Automatic track initiation may occur with which condition?

Automatic track initiation may occur with which condition?

• A. Must have a stored flight plan and last 2 numbers of the assigned beacon code must not be '00'
• B. Aircraft maintenance review completed
• C. Radar contact established
• D. Pilot request for handoff

Answer: (A)

Automatic track initiation relies on the system being able to link a radar target to a known flight with a valid identifier. When a flight plan is stored and the assigned beacon code is a real code (the last two digits are not 00), the surveillance system can automatically create and maintain a track for that aircraft without manual input. This ensures the target is properly identified and tracked from the moment it appears, reducing workload for the controller and improving reliability. The other situations don’t trigger automatic track initiation. A maintenance review completion doesn’t relate to tracking data. Simply having radar contact established is the result of tracking, not a prerequisite for starting it automatically. A pilot’s request for handoff is an operational handoff action, not a trigger to initiate tracking.

Automatic track initiation relies on the system being able to link a radar target to a known flight with a valid identifier. When a flight plan is stored and the assigned beacon code is a real code (the last two digits are not 00), the surveillance system can automatically create and maintain a track for that aircraft without manual input. This ensures the target is properly identified and tracked from the moment it appears, reducing workload for the controller and improving reliability.

The other situations don’t trigger automatic track initiation. A maintenance review completion doesn’t relate to tracking data. Simply having radar contact established is the result of tracking, not a prerequisite for starting it automatically. A pilot’s request for handoff is an operational handoff action, not a trigger to initiate tracking.