IFATCA The Controller - 4th quarter 2003 by IFATCA

Contents

In thisissue

THECONTROLLER

UnitedKingdom, December 2003Volume 42 No4

PUBLISHER IFATCA. InternationalFederation of Air TrafficControllers' Associations.

EXECUTIVE BOARDOf IFATCA

Foreword

MarcBaumgartner,

IFATCA's FutureRolein ICAO

4-5

President andChiefExecutive Officer Dr Gabriela Logatto

Cherry Point

DeputyP1esident

CherryPointATCTrainingProgramReaches1,000,000Operations•6

Juan Perez Mafia

JosephG. Hendrickson

Executive VicePresident Americas • Albert Taylor

Executive Vice-President Africa/ MiddleEast

David K W Cheung Executive Vice·P1esident Asia/Pacific

What flying the Wright Brothers"Flyer" is like!

PhilippeDomagala - European editor ANC

NicolasY Lyrakides

IFATCA at the 11th ICAOAir NavigationConference

Executive Vice•P1esident Europe

BertRuitenberg

8-13

Dale Wright

Executive Vice-President Finance

DanishAir Traffic Control

Doug Churchill

Andrew Beadle

Thecreationof an AviationSafetyReportingCulture.in Danish Air TrafficControl

Executive Vice-President Technical

PeterMajgardN0rbjerg- Headof incidentinvestigation, Naviair;Kastrup,Denmark

Executive Vice-P1esident Professional

14-16

Jack van Delft

Executive BoardSecretaryfConlerence Manager

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control

HongKong'sFirstFlights

Chris Stock.

HongKongATC- an historicalreview

18-22

25Springfield. Lea,SouthQueensferry, WestLothian, Scotland,

Phil Parker- VPTechnical/Professional HKATCA

EDITOR

EH309XD,

Welcometo ChekLapKok

23-24

email:ed@ilatca.org

GoodbyeKai Tak

25-27

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Invitationletter: Greetingsfrom HongKong!

UnitedKingdom.

Tel& Fax+44{OJ1313191975

PhillppeDomogala, Me1e!straat 5. NL6176EZSpaubeek,

Centennial

TheNethe1!ands.

December2003:TheCentennialof flight

Tel+31 (0}464433564 Fax+31 (0)433661541

ADVERTISINGSALESOFFICE McMillan-Scott 10 SavoyStreet LondonWC2E7HR Tel:+44 (0)207878 2316 Fax:+44 (0)207379 7118 email:david@rncmslondon.co.uk

• 1vww.rncmiltan-scott.com

PhilippeDomagala - European editor UeberlingenCollision

Followup of UeberlingenCollision,TCASLOGICFLAWS - an update

PhilippeDomagala - European editor Travel Report

TravelReportfrom Jordan

RogerAlmqvi.st - Air TrafficController DESIGN& PRINTING McMillan-Scott

Air Traffic Management

10 SavoySt1eet

Seaof Changein Air TrafficManagement(ATM)Training

32-33

Charlie'scolumn

Agenda

LondonWC2E7HR

Advertisersin this issue:SercoAerospace, CMP InformationLtd

Photographs: PhilParker, JohnRedmond, Bert Ruitenberg,ChrisStock,MarcBaumgartner Copy Editors MaureenClayson,Janet Hall, LucyLeveson

Issues Appear B~inningof March,June,September, Decembe,. Contribulors AreExprt>ssing TheirPersonal Points of ViewandOpinions, WhichMayNotNecessari~ Coincide WithThose of TheInternational Federation of AirTraffic Contcolle1s' Associations, IFATCA. IFATCA DoesNotAssume Responsibility ForStatements Madeand Opinions Expressed, it Accepts Responsibility ForPublhhing These Contributions. Contributions AreWelcome asAreComments andCriticism. NoPayment Canbe Madefor Manuscripts Submitted for Publication in TheController. TheEditorReserves TheRightto MakeAnyEditorial Changes in Manuscripts, WhichheBelieves . WillImprove TheMaterial WithoutAltering!he Intended Meaning. WrittenPermissi~n by"!heEditoris Necessary ForReprinting A~yPartof ThisJournal.

' VISITfHEIFATCA WEBSITE:www.ifa;,;,o,g

·;;//'''

serco Serco is an international facilities management and systems engineering company, providing comprehensive engineeringand supportservicesacrossa wide rangeof applications.

Since 1947,Serco hosbeen o provider ofcontracted technical services onairports worldwide. Thisremains oneofourcore services today, exemplified bymajor ATC contracts inmainland Europe andtheUK. Thescope ofthecompany's activities extends tototalcontracted management ofairports oswellosprovision ofalltheservices onthe airport, including airport management, airtrafficservices, rescue andfirefighting services, passenger andbaggage handling, aviation security andinfrastructure management. Serco arealsoproviding consultancy onSolely Management Issues fara number ofnon-Serco airport companies.

DavidFortet Business Development Manager Serco Defence andAerospace Enterprise House, 11 Bartley WoodBusiness Park Bartley Way,Hook,Hampshire RG279XB T:+44 (0) 1256745900 E:dfortet@serco.com

www.serco.com

---------------·········

THE CONTROLLER

..···...... ,,_ ........ _,_, .. , ... , .......... --,-·-·---------------

Cherry Point

CherryPointATCTraining ProgramReaches 1,000,000 Operations JosephG. Hendrickson were not accidental. In On 6 October 2003, the Air Traffic Control Theseaccomplishments Facilityat MCASCherryPointreached1,000,000 March1995,the four MarineCorpsAir Stations aircraft operations since beginning a new that make up Marine Corps Air BasesEast training programon 11 May 1998, a program (MCABE),were brought together to discuss that has tripled the number of position commonareasof concern. The most obvious qualifications and significantly reduced the were the number of errors and deviations, conditionof equipment,and excessive amounts occurrenceof operationalerrors. of time to train Marine controllers. MCAS The ATC Facilityis made up of two branches, CherryPoint immediatelybegantackling some Towerand Radar,that providesequencingand of these issuesby forming a ProcessAction separationserviceswithin approximately2,800 Team (PAT) of Marine and civilian DoD squaremilesof airspaceup to 18,000feet. The controllers. This team completelyrewrotethe accomplishments of thesebranchesbetween11 Airfield Operations Manual (5 Sep 95), the Facility Manual (5 Aug 96), PositionTraining May 98 and 6 Oct 03 are as follows. Syllabi(15 Oct 97) and then implementedour 459,700 currentOJTProgramon 11 May 98. This new • AircraftOperations(Tower) 540,319 programincludedan OJTInstructorcoursethat • AircraftOperations(Radar) the FAApresentedto MCABEon 11 Sep 97. • RadarApproaches(GCAs) 43,342 Subsequentinitiatives that enhanced both • Numberof PositionQualifications 921 safetyandtraining were: 198 • Numberof MarinesTrained • Numberof CiviliansTrained 14 • HiringtemporarycivilianTowerWatch 56,133 • TotalOJTHours Supervisors (1997) 114,434 • TotalTrainingProgramHours • Empowerment of BranchChiefs(1998) 3 • Numberof OperationalErrors

