AIR PICTURE — CHAGRIN FALLS, OH — 2026-05-26
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Exceptionally quiet day — traffic running 49% below the 7-day average, consistent with Memorial Day holiday schedule reductions. What did fly was largely unremarkable. Mostly.
NOTABLE TRAFFIC
The high-altitude parade was led by DAL951 at 39,000 ft doing 571 kts eastbound, the fastest cruising contact in today's data. AAL86 matched the energy at 36,925 ft and 602 kts heading northeast — somebody's in a hurry. On the opposite end of urgency, N827SP was meandering eastbound at 1,200 ft and 69 kts, which is technically flying.
N273A and LXJ473 both cruised at 45,000 ft — the ceiling of standard commercial ops — suggesting business jet traffic comfortable at the edge of the envelope.
WJA1731 crossed through Canadian-registered, which is entirely routine given our proximity to the border. About two dozen Canadian registrations appeared throughout the day, mostly doing sensible things at sensible altitudes.
ANOMALIES
Three contacts merit genuine attention:
- N316DK [A35D70] reported at 93,700 ft. That is not a typo. Nothing commercially operated lives at 93,700 feet. Whatever N316DK is, it is not your neighbor's Cessna. No further data available. - RPA4631 [A4DA13] briefly appeared at 104,800 ft under an Endeavor Air callsign. One hundred and four thousand feet. A regional jet. Sure. - EDV5196 [A89F80] clocked in at 97,200 ft, also under a regional carrier callsign. All three of these altitude reports are almost certainly sensor or transponder anomalies — but they earn a raised eyebrow.
PAT053 [AE5772] carries a US military hex and appeared twice, first at 1,200 ft then climbing to 5,075 ft. Moving deliberately. No further characterization warranted here.
AFR159X and AFR377 both flagged as matching government/military prefix patterns. French registrations, high altitude, transiting eastbound. Probably Air France codeshares; flagged regardless.
PATTERN NOTES
Total traffic was 2,511 contacts — 49% below the 7-day average of 4,881. The missing-regulars list is enormous, running well over 200 unique callsigns absent today. This is consistent with Memorial Day holiday operations: cargo reduced, regionals cut back, leisure travel patterns shifted. The sky wasn't empty — it just felt polite about it.
END OF DAILY AIR PICTURE