INFORMATION.)
(Refer to AIM.)
SIGMET INFORMATION [ICAO]- Information issued
by a meteorological watch office concerning the
occurrence or expected occurrence of specified
en-route weather phenomena which may affect the
safety of aircraft operations.
SIGNIFICANT METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION-
(See SIGMET.)
SIGNIFICANT POINT- A point, whether a named intersection,
a NAVAID, a fix derived from a NAVAID(s), or geographical
coordinate expressed in degrees of latitude and
longitude, which is established for the purpose
of providing separation, as a reporting point,
or to delineate a route of flight.
SIMPLIFIED DIRECTIONAL FACILITY- A NAVAID used
for nonprecision instrument approaches. The final
approach course is similar to that of an ILS localizer
except that the SDF course may be offset from
the runway, generally not more than 3 degrees,
and the course may be wider than the localizer,
resulting in a lower degree of accuracy.
(Refer to AIM.)
SIMULATED FLAMEOUT- A practice approach by a jet
aircraft (normally military) at idle thrust to
a runway. The approach may start at a runway (high
key) and may continue on a relatively high and
wide downwind leg with a continuous turn to final.
It terminates in landing or low approach. The
purpose of this approach is to simulate a flameout.
(See FLAMEOUT.)
SIMULTANEOUS ILS APPROACHES- An approach system
permitting simultaneous ILS/MLS approaches to
airports having parallel runways separated by
at least 4,300 feet between centerlines. Integral
parts of a total system are ILS/MLS, radar, communications,
ATC procedures, and appropriate airborne equipment.
(See PARALLEL RUNWAYS.)
(Refer to AIM.)
SIMULTANEOUS MLS APPROACHES-
(See SIMULTANEOUS ILS APPROACHES.)
SINGLE DIRECTION ROUTES- Preferred IFR Routes
which are sometimes depicted on high altitude
en route charts and which are normally flown in
one direction only.
(See PREFERRED IFR ROUTES.)
(Refer to AIRPORT/FACILITY DIRECTORY.)
SINGLE FREQUENCY APPROACH- A service provided
under a letter of agreement to military single-piloted
turbojet aircraft which permits use of a single
UHF frequency during approach for landing. Pilots
will not normally be required to change frequency
from the beginning of the approach to touchdown
except that pilots conducting an en route descent
are required to change frequency when control
is transferred from the air route traffic control
center to the terminal facility. The abbreviation
"SFA" in the DOD FLIP IFR Supplement
under "Communications" indicates this
service is available at an aerodrome.
SINGLE-PILOTED AIRCRAFT- A military turbojet aircraft
possessing one set of flight controls, tandem
cockpits, or two sets of flight controls but operated
by one pilot is considered single-piloted by ATC
when determining the appropriate air traffic service
to be applied.
(See SINGLE FREQUENCY APPROACH.)
SLASH- A radar beacon reply displayed as an elongated
target.
SLDI-
(See SECTOR LIST DROP INTERVAL.)
SLOT TIME-
(See METER FIX TIME/SLOT TIME.)
SLOW TAXI- To taxi a float plane at low power
or low RPM.
SN-
(See SYSTEM STRATEGIC NAVIGATION.)
SPEAK SLOWER- Used in verbal communications as
a request to reduce speech rate.
SPECIAL EMERGENCY- A condition of air piracy or
other hostile act by a person(s) aboard an aircraft
which threatens the safety of the aircraft or
its passengers.
SPECIAL INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE-
(See INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE.)
SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE- Airspace of defined dimensions
identified by an area on the surface of the earth
wherein activities must be confined because of
their nature and/or wherein limitations may be
imposed upon aircraft operations that are not
a part of those activities. Types of special use
airspace are:
a. Alert Area- Airspace which may contain a
high volume of pilot training activities or
an unusual type of aerial activity, neither
of which is hazardous to aircraft. Alert Areas
are depicted on aeronautical charts for the
information of nonparticipating pilots. All
activities within an Alert Area are conducted
in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations,
and pilots of participating aircraft as well
as pilots transiting the area are equally responsible
for collision avoidance.
b. Controlled Firing Area- Airspace wherein
activities are conducted under conditions so
controlled as to eliminate hazards to nonparticipating
aircraft and to ensure the safety of persons
and property on the ground.
c. Military Operations Area (MOA)- A MOA is
airspace established outside of Class A airspace
area to separate or segregate certain nonhazardous
military activities from IFR traffic and to
identify for VFR traffic where these activities
are conducted.
(Refer to AIM.)
d. Prohibited Area- Airspace designated under
part 73 within which no person may operate an
aircraft without the permission of the using
agency.
(Refer to En Route Charts, AIM.)
e. Restricted Area- Airspace designated under
FAR Part 73, within which the flight of aircraft,
while not wholly prohibited, is subject to restriction.
Most restricted areas are designated joint use
and IFR/VFR operations in the area may be authorized
by the controlling ATC facility when it is not
being utilized by the using agency. Restricted
areas are depicted on en route charts. Where
joint use is authorized, the name of the ATC
controlling facility is also shown.
