Section 5. Aviation Phraseology

2-5-1. RELAY OF ATC COMMUNICATIONS

Prefix a clearance, information, or a request for information which will be relayed from a control facility to an aircraft with the appropriate phrase “A-T-C CLEARS,” “A-T-C ADVISES,” or “A-T-C REQUESTS.”

2-5-2. FACILITY IDENTIFICATION

Identify facilities as follows:

  1. In-flight position. State the name of the FSS followed by the word “RADIO,” and position if appropriate.
  2. Flight data position. State the geographical name of the FSS or service provider, followed by the words “FLIGHT DATA.”
  3. When calling or replying on an interphone line that connects only two facilities, you may omit the facility's name.
  4. When calling or replying on interphone lines connecting more than one facility, state the name of the FSS followed by the word “RADIO.”
  5. When answering public access telephone lines, state the geographical name of the FSS and the words “FLIGHT SERVICE.” Specialists in contract facilities must answer public access lines by stating the name of the service provider and type.

2-5-3. AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION

  1. Civilian. State the aircraft type, the model, the manufacturer's name, or the prefix “NOVEMBER” (when applicable), followed by the numbers/letters of the aircraft registration.
    1. Air carrier and other civilian aircraft having FAA authorized call signs. State the call sign, in accordance with FAA Order JO 7340.2, Contractions, followed by the flight number in group form.
    2. If aircraft identification becomes a problem, the specialist must restate the call sign after the flight number of the aircraft involved.
    3. Air taxi and commercial operators not having FAA-authorized call signs. State the prefix “TANGO” on initial contact, if used by the pilot, followed by the registration number. The prefix may be dropped in subsequent communications.
  2. MEDEVAC aircraft.
    1. Air carrier/taxi/ambulance. State the prefix “MEDEVAC” if used by the pilot, followed by the call sign and flight number in group form.
    2. Civilian airborne ambulance. State the word “MEDEVAC,” followed by the numbers/letters of the registration number.
  3. U.S. military. State one of the following:
    1. The service name followed by the word “COPTER,” when appropriate, and the last five digits of the serial number.
    2. If aircraft identification becomes a problem when the above procedures are used, the specialist must restate the call sign after the flight number of the aircraft involved in accordance with FAA Order JO 7210.3, paragraph 2-1-14, Aircraft Identification Problems, will apply.
    3. Special military operations. State one of the following followed by the last five digits of the serial number:
      1. Air evacuation flights. “AIR EVAC,” “MARINE AIR EVAC,” or “NAVY AIR EVAC.”
      2. Rescue flights. (Service name) “RESCUE.”
      3. Air mobility command. “REACH.”
      4. Special air mission. “SAM.”
      5. U.S. Air Force contract aircraft. “CAMBER.”
    4. Military tactical and training.
      1. U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, Military District of Washington priority aircraft, and U.S. Air Force civil disturbance aircraft. Pronounceable words of three to six letters followed by a one to five digit number.
      2. When the “Z” suffix described in paragraph 6-3-3, U.S. Air Force/U.S. Navy Undergraduate Pilots, is added to identify aircraft piloted by U.S. Air Force/U.S. Navy undergraduate pilots, the call sign will be limited to a combination of six characters. Do not use this suffix in ground-to-air communication.
      3. Navy or Marine fleet and training command aircraft. The service name and two letters or a digit and a letter (use letter phonetic equivalents) followed by two or three digits.
  4. Foreign registry. State one of the following:
    1. Civilian. State the aircraft type or the manufacturer's name followed by the letters/numbers of the aircraft registration, or state the letters or digits of the aircraft registration or call sign.
    2. Air carrier. The abbreviated name of the operating company followed by:
      1. The letters or digits of the registration or call sign.
      2. The flight number in group form, or separate digits may be used if that is the format used by the pilot.
    3. Foreign military. Except for military services identified in FAA Order JO 7340.2, Contractions, state the name of the country and the military service followed by the separate digits or letters of the registration or call sign. For military services listed in FAA Order JO 7340.2, state the approved telephony followed by the separate digits of the flight number.
  5. Presidential aircraft and Presidential family aircraft.
    1. When the President is aboard a military aircraft, state the name of the military service followed by the word “ONE.”
    2. When the President is aboard a civilian aircraft, state the words “EXECUTIVE ONE.”
    3. When a member of the President's family is aboard any aircraft, if the U.S. Secret Service or the White House staff determines it is necessary, state the words “EXECUTIVE ONE FOXTROT.”
  6. Vice Presidential aircraft.
    1. When the Vice President is aboard a military aircraft, state the name of the military service followed by the word “TWO.”
    2. When the Vice President is aboard a civilian aircraft, state the words “EXECUTIVE TWO.”
    3. When a member of the Vice President's family is aboard any aircraft, if the U.S. Secret Service or the White House staff determines it is necessary, state the words “EXECUTIVE TWO FOXTROT.”
  7. Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA flights. TBL 2-5-1 shows the alphanumeric identifiers and radio/interphone call signs to be used in air/ground communications when the Secretary of Transportation, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, FAA Administrator, or FAA Deputy Administrator have a requirement to identify themselves.

