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AIM — FAA OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE

7-1-23 Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) PIREPs

AIM Chapter 7. Safety of Flight — Section 7-1, Meteorology

Official text — AIM 7-1-23

AIM — FAA OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE

CAT has become a very serious operational factor to flight operations at all levels and especially to jet traffic flying in excess of 15,000 feet. The best available information on this phenomenon must come from pilots via the PIREP reporting procedures. All pilots encountering CAT conditions are urgently requested to report time, location, and intensity (light, moderate, severe, or extreme) of the element to the FAA facility with which they are maintaining radio contact. If time and conditions permit, elements should be reported according to the standards for other PIREPs and position reports.

REFERENCE-

AIM, Para 7-1-21, PIREPs Relating to Turbulence.

Reproduced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Basic (with Change 3)). The AIM is FAA guidance, not regulation. Verify against the official source before relying on it operationally.

Is this a regulation?

No — this is FAA guidance, not a regulation.

Aeronautical Information Manual. FAA operational guidance and recommended practices. The AIM is not regulatory, although it often explains how to comply with regulations.

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