(Refer to FAR Part 73.)
(Refer to AIM.)
f. Warning Area- A warning area is airspace of
defined dimensions extending from 3 nautical miles
outward from the coast of the United States, that
contains activity that may be hazardous to nonparticipating
aircraft. The purpose of such warning area is
to warn nonparticipating pilots of the potential
danger. A warning area may be located over domestic
or international waters or both.
SPECIAL VFR CONDITIONS- Meteorological conditions
that are less than those required for basic VFR
flight in Class B, C, D, or E surface areas and
in which some aircraft are permitted flight under
visual flight rules.
(See SPECIAL VFR OPERATIONS.)
(Refer to FAR Part 91.)
SPECIAL VFR FLIGHT [ICAO]- A VFR flight cleared
by air traffic control to operate within Class
B, C, D, and E surface areas in metrological conditions
below VMC.
SPECIAL VFR OPERATIONS- Aircraft operating in
accordance with clearances within Class B, C,
D, and E surface areas in weather conditions less
than the basic VFR weather minima. Such operations
must be requested by the pilot and approved by
ATC.
(See SPECIAL VFR CONDITIONS.)
(See ICAO term SPECIAL VFR FLIGHT.)
SPEED- (See AIRSPEED.)
(See GROUND SPEED.)
SPEED ADJUSTMENT- An ATC procedure used to request
pilots to adjust aircraft speed to a specific
value for the purpose of providing desired spacing.
Pilots are expected to maintain a speed of plus
or minus 10 knots or 0.02 Mach number of the specified
speed.
Examples of speed adjustments are:
1. "Increase/reduce speed to Mach point
(number.)"
2. "Increase/reduce speed to (speed in
knots)" or "Increase/reduce speed
(number of knots) knots."
SPEED BRAKES- Moveable aerodynamic devices on
aircraft that reduce airspeed during descent and
landing.
SPEED SEGMENTS- Portions of the arrival route
between the transition point and the vertex along
the optimum flight path for which speeds and altitudes
are specified. There is one set of arrival speed
segments adapted from each transition point to
each vertex. Each set may contain up to six segments.
SQUAWK (Mode, Code, Function)- Activate specific
modes/codes/functions on the aircraft transponder;
e.g., "Squawk three/alpha, two one zero five,
low."
(See TRANSPONDER.)
STAGING/QUEUING- The placement, integration, and
segregation of departure aircraft in designated
movement areas of an airport by departure fix,
EDCT, and/or restriction.
STANDARD INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE-
(See INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE.)
STANDARD RATE TURN- A turn of three degrees per
second.
STANDARD TERMINAL ARRIVAL- A preplanned instrument
flight rule (IFR) air traffic control arrival
procedure published for pilot use in graphic and/or
textual form. STAR's provide transition from the
en route structure to an outer fix or an instrument
approach fix/arrival waypoint in the terminal
area.
STANDARD TERMINAL ARRIVAL CHARTS-
(See AERONAUTICAL CHART.)
STAND BY- Means the controller or pilot must pause
for a few seconds, usually to attend to other
duties of a higher priority. Also means to wait
as in "stand by for clearance." The
caller should reestablish contact if a delay is
lengthy. "Stand by" is not an approval
or denial.
STAR-
(See STANDARD TERMINAL ARRIVAL.)
STATE AIRCRAFT- Aircraft used in military, customs
and police service, in the exclusive service of
any government, or of any political subdivision,
thereof including the government of any state,
territory, or possession of the United States
or the District of Columbia, but not including
any government-owned aircraft engaged in carrying
persons or property for commercial purposes.
STATIC RESTRICTIONS- Those restrictions that are
usually not subject to change, fixed, in place,
and/or published.
STATIONARY RESERVATIONS- Altitude reservations
which encompass activities in a fixed area. Stationary
reservations may include activities, such as special
tests of weapons systems or equipment, certain
U.S. Navy carrier, fleet, and anti-submarine operations,
rocket, missile and drone operations, and certain
aerial refueling or similar operations.
STEPDOWN FIX- A fix permitting additional descent
within a segment of an instrument approach procedure
by identifying a point at which a controlling
obstacle has been safely overflown.
STEP TAXI- To taxi a float plane at full power
or high RPM.
STEP TURN- A maneuver used to put a float plane
in a planing configuration prior to entering an
active sea lane for takeoff. The STEP TURN maneuver
should only be used upon pilot request.
STEREO ROUTE- A routinely used route of flight
established by users and ARTCC's identified by
a coded name; e.g., ALPHA 2. These routes minimize
flight plan handling and communications.
STOL AIRCRAFT-
(See SHORT TAKEOFF AND LANDING AIRCRAFT.)
STOP ALTITUDE SQUAWK- Used by ATC to inform an
aircraft to turn-off the automatic altitude reporting
feature of its transponder. It is issued when
the verbally reported altitude varies 300 feet
or more from the automatic altitude report.
