Airport diagrams are specifically designed to assist in the movement of ground traffic at locations with complex runway/taxiway configurations and provide information for updating computer based navigation systems (INS) aboard aircraft
Runway dimensions, elevations, and gradient (if greater than 0.3° up or down)
Airport diagram scales are variable
Runway heading to the nearest tenth of a degree
Dimensions of runway overruns
Runway identification number
Location of arresting gear, barriers, and displaced thresholds
Position and identification of taxiways, ramps and parking areas
Type of runway surface
Closed runways/taxiways
Location/identification of buildings, control tower, airport beacon, and other structures
True/magnetic north orientation, date, and annual rate of change - true/magnetic north orientation may vary from diagram to diagram, i.e., north may not be at the top of the page
Location/elevation of obstructions
Geographical coordinate grid - Coordinate values are shown in 1 or 1/2 minute increments. They are further broken down into 5 second ticks, within each 1-minute increments
Runway weight-bearing capacity
Airport diagrams are not intended to be used for approach and landing or departure operations
Airport Surface Hot-spots:
An "Airport Surface Hot Spot" is a location on an aerodrome movement area with a history or potential risk of collision or runway incursion, and where heightened attention by pilots/drivers is necessary
A "hot spot" is a runway safety related problem area on an airport that presents increased risk during surface operations
Typically it is a complex or confusing taxiway/taxiway or taxiway/runway intersection
The area of increased risk has either a history of or potential for runway incursions or surface incidents, due to a variety of causes, such as but not limited to:
Airport layout
Traffic flow
Airport marking
Signage and lighting
Situational awareness
Training
Hot spots are depicted on airport diagrams as circles or ellipses and cylinders:
Circles or ellipses are for ground movement hot spots known to cause issues like hold short line infractions, approach hold issues, complex taxiways, movement/nonmovement boundary area issues, tower line-of-sight problems, and marking and signage issues
Wrong surface hot spots are depicted with cylinders and indicate locations where aircraft have inadvertently attempted to or depart or land on the wrong surface
Hot spots are tabulated with a brief description of each hot spot
Hot spots will remain charted on airport diagrams until such time the increased risk has been reduced or eliminated
The Chart Supplement U.S. has a breakdown list of all airport hot-spots and their reason of note
Additionally, the FAA provides unique videos for certain airfields which can be found at the FAA's "From the Flight Deck" series
ATWATER/CASTLE (KMER) Chart Supplement U.S. Airport Hot-spots
Airport Diagram Legend:
A legend can be found at the front of the Instrument Approach Procedures publications [Figure 3]
