AIR PICTURE — CHAGRIN FALLS, OH — 2026-08-13
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Dramatically quiet day — traffic running 79% below the 7-day average, with a modest parade of airliners accompanied by an unusual assortment of mystery contacts and foreign visitors.
NOTABLE TRAFFIC
TCN774 [AA79F9] tops the altitude leaderboard at 47,000 feet, heading east at 549 knots — above standard commercial ceilings. Consistent with a large business jet or military platform. Somebody is in a hurry and has the altitude budget to prove it.
JRE841 [AB8469] cruises at 45,000 feet at a relatively leisurely 315 knots heading 280°. Slow for that altitude. Worth noting.
EJA670 and EJA668 are both Flexjet/NetJets callsigns in the area — one at 41,000 feet eastbound, one at low altitude descending or maneuvering. Corporate aviation is well represented today.
G72194 [AE1FD1] is low and slow at 2,125 feet, 102 knots, heading generally westward. Its ICAO hex falls within the US military allocation range. No drama observed, but noted.
ANOMALIES
Fourteen (14) contacts squawked Mode S transponders with no flight ID broadcast. Hex codes include AA4C87, A80DAF, AC7218, AA9A30, AB77AC, AD9E73, A8D465, ADE9C0, A70F80, C00586, A7E24A, AC5AB7, AA328F, AA59A5, A097CC, A022C6, ADDA23, and A20D0E — spanning altitudes from 22,000 to 41,000 feet. Anonymous at cruise altitude is a choice. We have logged it accordingly.
EIN9LT [4CAE32] carries an ICAO hex that doesn't match any known national allocation. Its origins are, diplomatically speaking, unclear.
Two additional unknown-hex contacts: VTM720 [0D0FD7] and AMX680 [0D0DDA]. Neither falls within recognized ranges. Three unallocated hexes in one day is statistically notable.
Foreign registrations observed: three Canadian-registered aircraft (ROU1716, JZA927, CJT483), plus a Canadian contact with no callsign (C00586), one UK registration (BAW220), one Netherlands registration (CSDXQ), and ACA7249 and CJT943 also Canadian. Our airspace is apparently popular with the Commonwealth today.
PATTERN NOTES
Traffic volume of 201 contacts against a 7-day average of 979 is a significant departure — roughly one-fifth of normal. No single obvious cause is evident from the data; this may reflect a system-wide reduction or a collection gap. Dozens of regular flights — DAL, UAL, SWA, RPA, AAL series among them — simply did not appear. The skies over Chagrin Falls were, in a word, spacious.
END OF DAILY AIR PICTURE