• PermanentFacilityWatchSupervisors (1999) • AnnualSkill Checksestablished(2000) • Resectorization of approachcontrolairspace (2000) • Temporaryciviliansupervisorsin tower becamepermanent(2001) All of these steps helped to better define responsibilitiesand accountability. Therewas also more emphasisplaced on team position responsibilitieswithin each branch. It is this team conceptthat helped recognizepotential conflictsbetweenseveraldifferentpositionsand to recommendnew proceduresto build a safer environmentfor the flying community. During 19~~. the Facility Watch Supervisorpositions became the cornerstone of the developing training machineand the Marinesand civilians broke practicallyevery recordassociatedwith ATCtraining. Thanksto a healthy increasein studentsand seasonedinstructors,16 of the past 65 monthshave exceeded1,000 hoursof OJT. It is hardto rememberthat prior to 1998, this facility was qualifying Marineson its six main positionsat an annual rate of 47; since then the annualqualificationrate hasaveraged 150 andthe numberof hoursto qualifyhasbeen reducedon all positions,someas muchas 50%. Creditgoesto all of the OJTinstructors,branch chiefsand supervisors for the mentoringof the young Marines in becomingpart of a team. OORAH!

THE CONTROLLER

Wright Brothers Well, on the first flight I crashedjust aftertake off, the machineveeredto the left and when I tried to correctit, I stalledit and crashed.On secondflight I managedthe speed,,the first turn aswell, but stalled( andcrashed)onthe second turn. Thethird time I decidedto do a touchand go straightaheadaftertakeoff andthat worked . I then climbed to 80 feet, and tried some sensitive.Theygot that control right manoeuvres and did well on the turnsthis time, !The enginethrottle is activated (putting the nose down before atempting to by a pedal,like a car's , but turn and no rudder!) then I tried to land,but on worksthe oppositeway , let short finals I hit a tree. I think the Wright it go and you have full Brothersmusthavereallyhad somefrightening power.Pushit and you go momentsattemptingto fly this machine.I would idle. But with a 12 HP not myselfwant to try on a real one! 12 HPis engine the difference is reallynot enoughand the smallesterror on the not striking! Anyway,you speedwouldendin a stallwithout warning.But wonder,howwell did I do? they did it and madehistory.

WHATFLYING THEWRIGHT BROTHERS "FLYER" IS LIKE PhilippeDomogala At the ATCAexhibition in Washington last October,there was a hands-on simulator of the Flyer with originalcontrols,the help of a large screen and Microsoft Flight Sim 2004 software I had 3 sessionsand I can tell you it is not easy! Firstly,the controls are not conventional at all and secondlythe "Flyer" is a very unstablemachine. It stallswithout warning at 28 Mph, has a maximum speedof 40 Mph and a maximumaltitudeof 80 feet. Theaeroplanehasno ailerons,but a series of stringsthat deform the trailing edgeof the top wingsto induceturns.A singlestick,forward for left and backwardsfor right activate the strings.Ontop of the stickis a handlewhichhas a left-right movementand this is supposedto activatethe two rudders,but in practiceactslike airbrakes. If you turn "conventionally"i.e. with a bit of rudder,the speeddropsandthe machine stalls. Sinceyou alwaysfly marginallyfaster than the stalling speed, and only a few feet fromthe ground, anystall is unrecoverable. The left stick activatesthe elevator and is quite

RUDDER LEFT,

DOWN

~ THROT}~E

~ RIGHT

The Wrignt Brothers " flyer 2·· cockpit :

Over the last 13 year·s ATC Maastricht has a/lracted the world·s leading suppliers of ATC and ATM equipment and services alongside the key specifiers and buyers in the market. This culminates in the most comprehensive event for this industry in the world. • Over 2800 industry professionals • From nearly 80 countries worldwide

-12

February

• Over 130 of the worlds leading suppliers

2004

.;llc-cvcnts

com

must attend t for the dwide ATC ATM indust

Seminars - hear the latest from ATC Maastricht exhibitors on issues and new developments affecting you and your industry

FREE~

Event guide produced and published by FREE cr:!J Jane's Information Group • an invaluable Supporled by EUROCOUTAOL and the EUROPEANCOMMISSIOll

reference on the ATC industry

14th Annual ATC Maastricht Conference Tuesday 10 - Wednesday 11 February 2004, MECC Auditorium II www.conference.janes.com or Tel: +44 (0/20 8700 3841

Jane's

Participate in the ATM industry survey

NEW

Pavilion - a new feature for ~'if American 2004 giving visitors unique access to key American based companies. Sponsored by Avionics Magazine and its sister publication. Global Airspace.

ATC Maastricht 2004 Gala Awards Tuesday 10 February, 17.30, MECC@table

For more information go to Jar@janes.co.uk

2nd ACI EUROPE ATM Conference Ollfc1al Media Parlner

Organised by

.: t;.

i.t.:-=

CMP

Thursday 12 February 2004, • MECC Aud//or,um II www.acl-europe.org or Te/· +44 (0/1737 226768 For further mtormar,on contact Clalfe Dimmack c/aire@pps-publications.com

)

NEW A.VJ.C>N,-cs

•

Avionics for ATM - recognising this increasingly important part of the ATC industry, this focused forum is dedicated to addressing all aspects of avionics for effective, efficient and safe air traffic management.

THECONTROLLER

ANC

IFATCA at the 11th ICAO Air Navigation Conference Bert Ruitenberg Between22 Septemberand 3 October 2003 almost700 representatives from 122 statesand 24 international organisations gathered in Montreal for the 11th ICAO Air Navigation Conference(ANC/11 ). IFATCAwas one of the participating organisations; our delegation consistedof Marc Baumgartner(Presidentand Chief ExecutiveOfficer), Andrew Beadle(EVP Technical),Doug Churchill (EVPProfessional), Tatianalavorskaia(Office Manager)and Bert Ruitenberg(HumanFactorsSpecialist). EVPTand HFSattendedthe Conference full time, while EVPPattendedfrom the Thursdayin the first week onward. PCX was there for the openingplenarysessionon 22 September, and the OM madevariousvisits to the Conference overthe two weeksof its duration.

