Description

Loss of communications between aircraft and ATC may occur for a variety of reasons, some technical and others resulting from mismanagement of the man-machine interface. Losses of communications can vary considerably in length; it is, however, those with an impact on day-to-day ATC functions which have drawn attention to the problems and led to studies for their resolution.

The term "PLOC", an acronym for "prolonged loss of communications", has come into use in civil aviation to describe this phenomenon, while the term "COMLOSS", an abbreviation of "communications loss", is preferred by the military. Pilots and controllers also use the term "NORDO," an abbreviation of "no radio."