Routine operational-condition inspection of the airfield AGL system. A standardized daily process for verifying the operational condition, physical integrity, cleanliness, visibility, and serviceability of AGL and associated visual aids — the first line of defense before any defect becomes an operational or safety risk.
Key principle — Daily inspection is intended to identify visible, operational, and safety-critical abnormalities at the earliest possible stage. It does not replace detailed preventive maintenance, electrical testing, photometric testing, insulation-resistance testing, circuit troubleshooting, or scheduled technical inspection.
Inspection of the overall AGL system, including CCRs, control systems, lighting circuits, monitoring indications, alarms, and system availability.
Verification of runway edge lights, threshold/end lights, centerline lights, touchdown-zone lights, approach lights, and other applicable runway lighting.
Inspection of taxiway edge lights, centerline lights, stop bars, runway guard lights, and other applicable taxiway lighting systems.
Verification that mandatory, location, direction, information, and other applicable signs are illuminated, visible, clean, correctly positioned, and free from obstruction.
Verification of PAPI/APAPI operational status, indication, alignment condition, visibility, cleanliness, and obvious physical damage.
Inspection of obstruction lighting for operational status, visibility, physical condition, and abnormal indications.
Inspection of AGL fixtures for damage, displacement, loose components, cracked lenses, contamination, corrosion, water ingress, missing hardware, and abnormal appearance.
Identification and removal/reporting of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) around lighting fixtures, cable pits, signs, PAPI/APAPI units, transformers, and other AGL equipment.
Inspection of pavement and surrounding surfaces for cracks, settlement, loose material, damaged fixture seating, deteriorated joints, standing water, or other conditions affecting AGL equipment.
Identification of standing water or drainage problems around AGL fixtures, pits, transformers, signs, PAPI/APAPI units, and cable routes.
Identification and classification of damaged, displaced, deteriorated, or potentially unsafe AGL equipment requiring corrective action.
Recording of all defects, abnormal conditions, unserviceable equipment, temporary repairs, corrective actions, and outstanding observations in the approved inspection record.
Common classification scheme, workflow and records that apply across all 12 Division 01 inspection topics.
Every observation should be assigned an appropriate status:
NormalEquipment/condition satisfactory and operating as expected.
DefectiveAbnormality or defect identified but equipment remains operational or condition does not require immediate withdrawal.
UnserviceableEquipment or system is not available for its intended function.
Immediate Action RequiredCondition presents an operational, electrical, safety, or airside risk requiring immediate escalation/action.
The following sequence applies across all Division 01 topics:
Each inspection record should include:
Daily inspection is intended to
It does not replace
Quick answers about daily airfield AGL inspection in the AGL Inspection Handbook.
Division 01 covers the routine daily inspection of the airfield AGL system. It sets out a standardized process for verifying the operational condition, physical integrity, cleanliness, visibility and serviceability of AGL and associated visual aids, across 12 published topics (INS-DLY-001 to INS-DLY-12). It is the first line of defence before a defect becomes an operational or safety risk.
The 12 topics cover AGL system status, runway lighting, taxiway lighting, airfield sign visibility, PAPI/APAPI operation, obstruction lights, fixture condition, FOD around AGL equipment, pavement and surface condition around fixtures, water accumulation, damaged equipment identification and defect recording.
Every observation is assigned one of four statuses. Normal means the equipment or condition is satisfactory. Defective means an abnormality exists but the equipment remains operational or does not need immediate withdrawal. Unserviceable means the equipment or system is not available for its intended function. Immediate Action Required means the condition presents an operational, electrical, safety or airside risk that needs immediate escalation and action.
The same sequence applies across all Division 01 topics: inspect, identify, classify, record, escalate, correct, verify and close.
A minimum daily record should include the date and inspection time, inspector name and designation, the airfield, runway or taxiway area inspected, the equipment or system inspected and its identification or location, the observation and status classification, a defect description where applicable, the immediate action taken, the person or department notified, the corrective-action reference, the closure date and time, and the inspector's verification or sign-off.
No. Daily inspection identifies visible, operational and safety-critical abnormalities at the earliest possible stage. It does not replace detailed preventive maintenance, electrical testing, photometric testing, insulation-resistance testing, circuit troubleshooting or scheduled technical inspection.
Foreign object debris, cracked or settled pavement, loose material and standing water around fixtures, cable pits, signs, transformers and PAPI/APAPI units can damage equipment, affect fixture seating or drainage, and create airside hazards. Checking them daily lets these conditions be reported and corrected before they lead to a fixture or system defect.
Classify the observation using the standard status scheme, record it in the daily defect record with the equipment identification and location, take any immediate action needed, and notify the responsible person or department. The defect then follows the workflow through escalation, correction, verification and closure. Conditions classed as Immediate Action Required must be escalated straight away.
Yes. This is a reference for inspection practice. The airport's approved inspection schedule, SMS procedures, ATC instructions, NOTAM procedures and local aerodrome regulations always take precedence, and the current revision of any document should be verified before use.
Yes. Each inspection topic has a Download as Word option that produces an uncontrolled Word checklist template (description, a tick-box inspection table and an inspector sign-off block) for personal reference and internal training, to be reviewed and adopted under the user’s own document control.
Daily inspection is where AGL condition awareness begins. Go beyond identifying defects and build the technical knowledge to understand why abnormalities occur, how they affect system serviceability, and when further testing, troubleshooting, maintenance or corrective action is required.
Develop structured knowledge across:
Learn to connect the inspection process with the wider AGL engineering lifecycle.
Inspect with purpose. Understand the system. Act with technical confidence.
Please read before relying on any content on this page or on any record downloaded from it.