AIR PICTURE — CHAGRIN FALLS, OH — 2026-08-30
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Exceptionally quiet day — traffic running 83% below the 7-day average, with 225 contacts logged against a baseline of 1,324. The sky is not empty, but it is noticeably less populated than usual.
NOTABLE TRAFFIC
The overhead picture is dominated by the standard east-west jet highway, with American, United, Delta, Southwest, and JetBlue all making appearances at cruise altitudes between 33,000 and 41,000 feet. Nothing exotic in terms of routing.
JZA749 (Air Jazz, Canadian registration C00BA7) passed to our southeast at 38,000 feet — flagged for foreign registration, though Air Jazz operating over northern Ohio is entirely unremarkable. Similarly, CJT942, CGHCE, ACA7303, and ROU1735 all carry Canadian registrations and drew flags accordingly. Canada continues to exist.
RCH329 (ICAO AE10BD, US military hex) was observed at 28,825 feet — a REACH callsign indicating US Air Force Air Mobility Command airlift. The military is, in fact, flying today.
At the low end, UAL2652 and UAL2071 were both observed below 700 feet on headings of 230° — almost certainly on approach to Cleveland Hopkins. N951CP was doing 7 knots at 500 feet, which is hovering or nearly so.
ANOMALIES
- AC0519 (39,650 ft), AA2BA1 (36,000 ft), A9E391 (37,000 ft), ABD26B (37,000 ft), A0ACFD (37,975 ft), AC1A72 (39,000 ft), and AC893A (35,000 ft) — all high-altitude contacts with Mode S active and no flight ID broadcast. Seven silent runners at cruise altitude is worth noting, though equipment faults are the mundane explanation. - N444AM — 2,825 feet at 284 knots. Low and fast. Flagged as anomalous; cause unknown. - LET5688 and CMP471 — ICAO hex codes outside any known national allocation. Unknown origin. File and monitor.
PATTERN NOTES
Traffic is severely depressed across all hours. Over 400 regularly-scheduled flights expected from historical patterns did not appear. No single carrier or category is responsible — the deficit is broad and uniform, suggesting a systemic cause (weather, NOTAM, or a very good reason nobody told this station about). Missing regulars span UAL, DAL, AAL, SWA, RPA, EDV, FDX, UPS, and others.
END OF DAILY AIR PICTURE