Preparations- WorkingPapers Priorto ANC/11IFATCA had prepareda total of 5 Working Papers for submission to the Conference.The productionof the Paperswas organization is an essential element of a supervisedby EVPTand EVPP,but the writing successfulSMS which, in turn, impacts on and reviewing was a team-effort involving management/labourrelationships.This paper severalother expertsfrom within the IFATCA identifiessomeof the importantissuesfacingall ranks. Title and summary of the respective stakeholdersand explains controllerconcerns papersreadasfollows: and needsin respectof SMS,safetyregulation,

exploresthe role of humansin future air traffic managementsystems,and argues that safe systemscan only exist becauseof the role playedby humansin it. Thereforeit is essential to understandbetter and enhancethe role of humans in future air traffic control (ATC) systems.

safety cases and risk mitigation. It acknowledges the needfor changein attitudes and the development of trust between all The Need for a JustCulturein parties, if the introduction of SMS is to be Aviation Safety Management The International Federation of Air Traffic successful. (ANC/11WP92) Controllers'Associations(IFATCA) is supportive of the work of ICAOin defininga global ATM Humansin FutureAir TrafficControl In the initial stagesof developmentof the ICAO Operational Concept. IFATCAconsidersthat (ATC}Systems(ANC/11WP45) air traffic managementoperationalconcept,the there are particular issues, including global conceptpanelwas unanimousin its statement versus regional needs, arising from Airspace The Tenth Air Navigation Conference that safety must continue to be the highest Organization and Management that need (September 1991)recognizedthe importanceof priority in the planningand implementationof highlighting. Human Factorsin future ATC systems.It was the future ATM system.To be successful,the consideredthat automationhadthe potentialto industry must re-think its methods of doing ATM Safety Management Systems reduce human error. There was a businessand movebeyonda blameculturethat recommendationthat work conductedin the singlesout individualsand criminalizeserror(s). (SMS)(ANC/11WP44) field of HumanFactorsstudiesshouldrelate to With a cloud of legal liability hanging over Theintroductionof safetymanagementsystems the useandtransitionto futurecommunications, systemoperators,progressin the questfor true (SMS)in air traffic management(ATM)presents navigation, and surveillance/air traffic system safety is in jeopardy. Accidents and systems.Severalareas incidentsare not causedby individuals,but by challengesto the air traffic serviceproviders,the management(CNS/ATM) were subsequently identified where Human many contributingfactors. Focusingblame on national safety regulatoryauthorities and the operational air traffic services staff. The Factors knowledge and experience would system components (operators), is not the developmentof a safetyculturewithin the ATM enhancesystemsafetyand security.This paper correctway to improvingaviationsafety,and is

AirspaceOrganizationand Management(ANC/11WP43)

THE CONTROLLER

ANC in fact, counter-productiveas it stifles the from their regularoperationaldutiesin orderto the chairpersons for the Conference andthe two reportingprocess.A just culture,free from the attend full time. For that reasonthe Executive Committeeswere appointed.Thissessionwas threat of punishment is needed to ensure Boarddecidedto ask the HFSif he would be held in the rather formidableICAOAssembly comprehensive andsystematicsafetyoccurrence willing to acceptthe role as designatedANC/11 Hall which providedspacefor all delegations reporting. representativeon behalf of IFATCA.With the and hadsomesparecapacityfor pressand other kind supportof ATCThe Netherlandsand the observers. At the backof the roomwerebooths Conflict Management (ANC/11 DutchGuildof ATCOs,the HFSwas ableto take in which ICAO interpreters provided up the invitation and consequentlyhe was simultaneoustranslations into English,French, WP93) appointedHead of Delegationfor IFATCA.(It Spanish,Russian,Arabic and Chinese(i.e. the was understoodthat this was a mereformality official ICAOlanguages}of everythingthat was The International Federation of Air Traffic to satisfy the ICAOrequirements;whenevera said.Delegateswereableto selectone of these ControllerAssociations (IFATCA) is supportiveof member of the EBwas present,they would be languageson the earphonesystemthat was the work of ICAO in defining a global ATM Operational Concept. IFATCAis particularly consideredthe senior representativein the availableat everyseat. interestedin the Concept'streatmentof Conflict Delegation.} ThePlenaryMeetingtook placeon Monday22 Management,but cautions that considerable work is still required,especiallyin the area of Preparations- Coordinationwith September. FromTuesday23rd until the closing SeparationProvision. of the Conferencethe meetingsplit into two other organisations Committees that ransimultaneously: Committee A dealing with ATM related issues (agenda areas Preparations- Website A few weeksbefore ANC/11,IATAhad kindly requested us to provide comments on a 1-4),and CommitteeB dealingwith CNSrelated About one monthbeforethe start of ANC/11a selection of their inputs to the Conference. issues(agendaareas5-7). To facilitatethe two the AssemblyHallwasdividedinto specialsection,dedicatedto this Conference, IFATCArespondedto this requestin a detailed Committees, was createdin the Forumsarea of the IFATCA letter, after which IATAinvited us to have an two halves by a huge wall that could be website (www.ifatca.org)with the help of the informalcoordinationmeetingwith them before positionedacrossthe axis of the room. Forthe IFATCAweb manager,Rob Marshall. In this the start of ANC/11.This meetingtook place first two days EVPT and HFS attended sectionthe IFATCA WorkingPaperslistedabove overlunchon the SundaybeforeConference; the CommitteeA. After the arrival of EVPPby were posted,as well as a selectionof the other IFATCAdelegationcomprisedPCX,EVPTand Thursday25th, CommitteeA was attendedby and HFS,while EVPTwent to CommitteeB. 150 WorkingPapersand 65 informationPapers HFS. In the meeting both organisations EVPP that had been produced by ICAO or were explainedtheir views and positionson certain All sessions of the two Committees had translationsinto the 6 languages. submitted by states and organisations for topics in more detail than is possible in a simultaneous ANC/11.Theseother paperswere groupedin Working Paper, which helped everyone topicscomprisingthe subjectsACAS,ATMSafety understandeachother'sviewpoints. As mentionedearliertherehad beensome150 Management,GlobalATMOperationalConcept Working Papersand 65 Information Papers and (the all-time favourite) Miscellaneous. All Laterthat Sundaythe sameIFATCAdelegation producedbefore the start of ANC/11.These Paperson the websitecould be downloadedby also met with representatives from IFALPA, for Paperswereavailablefrom the ICAOwebsitein registeredvisitors,and a referenceto the ICAO moreor lessthe samepurpose.Onedifference PDF format, which greatly assisted in the websitewith all ANC/11paperswas includedas was that we had strong reservationsabout a preparationsfor the meetingsincehardcopies well. certainparagraphin one of the WorkingPapers could only be picked up in Montreal after that had beensubmittedby IFALPA. Wefelt that registration .. Somewhatsurprisinglyhowever, In additionto this,arrangements hadbeenmade in the paragraph the Ueberlingenaccident evenmorePaperswereacceptedand produced for a topic area in the ANC/11section that (2002)wasusedinappropriately as an example during the Conference. At the end of the two would be accessibleto approved registered for the point that IFALPA was trying to makein weeks the total number of Working Papers usersof the Forumonly.Thisareawasintended the paper(ANC/11WP140"ACASimprovements exceeded 200,with 90 InformationPapers. Since for the Daily Updatesthat the delegationwas ii Downlink of RAs"}. When the paper was ICAOhad providedwirelessinternet accessin planning to provide during the Conference. subsequently presentedat Conference later that the AssemblyHall area,delegateswith suitably TheseDaily Updateswould be IFATCA-orientedweek, IFALPAwent to some length to "take equipped laptop computers were able to reportson what was happeningin and around away uncertaintyand confusioncausedby the downloadWorking Papersduring the sessions the working sessions,and were meantto keep way this paperwaswritten". almostas soonas they becameavailableon the interested IFATCA Officers and Member ICAO website - which in many cases was Associationsbriefed on a day-to-daybasis to Preparations- ICAOBriefings quickerthan getting the Papersas a hard copy allow them to provide feedback to the from the ICAOdocumentationcentre. delegationduring the Conference. (Thistarget On Monday22 September, the openingday of populationhadbeeninformedby e-mailabout the Conference,firstly therewasan Information Returning to the comparisonwith IFATCA's the option to get accessto the restrictedForum Sessionin whichinvitedspeakersintroducedthe Annual Conference,those of you who have area.} backgroundand purposeof 6 of the 7 agenda attendedone of these eventswill be familiar areasfor ANC/11.Laterthat daythere was also with the way in whichWorkingPapersaredealt Preparations- Compositionof a briefingfor all Headsof Delegationsin which with. Firstthe author is invited to presentthe Delegation someadministrativematterswereexplained. Paper,and then there is time for discussionof the Paper and for answering questions. SinceICAOrequirementsmadeit necessary to Formatof the Conference Subsequently the text for a related submit the names of the delegateswell in recommendation is agreed upon by the advanceof the beginningof the Conference, Justlike an IFATCA AnnualConference, ANC/11 committee, after which the next Paper is therewas at that point still someuncertaintyas began as a PlenaryMeeting in which several addressed. However, this is not quitehow it was to the ability of EVPPand EVPTto get time off formal presentationswere madeand in which doneat ANC/11Herethe CommitteeChairs(Mr.