    TBL 2-5-1
    DOT and FAA Identifiers and Call Signs

    Title

    Identifier

    Call Sign

    DOT Secretary

    DOT-1

    Transport-1

    DOT Deputy Secretary

    DOT-2

    Transport-2

    FAA Administrator

    FAA-1

    Safeair-1

    FAA Deputy Administrator

    FAA-2

    Safeair-2

  8. Other special flights.
    1. Flight inspection of navigational aids. State the call sign “FLIGHT CHECK,” followed by the digits of the registration number.
    2. U.S. Air Force aircraft engaged in aerial sampling/surveying missions. State the call sign “SAMP,” followed by the last three digits of the serial number.
    3. Flights conducted by U.S. governmental organizations (federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial) using FAA authorized U.S. special call signs for purposes of national security and defense, homeland security, intelligence, and law enforcement. These flights may be identified in accordance with FAA Order JO 7110.67, Air Traffic Management Security Procedures and Requirements for Special Operations.
  9. Use a pilot's name in identification of an aircraft only in special or emergency situations.

2-5-4. DESCRIPTION OF AIRCRAFT TYPES

Except for super or heavy aircraft, describe aircraft as follows:

  1. Military.
    1. Military designator with number spoken in group form; or
    2. Service and type; or
    3. Type only if no confusion or misidentification is likely.
  2. Air carrier.
    1. Manufacturer's model or type designator.
    2. Add the manufacturer's name, company name or other identifying features when confusion or misunderstanding is likely.
  3. General aviation and air taxi.
    1. Manufacturer's model or type designator.
    2. Manufacturer's name, or add color when considered advantageous.

2-5-5. AIRCRAFT EQUIPMENT CODES

When communicating this information (aircraft equipment suffixes) state the aircraft type, the word “SLANT,” and the appropriate phonetic letter equivalent of the suffix.

2-5-6. AIRWAYS AND ROUTES

Describe airways, routes, or jet routes as follows:

  1. VOR/VORTAC/TACAN airways or jet routes. State the word “VICTOR” or the letter “J,” followed by the number of the airway or route in group form.
  2. VOR/VORTAC/TACAN alternate airways. State the word “VICTOR,” followed by the number of the airway in group form and the alternate direction.
  3. Colored/L/MF airways. State the color of the airway followed by the number in group form.
  4. Named routes. State the words “NORTH AMERICAN ROUTE” or “BAHAMA ROUTE,” followed by the number of the route in group form.
  5. Military training routes (MTRs). State the letters “I-R” or “V-R,” followed by the number of the route in group form.
  6. Published RNAV routes.
    1. High altitude. State the letter “Q” followed by the route number in group form.
    2. Low altitude. State the letter of the route phonetically, followed by the number of the route in group form.

