DME Saturation RNAV

Because the DMEDME —Distance Measuring Equipment is actively responding to each aircraft when it is interrogated, there is a limit to how many aircraft it can deal with. On average, this saturation point will occur when the DMEDME —Distance Measuring Equipment is handling about 100 aircraft. If this happens, the DMEDME —Distance Measuring Equipment will then respond to those aircraft with the strongest signal.

While this may be the 100 closest aircraft, it is not guaranteed. It is possible that an aircraft further away with a more powerful transmitter might have a more powerful interrogation.