cable up/cable down

Aviation Notable Activity
1

i was out at JAX today watching some planes takeoff. The F-15s and F-22s were taking off and landing and i heard on the tower that they were announcing that the cables were up and down and i know that they werent referring to arresting cables as they did a long landing role.

any insight into this?

2

The arresting gear probably was up, as the controller stated…but at the far end of the landing runway. They do that so if the aircraft has braking issue the arresting hook can be extended as a last reseort to catch the wire at the far end…rather than run off the end from a problem. I’ve been to CRG before when the arresting gear was “up” and was issued a “caution the gear on rollout” from the tower. And sure enough there it was, a few hundred feet from the end.

3

to back up with azav8r said. it doesn’t really matter if the runway is 2 miles long, it seems to be standard practice to have the cables up for fighters. Some AF planes aren’t allowed to land/take off over a raised cable. Notably the B2. I guess they don’t want to risk “scratching” paint job of they land short or rotate late.

4

ATC must advise pilots when the cable is up assuming it’s not in a NOTAM or something.

PHRASEOLOGY−
YOUR DEPARTURE/LANDING WILL BE TOWARD/OVER A RAISED BARRIER/CABLE ON RUNWAY (number), (location, distance, as appropriate).

PHRASEOLOGY−
(Identification), BARRIER/CABLE INDICATES UP/DOWN. CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF/TO LAND.

5

Here is the whole section from the 7110.65

3-3-6. ARRESTING SYSTEM OPERATION

a. For normal operations, arresting systems remotely controlled by ATC shall remain in the retracted or down position.

NOTE-

  1. USN- Runway Arresting Gear- barriers are not operated by ATC personnel. Readiness/rigging of the equipment is the responsibility of the operations department.

  2. A request to raise a barrier or hook cable means the barrier or cable on the departure end of the runway. If an approach end engagement is required, the pilot or military authority will specifically request that the approach end cable be raised.

REFERENCE-
FAAO JO 7610.4, Chapter 9, Section 3. Aircraft Arresting System, Single Frequency Approach (SFA), Simulated Flameout (SFO)/Emergency Landing Pattern (ELP) Operations, Celestial Navigation (CELNAV) Training, Para 9-3-1 through Para 9-3-8.

b. Raise aircraft arresting systems whenever:

  1. Requested by a pilot.

NOTE-
The standard emergency phraseology for a pilot requesting an arresting system to be raised for immediate engagement is:

“BARRIER - BARRIER - BARRIER”

or

“CABLE - CABLE - CABLE.”

  1. Requested by military authority; e.g., airfield manager, supervisor of flying, mobile control officer, etc.

NOTE-
USAF. Web barriers at the departure end of the runway may remain in the up position when requested by the senior operational commander. The IFR Enroute Supplement and AP-1 will describe specific barrier configuration. ATC will advise transient aircraft of the barrier configuration using the phraseology in subpara c, below.

  1. A military jet aircraft is landing with known or suspected radio failure or conditions (drag chute/hydraulic/electrical failure, etc.) that indicate an arresting system may be needed. Exceptions are authorized for military aircraft which cannot engage an arresting system (C-9, C-141, C-5, T-39, etc.) and should be identified in a letter of agreement and/or appropriate military directive.

c. When requested by military authority due to freezing weather conditions or malfunction of the activating mechanism, the barrier/cable may remain in a raised position provided aircraft are advised.

PHRASEOLOGY-
YOUR DEPARTURE/LANDING WILL BE TOWARD/OVER A RAISED BARRIER/CABLE ON RUNWAY (number), (location, distance, as appropriate).

d. Inform civil and U.S. Army aircraft whenever rubber supported cables are in place at the approach end of the landing runway, and include the distance of the cables from the threshold. This information may be omitted if it is published in the “Notices to Airmen” publication/DOD FLIP.

EXAMPLE-
“Runway One Four arresting cable one thousand feet from threshold.”

e. When arresting system operation has been requested, inform the pilot of the indicated barrier/cable position.

PHRASEOLOGY-
(Identification), BARRIER/CABLE INDICATES UP/DOWN. CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF/TO LAND.

f. Time permitting, advise pilots of the availability of all arresting systems on the runway in question when a pilot requests barrier information.

g. If an aircraft engages a raised barrier/cable, initiate crash alarm procedures immediately.

h. For preplanned practice engagements not associated with emergencies, crash alarm systems need not be activated if, in accordance with local military operating procedures, all required notifications are made before the practice engagement.

REFERENCE-
FAAO JO 7110.65, Para 4-7-12, Airport Conditions.