THE CONTROLLER

ANC KarstenTheilof Denmarkin CommitteeA; Mr. authoritieswith a view to achievingmaximum ensurethat this would not happen,sincethey Peter Charles Marais of South Africa in B) cooperationand integrationin an effort to requiredthat, whenmitigatingmeasures were together with their Secretaries (Mr. Vince implementa flexibleand cooperative proposed,a further hazardanalysisof the Galotti,Chiefof the ICAOATMSectionin A; Mr. approachto airspaceorganizationand systembe conducted,to assessboth the JorgeChagas,Chiefof the ICAOCNSSectionin management. effectiveness of thesemitigatingmeasures, B) had made logical groups of the multiple andto ensurethat anynew hazardsassociated WorkingPapersrelatedto each(sub-)itemof the WP44 "ATM Safety Management Systems with the mitigatingmeasureswere identified, agenda. The Papers in these groups were (SMS)"waspresentedby HFSon Thursday25th. and the mitigatingmethodsmodifiedif presentedconsecutively; each speakerwas Whenthis paperwas submittedthe draft ICAO necessary. expectedto use no more than 4 minutes,after Manualon SMS(ANC/11IP9Appendix)was not whichthe floor wasopenedfor debate.Afterthe yet available.Howeverat the time of making 2.2.18Notingthe lackof knowledgeon the debate the Chair gave a summary of the the presentationthis IP had beenaddedto the part of manyStatesconcerningsafety discussions,and the Secretarywas tasked to ICAOwebsite.Sincethe draft Manualcomprises assessments and the settingof acceptable composea recommendation, whereappropriate. over 180 pages it had not been possibleto levelsof safety,it was suggestedthat there Then the meetingwould move to a following compareit in detail with the contentof WP44, would be a needto supporttrainingto enable groupof Papers. but at first glanceseemedto indicatethat many Statesto introduceeffectivesafety of the pointsthat IFATCA thinksimportantare in managementsystems. Since some groups comprised 15 Working fact coveredin the Manual. Papers,the debatewas sometimesa little hard Later that sameThursdayEVPPpresentedthe to follow. Furthermore,becauseof the large Again severalparagraphsfrom the Conference remainingtwo IFATCA Papers,the first of which number of delegationsin the room, it was report(item2) canbe tracedbackto the IFATCA was WP92 "The Need for a Just Culture in almostimpossibleto speakmorethan onceon Working Paper. These include, but are not Aviation Safety Management". There were anygivengroupof Papers. Thisimpliedthat both limitedto, the following paragraphs: somecommentsfrom the floor with respectto the timing and the content of interventions the notionof introducinga JustCulture,in which neededto be consideredverycarefully. 2.2.16Themeetingwas presentedwith an it wasbasicallysaidthat sucha culturewould be overviewof the principlesof safety incompatiblewith the existing legal systemin Presentation of IFATCApapers management. Themeetingnotedthat certainStates- which was exactlythe point of implementationof a safetymanagement the Paper.In other comments,however,it was On Tuesday23rd EVPTpresentedthe first two systemwould not eliminateall risk. However, pointed out that other Stateshad successfully IFATCApapers,WP43 "AirspaceOrganization it would enablerisk to be controlledand integratedthe conceptin their legislation. and Management" and WP93 "Conflict reducedto a levelas low as reasonably Management".Fromthe reactionsof the ICAO practicable.Thepurposeof a safety The following paragraphsfrom the Conference Secretariat and various delegations, it was managementsystemwasstatedto be: to reportare very muchin line with WP92: apparentthat the Paperswere generallywell providean ATMservice-provider with a accepted.Thisis alsoreflectedin the Conference managementtool whichwould ensurea 2.2.30Themeetingrecognizedthat Report on agenda item 1 in which several systematicand pro-activeapproachto safety informationfrom safetymonitoringand data paragraphscan be traced back directly to the throughoutthe whole ATMorganization. collectionsystemshad allowedinternational IFATCAWorking Papers.Also,for example,the civil aviationto developan understanding of following formal recommendation from ANC/11 2.2.17A viewwasexpressed that over-reliance errors,and was beingincreasinglyusedto is in line with IFATCA's pointsin WP43: on mitigatingarguments,particularlythose developand implementcorrectiveactions,and involvingair traffic controllers,couldhavea proactivelong-termstrategies.Themeeting Recommendation1/2 - Coordination detrimentaleffecton the risk management notedthat monitoring,basedon submissionof with military authorities ThatStatestake process.Themeetingwas advisedthat the reportsof safetyoccurrences, was an appropriateactionto coordinatethe global proceduresfor the conductof safety importantelementof suchsystems,and that ATMoperationalconceptwith their military assessment describedin the Manualshould for theseto be effective,the cultureof the organizationmustencouragestaff to submit reports. 2.2.31It was recognizedthat the majorityof operationalerrorsin aviationwere inadvertent.and that the way in whichsuch inadvertentoperationalerrorswere handled had an impacton the willingnessof staff to submitreportsof safetyoccurrences. In the raresituationswhereoperationalerrorswere the resultof wilful acts,substanceabuse, sabotage,violationsor similaracts, disciplinaryor enforcementactionwas appropriateand necessary. However,it was also recognizedthat therewasa needfor an enlightenedunderstanding of inadvertent operationalerrors,which movedbeyonda "blameculture" that singledout individuals and criminalizederrors.

