Lani1

bliue skies, no wind blowing but sky west having trouble getting planes on ground

latest escuse, runway too icy ... multiple private aircraft have taken off and landed

yes as I do know they fly by separate rules

Wayside

It was snowing this morning. The airport is reporting reporting a FICON with a runway cc of 5/5/5 which is good but my assumption is that earlier the FICON was prohibitive for 121 operations.

!ASE 01/324 ASE RWY 15 FICON 5/5/5 100 PRCT WET DEICED LIQUID 80FT WID REMAINDER 1/8IN DRY SN OBSERVED AT 1701221445. 1701221445-1701231445

mduell

So the point here is?

Lani1

Life in and out od ASE always a gamble !

mahasamatman

Then why the question mark in the title? And why does it matter that there are different rules?

saxman66

I wouldn't call it an excuse. It's the FAA rules that 121 operators must follow. Plus the CRJ-700 is probably a bit heavier than the other small jets that go in and out of ASE. When the runway is reported as having more than 25% of the surface with more than 1/8 inch of snow than the required landing distance at ASE is 7,380 feet at max. landing weight and no wind. The runway at ASE is 7,006 feet long so that won't do. There are different levels of contamination that are used (1-6). Level 6 is dry and level 1 is ice. 3 is more than 1/8 inch of snow to give you and example.

So using the example above:
Field condition (FICON) 5/5/5 means that each third of the runway is level 5 for braking action. Level 5 simply just means wet, which isn't a big deal. Level 5 requires 6,598 feet to land which is the worst it can be. So unless the CRJ-700 coming in is really light or you have a nice headwind, level 5 is about the worst the runway can be. (Level 4 is compacted snow). Note that the actual landing distance will be 60% less than the required distance as there has to be plenty of room for outside factors and room for error.

Hope this long explanation helps!