What is a Crash Phone System? Airports that are FAA Part 1391 certified must have procedures and equipment that, in the event of an actual or potential aircraft accident, alert Airport Rescue and Fire‐Fighting (ARFF) personnel who must then respond to specific staging points within a matter of minutes. Guidance on such types of Airport Emergency Communications is provided in FAA Advisory Circular 150/5210‐7D2 .  The majority of airports use a crash phone system to meet this purpose although some others use two‐way non‐Air Traffic Control (ATC) radio channels. 

 

In large North American airports, crash phone events occur several times per week, though few result in actual fire‐fighting and rescue activities. In smaller Part 139 airports, these events are infrequent. In all airports, however, the crash phone system is tested at least once each day. Crash phone systems, following three decades of FAA guidance, now generally have these characteristics:  The system uses automatic ring‐down technology (i.e. no dialing is required)  The system instantly bridges 2 to 30 stations together.  The system is present in the following locations:

 • The FAA Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) 

 • All  ARFF stations at the airport

 • Airport Operations Center

 • Other locations and facilities involved in the ARFF response

Source: Inspired Data Solutions ~ John Purnell