(See ALTITUDE READOUT.)
(See TRANSPONDER.)
STOP AND GO- A procedure wherein an aircraft will
land, make a complete stop on the runway, and
then commence a takeoff from that point.
(See LOW APPROACH.)
(See OPTION APPROACH.)
STOP BURST-
(See STOP STREAM.)
STOP BUZZER-
(See STOP STREAM.)
STOPOVER FLIGHT PLAN- A flight plan format which
permits in a single submission the filing of a
sequence of flight plans through interim full-stop
destinations to a final destination.
STOP SQUAWK (Mode or Code)- Used by ATC to tell
the pilot to turn specified functions of the aircraft
transponder off.
(See STOP ALTITUDE SQUAWK.)
(See TRANSPONDER.)
STOP STREAM- Used by ATC to request a pilot to
suspend electronic countermeasure activity.
(See JAMMING.)
STOPWAY- An area beyond the takeoff runway no
less wide than the runway and centered upon the
extended centerline of the runway, able to support
the airplane during an aborted takeoff, without
causing structural damage to the airplane, and
designated by the airport authorities for use
in decelerating the airplane during an aborted
takeoff.
STRAIGHT-IN APPROACH IFR- An instrument approach
wherein final approach is begun without first
having executed a procedure turn, not necessarily
completed with a straight-in landing or made to
straight-in landing minimums.
(See STRAIGHT-IN LANDING.)
(See LANDING MINIMUMS.)
(See STRAIGHT-IN APPROACH VFR.)
STRAIGHT-IN APPROACH VFR- Entry into the traffic
pattern by interception of the extended runway
centerline (final approach course) without executing
any other portion of the traffic pattern.
(See TRAFFIC PATTERN.)
STRAIGHT-IN LANDING- A landing made on a runway
aligned within 30ฐ of the final approach course
following completion of an instrument approach.
(See STRAIGHT-IN APPROACH-IFR.)
STRAIGHT-IN LANDING MINIMUMS-
(See LANDING MINIMUMS.)
STRAIGHT-IN MINIMUMS-
(See STRAIGHT-IN LANDING MINIMUMS.)
SUBSTITUTIONS- Users are permitted to exchange
CTA's. Normally, the airline dispatcher will contact
the ATCSCC with this request. The ATCSCC shall
forward approved substitutions to the TMU's who
will notify the appropriate terminals. Permissible
swapping must not change the traffic load for
any given hour of an EQF program.
SUBSTITUTE ROUTE- A route assigned to pilots when
any part of an airway or route is unusable because
of NAVAID status. These routes consist of:
a. Substitute routes which are shown on U.S.
Government charts.
b. Routes defined by ATC as specific NAVAID
radials or courses.
c. Routes defined by ATC as direct to or between
NAVAID's.
SUNSET AND SUNRISE- The mean solar times of
sunset and sunrise as published in the Nautical
Almanac, converted to local standard time for
the locality concerned. Within Alaska, the end
of evening civil twilight and the beginning
of morning civil twilight, as defined for each
locality.
SUPER HIGH FREQUENCY- The frequency band between
3 and 30 gigahertz (GHz). The elevation and azimuth
stations of the microwave landing system operate
from 5031 MHz to 5091 MHz in this spectrum.
SUPPLEMENTAL WEATHER SERVICE LOCATION- Airport
facilities staffed with contract personnel who
take weather observations and provide current
local weather to pilots via telephone or radio.
(All other services are provided by the parent
FSS).
SUPPS- Refers to ICAO Document 7030 Regional Supplementary
Procedures. SUPPS contain procedures for each
ICAO Region which are unique to that Region and
are not covered in the worldwide provisions identified
in the ICAO Air Navigation Plan. Procedures contained
in chapter 8 are based in part on those published
in SUPPS.
SURFACE AREA- The airspace contained by the lateral
boundary of the Class B, C, D, or E airspace designated
for an airport that begins at the surface and
extends upward.
SURPIC- A description of surface vessels in the
area of a Search and Rescue incident including
their predicted positions and their characteristics.
(See FAA Order 7110.65, paragraph 10-6-4, INFLIGHT
CONTINGENCIES.)
SURVEILLANCE APPROACH- An instrument approach
wherein the air traffic controller issues instructions,
for pilot compliance, based on aircraft position
in relation to the final approach course (azimuth),
and the distance (range) from the end of the runway
as displayed on the controller's radar scope.
The controller will provide recommended altitudes
on final approach if requested by the pilot.
(Refer to AIM.)
SWAP- (See SEVERE WEATHER AVOIDANCE PLAN.)
SWSL- (See SUPPLEMENTAL WEATHER SERVICE LOCATION.)
SYSTEM STRATEGIC NAVIGATION- Military activity
accomplished by navigating along a preplanned
route using internal aircraft systems to maintain
a desired track. This activity normally requires
a lateral route width of 10 NM and altitude range
of 1,000 feet to 6,000 feet AGL with some route
segments that permit terrain following.
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