Suitable Divert Airfields
Operational Navigation Flight Training Instruction
SUITABLE DIVERT AIRFIELDS
To be usable as a divert field, an airstrip must have at least 5,000 ft of hard-surfaced runway and be listed
in either the FLIP, IFR or VFR enroute supplement. Consideration must be made as to the seriousness of
the emergency situation requiring a divert. An ideal divert field would be military, with arresting gear,
servicing equipment and personnel, security, etc..
Primary, secondary and tertiary divert fields can be identified and used in priority order depending on how
critical the emergency is. A “land as soon as possible” emergency, for instance, may require you to land at
a small civilian field with a short runway and few services. Divert fields will be identified by a blue circle. A
blue arrow with divert information will point from each turnpoint to the nearest divert field.
Reasons that may require you to divert: aircraft system trouble, bird strike or midair collision. If aircraft
system trouble is detected comply with NATOPS procedures first. Then decide whether a divert is re-
quired. If you have a bird-strike (or any midair collision) determine if the aircraft is controllable. If control-
lable, establish a shallow climb of 5-10 degrees and slow down, following NATOPS procedures for dam-
aged aircraft. If the aircraft is uncontrollable, EJECT.
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