AvTalk Episode 198: Organ Transplant Logistics

On this episode of AvTalk, we walk through what we know (so far) about the FAA’s NOTAM system outage. And Casey Humphries from the United Network for Organ Sharing and Chris Curran of New England Donor Services join us to explain how transplant organs get from donor to recipient and the critical role played by the aviation industry.

The great NOTAM outage of 2023

On Tuesday afternoon the FAA system that provides air crews and dispatchers with NOTAMs (NOtice to Air Missions) stopped working. By Wednesday morning, the FAA took the decision to ground flights across the US while the system was rebooted and tested. We discuss what we know (so far) and what the practical effects of the outage have been.