Definition
Visual and audible warnings generated by an airport surface safety logic system (such as ASDE-X or ASSC) when the system predicts a possible collision or runway incursion involving aircraft or vehicles on or near the runway. Alerts are displayed to air traffic controllers in the tower and prompt immediate corrective action, such as a go-around instruction or a hold short command.
Plain English
Warnings the tower's ground-radar safety system gives controllers when it thinks two aircraft, or an aircraft and a vehicle, might collide on or near the runway.
Context Anchor
You may see this term in runway-safety material for towered airports that use equipment to monitor aircraft and vehicles moving on the airport surface.
Derivation
Logic comes from a Greek word meaning reason or ordered thinking. In this term, logic means the system’s built-in rules for deciding when runway movements look unsafe; the alert is the warning created by those rules.
Why Pilots Care
These alerts enable controllers to issue immediate instructions that prevent runway incursions and improve surface safety.
Grounding Statement
Picture a tower display watching the runway and drawing attention when two movements may overlap unsafely.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a general safety reminder or a cockpit warning. In this FAA context, Safety Logic System Alerts are specific automated runway-safety warnings provided to air traffic controllers.
Example Sentence 1
The tower issued a go-around after Safety Logic System Alerts indicated a vehicle had entered the runway ahead of the landing aircraft.
Example Sentence 2
Safety Logic System Alerts are reviewed during post-incident analysis to improve airport movement procedures.