2-5-7. NAVAID TERMS AND FIXES

  1. Announce navigation aids (NAVAID) as follows in TBL 2-5-2:

    TBL 2-5-2
    NAVAID Terms

    Contraction

    Phraseology

    DME

    D-M-E

    GNSS

    G-N-S-S

    GPS

    G-P-S

    ILS

    I-L-S

    LOM

    LOCATOR OUTER MARKER

    NDB

    N-D-B

    RNAV

    R-NAV

    TACAN

    TACK-AN

    VOR

    V-O-R

    VORTAC

    VOR- (as in “vortex”) TACK

    WAAS

    WAHS

  2. Describe radials, arcs, courses, bearings, and quadrants of NAVAIDs as follows:
    1. VOR/VORTAC/TACAN/GPS waypoints. State the name of the NAVAID or GPS waypoint followed by the separate digits of the radial/azimuth/bearing (omitting the word “degrees”) and the word “RADIAL/AZIMUTH/BEARING.”
    2. Arcs about VOR-DME/VORTAC/TACAN NAVAIDs. State the distance in miles from the NAVAID followed by the words “MILE ARC,” the direction from the NAVAID in terms of the eight principal points of the compass, the word “OF,” and the name of the NAVAID.
    3. Quadrant within a radius of NAVAID. State direction from NAVAID in terms of the quadrant (for example, NE, SE, SW, NW), followed by the distance in miles from the NAVAID.
    4. Non-directional beacons. State the course to or the bearing from the radio beacon, omitting the word “DEGREE,” followed by the words “COURSE TO” or “BEARING FROM,” the name of the radio beacon, and the words “RADIO BEACON.”
    5. Navigation reference system (NRS) waypoint. State the single letter corresponding to the ICAO flight information region (FIR) identifier, followed by the letter corresponding to the FIR subset (ARTCC area for the CONUS), the latitude increment in single digit or group form, and the longitude increment.
  3. Describe fixes determined by reference to a radial/localizer/azimuth and distance from a VOR-DME, VORTAC, TACAN, or ILS-DME as follows:
    1. When a fix is not named, state the name of the NAVAID, followed by a specified radial/localizer/azimuth, and state the distance in miles followed by the phrase “MILE FIX.”
    2. Use specific terms to describe a fix. Do not use expressions such as “passing Victor twelve” or “passing J eleven.”
  4. Describe waypoints charted on a standard instrument departure (SID), standard terminal arrival route (STAR), en route chart, or approach plate by stating the name followed by the word “WAYPOINT.”

2-5-8. RUNWAY CONDITIONS

  1. State factual information as reported by airport management concerning the condition of the runway surface and describing the accumulation of precipitation. Furnish quality of braking action as received from pilots to all aircraft as follows:
    1. Describe the quality of braking action using the terms “good,” “good to medium,” “medium,” “medium to poor,” “poor,” or “nil.” If the pilot reports braking action in other than the approved terms, ask them to categorize braking action in these terms.
    2. Include the type of aircraft from which the report is received.
    3. If the braking action report affects only a portion of a runway, obtain enough information from the pilot to describe braking action in terms easily understood by other pilots.
    4. Use descriptive terms (for example, first/last half of the runway) rather than landmark descriptions (for example, opposite the fire station, or south of a taxiway).
  2. State runway friction measurement readings/values as received from airport management to aircraft as follows:
    1. At airports with friction measuring devices, provide runway condition codes (RwyCC), as received from airport management, to pilots on request. State the runway number followed by the RwyCC for each of the three runway zones, and the time of the report in UTC.
    2. Issue the runway surface condition and/or the runway condition reading (RCR), if provided, to all U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard aircraft. Issue the RCR to other aircraft upon request.