THE CONTROLLER

ANC

2.2.32It wasnotedthat organizationalculture Papersthat alsoincludedWP33"TheProtection points of the paper, the IFATCADelegation in manysectionsof the aviationindustryhad of Sourcesof SafetyInformation",submittedby offeredto withdrawrecommendation 4.3 which movedtowardsthe conceptof a "just culture" the ICAOSecretariat. Thedraft recommendation was acceptedby the Chair. with respectto the treatmentof unintentional fromthat Paperwasultimatelyusedfor the final errors.Attentionhad shiftedfrom determining reporton this item: As it turnedout, the highlightsof the Paperwere who madethe error,to identifyingthe includedin the Conference reportwhich means circumstances underwhich the errorwas Recommendation2/4 - The protection of that the sacrificeof the draft recommendation made.Thepurposewas twofold:first, by sourcesof safety information. ThatICAO was not in vain: understanding the circumstances, it might developguidelineswhich will providesupport becomepossibleto introducechangesthat to Statesin adoptingadequatemeasures of 2.2.43Thediscussions identifieda rangeof couldmakeit lesslikelythat similarerrors nationallaw,for the purposeof protectingthe humanfactorsconsiderations, in additionto would be madeagain(errorprevention);and sourcesandfree flow of safetyinformation, the issuesof organizationalcultureaddressed second,understanding the circumstances while taking into accountthe publicinterestin earlier,whichcouldaffectthe safetyof an mightmakeit possibleto developstrategiesto the properadministrationof justice. ATMsystem.Theseincluded,inter alia,the minimizethe negativeeffectof the error(error interactionof humanoperatorswith recovery).It wasfurther notedthat safety Thesecondpaperpresentedby EVPPwasWP45 automatedsystems,interfacedesign, occurrence reportingprogrammewerea "The Humanin FutureAir TrafficControl(ATC) workplaceissuessuchas lighting, cornerstonefor identifyingthese Systems".ThisPaperwas groupedtogetherwith temperatureand noiselevels,and the circumstances threeother Papers. provisionof adequaterestfacilities.The meetingnotedthat ICAOguidancewas 2.2.33Themeetingnotedthat therehad been In the subsequentdebatethere were several availablein HumanFactorsGuidelinesfor Air casesin internationalcivil aviationwhere commentson the IFATCA Paper,in particularto TrafficManagement(ATM)Systems(Doc informationfrom accidentand incident the text of draft recommendation4.3: "The 9758),and that considerable emphasishad records,and safetymonitoringand data Conference is invited to task ICAO with alsobeenplacedon humanfactorsin the acquisitionsystems,had beenadmittedas developingguidelinesthat provideindemnityfor draft Manualon SafetyManagementfor Air evidencein judicialproceedings. In some all ATM system operators when following TrafficServices. cases,this hadresultedin criminalcharges conflict resolution advisories from any beingbroughtagainstindividualsinvolvedin automated system, including ground conflict 2.2.44Themeetingnotedthat in the occurrences. It was notedthat this could resolutionsystems".Therewere two European developmentof someof the optionsproposed hinderthe freeflow of information,and thus States which had great difficulty in in the ATMoperationalconcept,therewould adverselyaffectaviationsafety. accommodatingthis under their current laws. be a needto clearlyidentifythe proper Since the ensuing debate, in our opinion, allocationof tasksbetweenair traffic WP92was discussedin a group of Working threatenedto divert the focus from the other controllers,pilots and automatedsystems.

THE CONTROLLER

ANC 2.2.45Themeetingrecognizedthat there complementary data link couldbe introduced would be a needto addressissuesof usingthe UAT,or the VDLMode4, on the basis responsibilityand liability,for example,in of regionalagreements. situationswherea controllerwould not be able to interveneif pilots or automated Related recommendations from the systemswerenot ableto maintainseparation. report are: The Conferencereport does not contain any recommendations after this sectionhowever.

Other significant outcomes - ADS-B and ACAS It is likely that in the future ANC/11will be rememberedas the Conferencewhere the AutomaticDependentSurveillance- Broadcast (ADS-B)application was accepted in the air navigationenvironment.Therewere numerous WorkingPapersin which the benefitsof ADS-B were advocated,and severalStatesare in the processof implementingADS-Boperationsin their airspacefor air-to-airand/orair-to-ground surveillance. Recommendation1/7 - Ground and airborne automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast(ADS-B) applications for global inter-operability ThatICAOand States: a) recognizeADS-Bas an enablerof the global ATMoperationalconceptbringing substantialsafetyand capacitybenefits; b) supportthe cost-effectiveearly implementationof packagesof ground and airborneADS-8applications,noting the earlyachievablebenefitsfrom new ATMapplications;and c) ensurethat implementationof ADS-Bis harmonized,compatibleand interoperablewith respectof operational procedures,supportingdata link and ATM applications.

Recommendation7/1 - Strategy for the near-term introduction of ADS-BThat States: a) note that a commonelementin mostof the approaches currentlyadoptedfor early implementationof ADS-Bis the selection of the SSRModeS ExtendedSquitteras the initial data link; and b) take into accountthis commonelementto the extentpossiblein their nationaland regionalimplementationchoicesin order to facilitateglobal inter-operabilityfor the initial introductionof ADS-B. Recommendation7/2 - Support of longer term ADS-8requirements That a) Statesrecognizethat in the longerterm the currentSSRModeS ExtendedSquitter technologymaynot be ableto fully satisfy all of the requirementsfor ADS-Bservices in all airspaces;and b) ICAOcontinuedevelopmentof technical standardsfor ADS-Blink technologies, includingSSRModeS ExtendedSquitter, VDLMode4 and UAT,with special attentionbeingpaid to ICAOADS-B operationalrequirements, frequency spectrumavailabilityand aircraft integrationissues.

IFATCA's concernin this discussionis that Mode S ESusesthe sameModeS transponderthat is usedby TCAS/ACAS, whichwill compromisethe independence of TCAS.(ADS-BtransmitsGNSS positiondata andTCASusesranging,so it is not a questionof the samedeterminationof position Directlyrelatedto the embracingof ADS-Bwas but rather that they are both using the same the discussionon what data link technology data link system.)This means,in our opinion, would be bestsuited(or be the preferredoption, that the ultimate safety casewill have to take whichis not necessarily the same)to supportthe into account the effects on separation and application. The candidate technologies collisionavoidance. Forthat reasonwe made comprisedVHF Digital Link Mode 4 (VDL4), the following statementin the discussions: Mode S ExtendedSquitter(ModeS ESor 1090 ES)and the UniversalAccessTransceiver (UAT). "I FAT CA considersthat it is important that Eachof thesetechnologiesenjoyedthe backing collision avoidancesystemsare independent of certainStatesand/orOrganisations that hada from separationprovision. In the selectionof specificinteresteitherin the manufactureof the data link technologies for surveillance technologicalsystemsinvolvedor in avoiding applications,the consequences of selectionon expenditurefor putting the requiredequipment collisionavoidancesystemsmust be takeninto aboardaircraft. account using a system-wide safety assessment." Theoutcomeof the discussionis summarisedin the Conference reportas follows: This intervention was reflected in the Conference report.In view of the importanceof 7.4.4.9ADS-Bserviceswill be supportedbythe this discussionthe relatedpart of the report is SSRModeS ExtendedSquitterin the initial reproducedhere: phase.Wherethe ATMservicerequirements or the RCPlevelscannotbe met, a 1.2.4.5Duringthe discussions, the meeting

