FAA Seeks Pilot Reports for Automated Airport Weather System Errors

The Federal Aviation Administration is asking for public input on a proposed effort that invites aviators and national airspace users to flag outages and incorrect data coming from automated airport weather systems. As reported, the agency published a notice in the Federal Register requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget to gather these reports.

Under the plan, a new Surface Weather Status Dashboard will be hosted on the existing FAA Weather Cameras website. This congressionally mandated tool will feature a public webform allowing anyone to voluntarily submit safety concerns regarding automated surface observing systems and automated weather observing systems.

Once a submission undergoes verification, it will generate a trouble ticket inside the Remote Monitoring and Logging System. This process enables technicians from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or other responsible entities to initiate corrective measures.

Agency officials stated that once a trouble ticket is entered into the system, the aviation weather cameras portal will capture and show the operational status of all affected automated surface observation stations within 30 minutes. The federal agency anticipates receiving approximately 1,825 submissions each year, with each form taking about one minute to fill out.

In addition to the weather camera feeds, the portal currently supplies pilots with METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, and additional weather details. The agency has also been growing its camera network by adding new sites and visual weather observation systems that merge imagery with automated surface sensors.

Comments regarding this information collection must be submitted by November 5, 2026, referencing Docket No. FAA-2026-3172.

Sources: General Aviation News, AVweb