The Call From “FSS NOTAMS”
A not-so-normal call on Ops 1
When people ask me what I do at the airport, I usually say something like, “It’s a lot. Every day’s a little different.” And I mean that.
But some days?
Some days have phone calls you’ve never gotten before.
This past week, I was getting ready to start my normal morning inspection when our airport operations phone, which we call “Ops 1”, started ringing. That’s the phone we keep close at all times, and when it rings, it’s usually important. But this time, the caller ID caught me off guard. It said:
FSS NOTAMS
No clue what that meant.
But when you work in airport ops, you learn pretty quick that “I’ve never seen that before” is not completely abnormal.
“An ELT is going off at NetJets.”
That’s what the guy on the phone said.
And I just stood there for a second like… okay…
What’s an ELT? Who are you?
I asked what exactly he wanted me to do. He gave me a tail number and told me to call him back when I located the aircraft. That was it. No other details. Just find the plane, get the ELT turned off, and call back.
So I hung up.
And then I did what any normal, under-caffeinated airport employee would do when faced with something mysterious and acronym-filled:
I Googled it.
So... what is FSS?
Let’s break this down for the normal humans who don’t spend their days on airfields:
FSS stands for Flight Service Station.
They’re part of the FAA, and yes, they are actual people, not robots or AI or some random website with a dropdown menu. These folks are trained aviation specialists who support pilots behind the scenes. You probably haven’t heard of them (like me) because they’re not the ones flying the plane or directing it from a control tower, but they’re still a huge part of keeping things safe up there.
Think of them like the off-the-radar support crew for pilots; they’re the ones behind the curtain helping flights stay informed and protected. Kind of like 911 dispatchers, but for aviation.
They help with:
Weather briefings — telling pilots what storms or turbulence they might fly through
Flight planning — helping pilots file flight plans and make adjustments
Pilot reports (PIREPs) — collecting real-time info from pilots in the sky
NOTAMs — sharing alerts about runway closures, equipment issues, and other things that could affect safety
Monitoring ELTs — like in my case, responding when an emergency signal goes off
They don’t control traffic like air traffic control does, but they do just about everything else pilots might need before or during a flight, especially in less-controlled or rural airspace.
So when one of them calls your ops phone early in the morning?
You answer.
Because if they’re reaching out, something needs checking.
What is an ELT?
ELT stands for Emergency Locator Transmitter. It’s a device on every plane that automatically sends out a distress signal if the plane crashes or takes a hard impact. It’s kind of like the “black box” you hear about in the news, except the ELT is designed specifically to help people find the plane. It broadcasts a signal that satellites and ground stations can detect, so if something goes wrong, rescue crews know where to start looking.
So yeah, if one of those is going off?
It could be a big deal.
The Search at NetJets
Once I knew what I was looking for, and more importantly, why I was looking, I drove over to NetJets. (They’re a private jet company based at our airport with their own hangars and maintenance teams.)
I walked into the hangar and found the aircraft with the tail number I was given. Sure enough, it was there. Safe. On the ground. Not smoking. Not crashed. Just… sitting.
I found the maintenance supervisor and told him the ELT on the aircraft was going off. He checked, confirmed it, and immediately shut it off. Turns out they had triggered it accidentally during maintenance work, which can happen sometimes when systems get tested or reset.
Nothing was wrong. Nobody was in danger.
Just a routine mix-up that caused a few alarms to go off.
I called the FSS number back, let them know the plane was safe and sound, and they updated the alert. That was it.
Crisis averted. No emergency. No action movie ending.
Just another strange page in the very weird book of airport operations.
Back to Normal… Kind Of
Once everything was handled, I hopped back in my truck and finally started my morning inspection.
But here’s why I’m writing this:
This isn’t a normal part of the job, and that’s kind of the point.
Most days, I’m inspecting runways, checking lights, watching wildlife, writing up reports, and doing all the day-to-day stuff that keeps the airport running smoothly. And we’ll get into all of that in future posts.
But when weird stuff happens, like a mystery phone call about a possible crash beacon going off, I want to share that too.
Because honestly? These are the moments where the job reminds you that it matters.
That phone call came in because someone out there thought a plane might have gone down.
It hadn’t. But if it had? We were ready to respond.
Final Thoughts
So the next time you hear someone say “ELT,” you’ll know it’s not a typo or a misspelled sandwich.
It’s a little box that could save a life.
And the next time you hear someone talk about “airport operations”, just know:
It’s not just cones and clipboards.
Sometimes, it’s a lot more.
Sometimes, it’s answering a phone call from someone you’ve never heard of, figuring out something you didn’t know five minutes ago, and helping make sure a plane full of people didn’t go missing.
Filed under: things they didn’t teach you in training.
Why I’m doing this
Partly because people keep asking me, “What do you do?” and I want to be able to point to something that actually shows it.
But mostly?
Because I don’t want to forget what I’m learning.
This job is crazy. It’s complicated. It’s full of nuance. You can work here for twenty years and still not know everything. And I don’t want the lessons to slip past me just because I didn’t take five minutes to write them down.
So this is my version of capturing it.
One post at a time. One story at a time. One lesson at a time.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the jet bridge, out past the taxiway lights, or behind those giant “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” doors… you’re in the right place.
Let’s get to work.