was remindedof the rolesof ACASand ADS-B and the differencesbetweenthem, notingthat ACASprovideda collisionavoidancefunction that must remainindependentlyavailablein caseseparationassurance was lost. It was further agreedthat: a) ACASshouldbe kept as a last resort, collisionavoidancesafety-net; b) the availabilityof ADS-8data on cockpit displayswould increasethe pilot's situationalawareness,thus improvingthe surveillancefunctionin a way that is expectedto reducethe probabilitythat collisionavoidance systemswill be activated;and c) ICAOprovisionsshouldensurethat ACAS retainsindependence so as not to compromisethe safety-netfunctionof the collisionavoidancesystem; 1.2.4.6In the contextof the above,the meetingagreedthat it was importantthat collisionavoidanceremainindependentfrom separationprovisionand that in the selection of surveillancetechnologies, the consequences of the selectionof collisionavoidancesystems shouldbe takeninto accountthrough appropriatesafetyassessments. 1.2.4.7Themeetingdiscussedthe possibility of makingavailableto the air traffic controller a displayof the "aircraft RAstatus" as it was consideredthat this might enhancethe awarenessof groundpersonnelthat aircraft undertheir controlmaydeviatefrom a cleared flight profile in responseto an ACAS command.Severaltechnicalconsiderations were noted in this respect.Duringthe discussions it was notedthat theremay be significanthumanfactorsinvolvedwith implementationof suchtechnologyand these shouldbe thoroughlyinvestigatedand taken into accountprior to a decisionas to whether or not to implement. 1.2.4.8In view of the needto reducethe delay betweenthe occurrenceof an RAand its ensuingnotificationto a groundstation,it was agreedthat if suchtechnologywasto be used, an increaseof the reportrate to a technically feasiblevalue,in the orderof not lessthan one reportper secondshouldbe considered. 1.2.4.9In addressingthe problemof receiving conflictinginstructionsfrom ACASand ATC, the meetingalso recognizedthat with respect to certainATCtechniques,suchas approaches to closely-spaced parallelinstrumentrunways wherea precisionrunwaymonitorwas used, trainingof both air traffic controllersandpilots would be necessary. In the sameway,it was stressedthat accountshouldalsobe takenof the possibilityof spuriousactuationof ACAS underwhich the flight crewwould alsoreact.

THECONTROLLER

ANC 1.2.4.10In view of the above,and considering that new technologiessuchas ADS-Bwould improvesituationalawarenessand couldhave an effecton collisionavoidance,the meeting agreedthat studiesshouldaddressthe place and role of eachsafetyand situational awarenesssystem,aswell asthe principlesfor their integratedinter-operability. It wasagreed that trainingof air traffic controllerswith respectto ACASand the developmentof suitabletraining materialwere important aspectsof the successfulutilizationof ACAS. Themeetingwas informedthat ICAOwas currentlyaddressingseveralissuesaimedat enhancingACAS.In particular,it was noted that SCRSP was addressingthe following: a) the feasibilityof down linkingresolution advisoriesto air traffic control,usingsuch technologiesas secondarysurveillance radar(SSR)ModeS and automatic dependentsurveillance-broadcast (ADSB); and b) the feasibilityof an automaticindication to air traffic controlthat an aircrafthas receiveda resolutionadvisory,using conventionalradar (SSRModeA).

new provisionsto enhancethe effectiveness of functionof States.Theyare compatiblewith the ACASas follows: upcoming expansion of the ICAO Universal a) provisionsin Annex6, PartII concerning SafetyOversightAudit Programmein which as of 2004 Stateswill be audited by ICAOwith trainingof generalaviationpilots in the respectto their regulatoryoversightfunctionsas operationof ACAS; perAnnex11 (Air TrafficServices). b) provisionsin Annex10, VolumeIV concerningperformanceof the ACASII Public Relations collisionavoidancelogic; c) provisionsconcerningthe trainingof air In the secondweek of ANC/11IFATCAmade traffic controlpersonnel; available more than 450 copies of the book d) the registeringby the parametricflight written recorderof resolutionadvisorycommands; "UnderControl" (Thehistoryof IFATCA, by Neil Vidler)to the delegates.Thisseemedto and be well appreciated,since no copieswere left e) air traffic controlprovisionsin ICAO and severalpeoplemadenicecommentsto the Annexes2 and 11 andthe PANS-ATM. IFATCA delegationabout this gift. The IFATCA delegationwas particularlypleased to seeitem b) includedin the recommendation Conclusion above. The 9th ICAOANC in the 1980sadoptedthe Other significant outcomes - Safety FANSconcept;the 10th ANC in 1991 adopted the CNS/ATMconcept. This year's ANC/11 Management adopted the ATM Operational Concept and paved the way for the introductionof ADS-B Furtherto the existingrequirementin Annex11 operations.Therecommendations from ANC/11 for ATSprovidersto havea SafetyManagement will be consideredby the ICAOAir Navigation System(SMS)in place,the Conferenceagreed Commissionand the ICAO Council.Theywill on the following recommendations: form the basisfor ICAO'swork which will guide 1.2.4.11While it was recognizedthat the the aviation communityfor the next 20 years. TechnicalWork Programme(TWP)of the Recommendation2/5 - Monitoring of IFATCAactively participated in the work of Organizationin the Air NavigationFieldwas safety during normal operations. ThatICAO ANC/11andas suchhashelpedshapethe future sufficientlybroadto covermattersdiscussed, initiate studieson the developmentof of Air TrafficControl. the meetingrequestedthat ICAOpayspecific guidancematerialfor the monitoringof safety attentionto the following items: during normalair traffic serviceoperations, a) the relevantlegal issuesassociatedwith taking into account,but not limitedto, the line the operationaland technicalprocedures operationssafetyaudit (LOSA)programmes for collisionavoidancesystems; which havebeenimplementedby a numberof b) currentACASII performanceand, in airlines. particular,nuisancealertsand RAsense ACAS AirborneCollisionAvoidance reversallogic,and take actionas The monitoring of safety during normal System necessary; operations is a logical complement to the c) ongoingwork to improvethe performance traditional elementsof SMSssuch as incident CNS/ATM Communication, Navigation, of the ACASII collisionavoidancesystem and accident investigation. In addition to Surveillance/Air Traffic logic; learningfrom what went wrong or almostwent Management d) areaswhereRAsregularlyoccur(i.e. "hot wrong, organisationscould apply a tool to spots") and associatedairspace FANS FutureAir NavigationSystem enablethemto learnfrom thingsthat go well in organizationand procedures; and everydayoperations.In the airlinesthe tool-ofe) the possibilityof establishingregional GNSS GlobalNavigationSatellite choice for that is called LOSA,for the ATS focal pointsto collectand analysedata System environment currently work is underway to obtainedconcerningRAs. develop a tool with the (provisional)name IFALPA InternationalFederationof NormalOperationsSafetySurvey(NOSS). 1.2.4.12Theview wasalso expressed that the Airline Pilots'Associations establishmentof regionalunitsmight be Recommendation2/6 - Safety PANS-ATMDoc.4444 beneficialto monitorthe performanceof ACAS certification of ATM systems.ThatICAO II in the ATCenvironment,to ensurethat investigatethe needfor the developmentof RA ResolutionAdvisory trendsin ACASencounterscouldbe identified provisionsfor safetycertificationof ATM and appropriateactiontaken,as necessary. systemsand serviceproviders. RCP RequiredCommunication Performance 1.2.4.13Finalizingthe discussions on this Recommendation2/7 - Safety oversight issue,the meetingagreedon the following SCRSP Surveillance and Conflict capabilities and procedures.ThatICAO recommendation: encourageStatesto developATMsafety ResolutionSystemsPanel oversightcapabilitiesand procedures. Recommendation1/16 - Provisions TCAS TrafficAlert and Collision related to airborne collisionavoidance AvoidanceSystem Thesetwo recommendations can be seenas a systems(ACAS)ThatICAOreviewcurrent logical consequenceof the safety regulatory provisionsand investigatethe needto develop

