Murkowski Convenes Stakeholders in Yakutat to Address Systemic Weather System Failures in Rural Alaska

08.16.24

Murkowski Convenes Stakeholders in Yakutat to Address Systemic Weather System Failures in Rural Alaska

Yakutat, AK - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) convened a summit featuring representatives from government agencies and companies responsible for maintaining the Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) in Yakutat to collaborate on better practices to reduce travel delays and bolster safety in Alaska aviation.

Participants included Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Ken Graham, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Director of Congressional Affairs John Sokich, NWS's Alaska Region Director Michael Couch, the Federal Aviation Administration's Regional Administrator Mike O'Hare, and a host of local and state officials, and aviation industry heads.

NWS has faced persistent struggles at the Yakutat Airport ASOS station due to power and connectivity outages, as well as a lack of redundancy. When the ASOS goes dark, the Yakutat airport can be closed down for long stretches of time. While acute in Yakutat, these problems are indicative of travel statewide, particularly in rural Alaska. With multiple federal agencies overseeing the system's management, Senator Murkowski brought the stakeholders together to collaborate on short and long-term solutions that will bring greater reliability and safety to Alaskans traveling by air.

"Earlier this year, I experienced what many rural Alaskans are all-too-familiar with - a long delay that forced me to redo my travel plans after Yakutat's ASOS suddenly went down," Senator Murkowski said. "As I learned more about the tangled management responsibilities of multiple federal agencies overseeing Alaska's aviation weather reporting systems, it became obvious there have to be system improvements and greater communication between all stakeholders. This summit allowed us to drill down to the core of the issue and work on solutions. This conversation is just the beginning in ensuring that all agencies and stakeholders are working together to ensure safer and more reliable air travel not only in Yakutat, but across the state."

During the roundtable discussion, several steps to address the issue at Yakutat were identified, including having a community resident become the local weather observer as a part of the Non-Federal Weather Observation (NF-OBS) Program; expanding remote repair capabilities as connectivity improves when Cordova-Tel's microwave network comes online in October; establishing battery backup and power conditioning systems; and moving forward with a project to consolidate Yakutat's three ASOS system components in one location with a singular backup power supply. The group also discussed improving collaboration across agencies, and policy changes necessary to address the persistent weather sensing issues experienced not just in Yakutat, but across Alaska.

Background:

Yakutat Airport is a focal point for statewide weather observation challenges critical to the Don Young Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative (DYAASI) and improvements in aviation safety. Earlier this year, the 2024 FAA Reauthorizationestablished the DYAASI, to include specific weather reporting priorities, including:

• Setting 2030 deadlines for the installation of certified weather technology (AWOS/VWOS).
• Holding the FAA Administrator responsible for the reliability of certified weather systems in Alaska and requiring within two years a "weather system reliability and restoration plan for Alaska" to include telecommunications connection reliability and the available maintenance parts and staff.
• Creating a process and requirement to deploy additional weather cameras, while requiring consultation with government and airspace users for deployment location.

In addition to Senator Murkowski, summit participants included:

• Ken Graham, Director, National Weather Service
• John Sokich, Director of Congressional Affairs, NOAA
• Michael Couch, Chief, Data Acquisition, Facilities & Electronics Branch, NOAA Alaska Region
• Scott Lindsey, Director Alaska Region, National Weather Service
  Mike O'Hare, Regional Administrator, FAA Alaskan Region
• Tom Waldron, Director of Technical Operations, FAA Western Service Area
• Troy LaRue, Division Operations Manager, Statewide Aviation, Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
• Andy Mills, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
• Lynae Craig, Alaska Airlines
• Bridget Thompson, Alaska Airlines, Director of Station Operations for Southeast Alaska
• Will Day, Executive Director, Alaska Air Carriers Association
• Dan Knesek, Vice President of Commercial, Grant Aviation
• Wilfred "Boyuck" Ryan, President, Ryan Air
• Bill Stamm, CEO, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative
• Jeremiah Beckett, CEO, Cordova Telecom
• Stephen Phillips, CTO. Cordova Telecom
• Sarah Kathrein, Project Manager, Yakutat Fiber Deployment
• Cindy Bremner, Mayor of Yakutat
• Casey Mapes, Fire Chief (Candidate for Weather Observer)
• Shawn Uschmann, AT&T
• Doug LaMarche, AT&T
• Mark Carlson, ACS

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