In a Nov. 13, 2012, email, Avantair President and founder Steve Santo attempted to reassure the troubled fractional ownership program’s 600-plus shareholders that the company was being proactive when it voluntarily grounded its fleet of 56 Piaggio P180 Avanti turboprops the previous month.

Here are prominent references addressing the necessity for the Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure and how and where it can be flown: International Civil Aviation Organization, Document 4444, Air Traffic Management (PANS-ATM), Chapter 16 (“Miscellaneous Procedures”), Paragraph 5. This is the source document for the justification, implementation, definition, and execution of the Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure in oceanic and “remote continental” airspace. The section is short and to the point, including:

Is there a chance that the Standard Lateral Offset Procedure, or some variation on it, will be authorized for use in non-oceanic U.S. airspace? The answer is a qualified, “Yes.”