FAA says online TFR map page errors fixed

AOPA had urged pilots not to use the page during flight planning, and had called on the FAA to take the page down until it functioned properly.

On Aug. 15, the FAA notified AOPA that the problem “affecting TFR graphical depictions from being displayed on the TFR Map has been resolved. A Windows user account that performs a scheduled task was disconnected from the application server. This account was reinstated in order to restore the TFR Map functionality.”

The advisory added that “system monitoring and data verification will be performed while the database continues to update the TFR Map with current graphical depictions.”

During the period when the page displayed erroneously, AOPA called upon the FAA to move quickly to alert users to errors on the website, “and not rely solely on disclaimers. Pilots must have full confidence in the information the FAA is providing.”

A particular safety-of-flight concern during the period was the risk of incursions into TFR airspace that had been quarantined on short notice for wildfire fight operations, said Rune Duke, AOPA director of government affairs for airspace and air traffic.

Beginning in June, AOPA had brought quality concerns about the TFR map displays to the FAA’s attention several times as problems with the page—which is scheduled to be superseded on the FAA website next March with an existing Notam Search page—persisted.

The now-resolved issue underlines the urgency of action being taken on 54 recommendations made in a report of the RTCA Tactical Operations Committee that was given the task by the FAA of improving graphical TFRs in the National Airspace System, Duke said.