Glossary

THE CONTROLLER

Danish Air Traffic Control

Thecreationof an Aviation SafetyReporting Culturein DanishAir TrafficControl Peter Majgard N0rbjerg- Headof incident investigation,Naviair;Kastrup,Denmark. {Pmn@naviair.dk)

is that with an anonymous reportingsystem,the international legislation on reporting and reporterwill submit unidentifiablereports.An investigation of aviation incidents and Thebenefitof flight safetyreportingsystemsto anonymousreportoffersno possibilityto derive accidents.As a resultof this, in 2001the Danish flight safetyhasbeenrecognised for manyyears further facts in the investigation process. governmentproposeda law that would make with a confidentialsystemthe reporter non-punitive, strictly confidential, reporting and many systemsare in operation today in However, North America, Europe, Australasia and will submit their name, and can thus be possible. elsewhere.Most of these systems share a contactedduring the investigationprocessfor commonfeature, that reports are anonymous furtherclarificationand feedbackpurposes. In most democraticcountries,the Freedomof InformationAct is an almostsacredinstitution. and aviation personnelwho submit reportsdo so on a voluntarybasis.A few systems- suchas The legislative process in Denmark This fact is also the case in Denmark.The the ASRSand the CHIRPS, makeit possibleto politiciansand aviationspecialistsacknowledge report incidents without risking legal action In 2000,growingconcernsaboutflight safetyin the fact that the publichad a right to know the Danishairspacewere raisedby the stakeholders facts about the level of safety in Danish undercertaincircumstances. in Danishaviation (serviceproviders,regulator Airspace.In order to accommodate this, it was Compared to these systems, the recently and professionalorganizations).The concern written into the law that the regulatory introducedsystemin Denmarkis a mandatory, was associated with losses of separation authority of Danish aviation, based on the non-punitive,and strictly confidentialsystem. betweenaircraft that were not beingreported, incoming reports, should publish overview Thereportingsystemis mandatoryin the sense dueto the fear of sanctionsagainstthe reporter, statistics two twice a year, based on non· that air traffic personnelare obligedto submit particularly if they were partly or fully identifiabledatafrom thesereports. for the incident.A fearthat wasreal, reportsof events,andit is strictlynon-punitivein responsible the sense that they are ensured indemnity sincecontrollerspreviouslyhadbeenprosecuted Thislaw was passedunanimouslyby the Danish the Danishpress parliamentin May2001. againstprosecutionor disciplinaryactionfor any for suchactions.Furthermore, had during that period been dealing eventthey havereported. aggressivelywith apparentbreachesof flight The implementation process Furthermorethe reporting system is strictly safetywithin certainairlines.Thesetwo factors• confidential in the sense that the reporter's punishingAir Traffic Controllerswith fines or Within Naviair (the DanishAir Traffic Control identitymaynot be revealedoutsidethe agency licencesuspensionand a biasedfocus by the service provider employing all Air Traffic dealing with occurrencereports.Reportersof presson aviationsafetyissues• hadthe effectof Controllersin Denmark),a high level decision incidents are ensured immunity against any reducing the incident reporting. The whole was made to actively support the penal and disciplinarymeasurerelated to an aviationsystemin Denmarksufferedfrom this, implementationprocessof this new reporting incident,if theysubmita report within 72 hours and no lessons were being learnt and system. This decision was not made solely from theseevents. of its occurrenceand if it does not involvean disseminated because it was mandatory, but because accidentor doesnot involvedeliberatesabotage management foresaw a benefit for the or negligencedue to substanceabuse (e.g., As a consequenceof this concern, the company'smain product flight safety. As a alcohol).Moreover,punitivemeasures are set in TransportationSubcommitteeof the Danish consequence of this, everyAir TrafficController case of a breach of the guaranteed Parliament asked representativesfrom the receiveda letter from management,explaining stakeholders organizationsto explaintheir case the newsystemstatingNaviair'scommitmentto confidentiality. to the Committee.Followingthis work, the enhanceflight safetythroughthe reportingand An important distinction between an Committee spent several of their 2000·01 analysingof safetyrelatedevents.The incident anonymousand a confidentialreportingsystem sessions exploring various pieces of investigators,who was responsiblefor the

Introduction

THE CONTROLLER

Danish Air Traffic Control implementation of the new system,were given the task of communicatingthe change,and were also givena full mandateand supportby management.

