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TDS: AIREP Field Descriptions

Field # Field Name Description Field Type Units
1
receipt_time Time (ISO8601 date/time format) when the report was received
string
ISO
8601 date/
time
2
observation_time Time (ISO8601 date/time) when the
weather/condition was experienced
string
ISO
8601 date/
time
3
quality_control_flags Quality control flags (see below) that indicate any assumption(s) string
4
aircraft_ref Reference to the aircraft. Aircraft type, flight number, or other aircraft information
string
5
latitude Latitude
float
decimal degrees
6
longitude Longitude
float
decimal degrees
7
altitude_ft_msl altitude in ft MSL (mean sea-level)
integer
ft above MSL (mean sea-
level)
8
sky_condition sky_cover - up to two levels of cloud types can be reported. Allowed values: VMC|VFR|SKC|CLEAR|CAVOC|FEW|SCT|BKN|OVC|OVX|
IFR|IMC
string
cloud_base_ft_msl - Height of cloud base - up to two levels can be reported
integer
ft MSL (mean sea-
level)
cloud_top_ft_msl - Height of cloud top - up to two levels can be reported
integer
ft MSL (mean sea-
level)
9 turbulence_condition turbulence_type - Turbulence type. Up to two levels of turbulence data
can be reported. The allowed values are: CAT|CHOP|LLWS|MWAVE
string
turbulence_intensity - Turbulence intensity. Up to two levels of turbulence data
can be reported. The allowed values are: NEG|SMTH-LGT|LGT|LGT-MOD|MOD|MOD-SEV|
SEV|SEV-EXTM|EXTM
string
turbulence_base_ft_msl - Height of turbulence base. Up to two levels of turbulence data can be reported.
integer
ft MSL (mean sea-
level)
turbulence_top_ft_msl - Height of turbulence top. Up to two levels of turbulence data can be reported.
integer
ft MSL (mean sea-
level)
turbulence_freq - Turbulence frequency. Up to two levels of turbulence data can be reported. Allowed values are: ISOL|OCNL|CONT
string
10
icing_condition icing_type - Icing type. Up to two levels of icing data can be reported. Allowed values: RIME|CLEAR|MIXED
string
icing_intensity - Icing intensity. Up to two levels of icing data can be reported. Allowed values: NEG|NEGclr|TRC|TRC-LGT|LGT|LGT-MOD|
MOD|MOD-SEV|HVY|SEV
string
icing_base_ft_msl0- Icing base. Up to two levels of icing data can be reported.
integer
ft MSL (mean sea-
level)
icing_top_ft_msl - Icing top. Up to two levels of icing data can be reported.
integer
ft MSL (mean sea-
level)
11
visibility_statute_mi Visibility
intger
statute mi
12
wx_string Weather
string
13
temp_c Temperature
float
C
14
wind_dir_degrees Wind direction, the direction from where the wind is blowing.
integer
degrees
15
wind_speed_kt Wind speed
integer
kts
16
vert_gust_kt Vertical gust
integer
m/s
17
pirep_type PIREP or AIREP
string
18
raw_text Raw PIREP in text
string

Quality Control Flags

Quality control flags indicate any assumption(s) made on the data. The qualifier is any single or combination of the following values.

Value Corresponding description
mid_point_assumed Midpoint- if the exact location of the Aircraft Report is not provided, the midpoint between two locations is assumed.
no_time_stamp No time stamp - if a time stamp is wrong or not provided.
flt_lvl_range Flight level range - if a range instead of a specific altitude is given for flight level information.
above_ground_level_indicated Above ground level (AGL)- if the flight level is expressed as AGL as opposed to mean sea level (MSL). Or if the flight level is recorded as "during descent" (DURD), in which case the surface elevation plus 100 ft. is used from the closest identifier.
no_flt_lvl No flight level - if no flight level information can be deciphered from the raw Aircraft Report. The decoder fills in the flight level with the altitude of the cloud observation. If this information is unavailable, then the altitude of icing is used. If icing information is absent, then the altitude of turbulence is used.
bad_location Bad location - if the location from the "/OV" group is greater than 500 km from the leading identifier, or if the location identifier is not available. In this situation, the lat and lon from the leading identifier is used.