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AWOS outages flagged; board to contact Northwestern Energy and FAA for repairs
Summary
Board members and maintenance staff reported repeated AWOS outages and wind-report gaps tied to power-line surges. The board agreed to contact Northwestern Energy and press FAA to approve a pending replacement AWOS computer, and will monitor the line.
Board members reported recent interruptions to the airport’s AWOS wind reporting and discussed likely causes and remedies. A knowledgeable participant explained the AWOS computer and its UPS (battery backup) are rebooting because of power spikes on the local feed; FAA has built a replacement computer but it requires FAA approval before deployment.
"Every time [the AWOS] doesn't, that's not working ... it's getting these power spikes ... it has to reboot the entire computer system," one speaker said, explaining repeated daily outages and the safety implications for pilots who rely on wind reporting.
Board members agreed to contact Northwestern Energy to request monitoring of the line for surges and to press FAA for final approval of the replacement AWOS unit. The board identified a Northwestern Energy engineering contact (Dustin Workman) for follow-up.
Why it matters: AWOS provides automated weather and wind information pilots use for landing decisions—repeated outages can increase operational risk and create confusion for transient pilots. The board emphasized quick technical follow-up and better communications to users when AWOS is unreliable.
Next steps: airport maintenance will continue notifying FAA of outages, board staff will contact Northwestern Energy to request line monitoring, and the airport will pursue FAA approval for the replacement AWOS computer.