comparethe amount of reports for lossesof the system!TheseRunwayincursionscould be separation between aircraft (they were called"free of charge",sincenothinghappened mandatory reportable occurrences before as a resultof them; but still there was a lot to implementation of this new system). The learn.Immediatelyafter this discovery,Naviair comparisonis fair and informativeand it serves establisheda RunwaySafetyTask Force.The An extensivebriefingcampaignwas carriedout to showthe quitedramaticchangein reporting TaskForcewasaskedto look into the natureof in orderto give informationto everyAir Traffic culture,not leastbecausethesesituationswere Runwayincursionsin Denmark.The Runway Controlleraboutthis newsystem.In the briefing the ones that Air Traffic Controllers were SafetyTaskForcewas also askedto suggest process the controllers expressed many punishedfor beforehand. recommendations to minimisethe hazardsetc. concerns, particularly pertaining to The Task Forcework discoveredthat Danish confidentiality and the non-punitive issues. Before the implementationof the reporting aviationalsohadairportswith ambiguoussigns Theseconcernswere dueto the existingculture systemonly separationlossesbetweenaircraft andlighting,procedures that shouldbe changed and all anticipated.Questionswere askedsuch were reported. These would average to minimise hazards etc. Each of these as: approximately15 a year and two years after conditionswas,as far as possible,correctedin • Canwe trust this newsystem? implementation40-50 separationlosseswere accordance with the Task Force • Whatwill it be usedfor? reportedperyear. recommendations. • Whymorenon-productive paperwork? • Wejust handlethe situations,so why report It is importantto mention that any company Trust/Confidentiality them? management that putsa systemlikethis in place has to preparefor new and maybeunpopular It is of great importancethat the reportsare Thesequestionsweretypicaland wereaskedby knowledge.It may comeas a surprisefor the handledin a strictlyconfidentialandtrustworthy the controllers during the implementation managementof any company when more manner.It would be absolutelydevastatingto a process.Theyweredealtwith by explainingthe breachesof safetyare beingreported.It is very reportingsystemif massmedia had accessto intentionsof the law governingthe reporting importantthat this new knowledgeis not seen the reports. This can be illustrated by an system;the law that would grant media and as a sign that safetyis sliding.Ratherit should examplefrom Sweden. othersno accessto the reports,andthe law that be interpretedas an uncoveringof things that In Swedena reportingsystemhad beenin use would secure freedom from prosecution. haveexistedandgoneunreportedfor years.The for yearsin the Air TrafficControlsystem.The Furthermoreit was emphasised that no major paradox remains, however,that the safest reporting system was used by Air Traffic enhancement of flight safetywould possibleif companies will initiallybe viewedasthe unsafe Controllers to report any deviation from no knowledgeof the hazardswasgatheredand companiesdue to their willingnessto elicit a operationalstandards.Thesystemwas run on disseminated. It was explained to the greaternumberof reports. the basis of trust since the laws and the controllers,that the reporting system could regulationsunderlyingthe systemdo in fact ultimatelybe the systemthat wouldbe able to In orderto evaluatethe effectsof the reporting stipulate that Air Traffic Controllersmay be explainand hopefullyeliminatethe flaws that systemit is interestingto look into the content prosecutedon the basis of the reports they everybodyrecognised in everydayoperation.We of the incoming reports and the effect the submit.Furthermore,reportsreceivedfrom Air basicallyaskedthe Air TrafficControllersto trust investigationof thesereportshashad. Traffic Controllersare not exempt from the us,andtakeownershipof flight safety.In return freedom of information act and they may we would try to deal effectivelywith flight Shortly after the reporting system was thereforebe freelyusedand cited by the press. safety. implemented,a tragic accident occurred at In the late9ffs the mediaandothershadshown Milan airport in Italy. A Scandinavian Airlines an increasinginterestin the content of these In the processof establishingreportingsystems MD80 collidedwith a cargoterminalasa result reports (approximately 1000 reports are in aviation,it is very importantthat the process of a collisionwith a Cessna(a smallcorporate receivedeach year,only a small proportionof is carried out in coorporation with the aviation jet) on the runway. The collision which deal with critical incidents).The media professionalorganizations. Dueto the sensitive happenedbecausethe Cessnahad enteredthe had asked the regulatory authority natureof suchsystems,implementationcannot Runwaywithout clearance from the Tower,a so(Luftfartsverket) for informationwhen Aviation be carried out succesfully without the called Runway Incursion. The preliminary Safety events had occurred. However, the endorsement of the organizations. investigation by the Italian Aviation regulatoryauthorityhad successfully convinced InvestigationBoarddemonstratedmajor flaws representativesfrom the media that the The results in Airport structure(signs and lighting), the reporting system important to flight safety handling of the situation by the Air Traffic would suffer if the media were to take Thereportingsystemstartedto operateon the Controllerand Cessnapilot and the procedures informationfrom the reportsand discloseit to 15th of August2001.Duringthe first 24 hours in placeat the time. the public. after starting,Naviairreceived20 reportsfrom Air Traffic Controllers! One year after the The accident naturally prompted a lot of reporting system was started Naviair had attentionin Scandinavia, sincethe MD 80 was Then,In 2000an incidenthappenedin Swedish flag carrierand airspacein whichan a.ircraftwashit by lightning received980 reports-compared to the previous an aircraftof the Scandinavian year¥s15 reports. carriedmanyScandinavian passengers. Afterthe and requesteda priority landing. The aircraft accident, Naviair and the safety regulatory transmitted PAN PAN on the frequency Still,the numbersfrom the newand the old 12- authority made an assessmentof the new indicating that a threatening situation was between monthperiodcannotbe compareddirectly.With reportingsystem.Theassessment was madein present.Due to a misunderstanding the pilot and the Air Traffic Control unit handling the new reportingsystemAir TrafficControllers orderto analyse,if any Runwayincursionshad the aircraft, the phraseology PAN PAN was becameobligedto report instancesthat were been reportedin DanishAir TrafficControl.It of this the not compulsoryto report beforehand.So the turnedout that at the time of the accident,40 misinterpreted.As a consequence (MAYDAY), bestcomparison of the changewouldthenbeto Runwayincursionshad been reportedthrough aircrafthadto declarean emergency

THE CONTROLLER

Danish Air Traffic Control as basisfor the trial. Thepilot was sentencedto our Air Traffic Control system.We base this on what we hearwhen listeningto pay a fine, but the prosecutionhad to build the assessment casebasedon facts otherthan thosesubmitted the discussionsamongcontrollersand support staff that takeplaceon andoff recordas well as Newsof this eventwas pickedup by a national by the pilot in his report. on the amountand content of the reportswe television network. which, appealing to the freedomof the presslaws,obtaineda copy of As describedabove,when a reportingsystemis receive.Thus,eventsthat beforehandwereonly the voice recording of the communication non-punitive,this meansthat no criminalaction discussedamongthose presentat the time of betweenthe aircraftand the control tower.The and no disciplinarymeasures will be undertaken the event are now reportedand the findings to the benefitof others.As Ralph voicerecordingwasthen broadcaston television againstthe reporteron the basisof information disseminated in a newsprogrammedescribinga "failure" of containedin reportssubmitted.However,this WaldoEmersonputsit "Learnfrom the mistakes Swedish Air Traffic Control leading to an does not mean that reports may always be of others,you'll neverlive longenoughto make alledgedlyhighly dangeroussituation. In fact, submitted without consequences. Our them all yourself". the situationwasnot dramatic,but the replayof experience has shown that action by the in order What made all this possible?First of all it is actual voice recordingon televisionnaturally employercan sometimesbe necessary causeduproaramongthe controllersin Sweden. to ensuresafety (retraining,limitations in the importantthat the legalframeworkis in placeto Thankfully,the reporting system,which had amount of working positions,de-certification run a reporting system. Eventhe most well beenin placefor morethan 15 years,cameout etc.). But the important point is that such meaning managementwill have problems may never be initiated with a installing trust if legal action can still be of the event relativelywell. Thiswas probably consequences due to the fact that the systemwas embedded penalizingor disciplinarypurpose- rather,their undertakenagainst employees.In Europethe solidlywithin SwedishAir TrafficControlsystem. purposeis to either ensurethat the reporteris EuropeanCommissionis in the final stage of required deliveringa Directivethat makesit mandatory Still,this episodeservesto illustratethat it takes broughtbackto a levelof competence only a few similareventsto destroyconfidence for his dutiesor that he is relievedof his duties for the EU memberstates to establishnonin an otherwise well-established reporting in a dignifiedway acceptedby himselfand his punitive confidential reporting systems in aviation. It is to be hopedthat all or at least colleagues. system. mostEuropeannations,in a few yearsfrom now, Feedbackto reporters canparticipateeffectivelyin sharingflight safety Non-punitivenature knowledge;thus maintainingand enhancing It is naturalthat Air TrafficControllersand other Feedbackis anothervital elementin a healthy flight safety. aviation professionals,like everybodyelse in reportingculture.Manyreportingsystemshave the managementof anycompanyin a society,maynot be expectedto turn themselves becomeobsoletebecausethe issueof feedback Secondly, safetycritical business, be it aviation,medical in if they risk punishment;this reluctanceto was neglected.If the reportersdo not seeany incriminateoneselfis no doubt part of human resultsfrom their efforts, they will, over time, care,poweror the nuclearindustryetc. hasto be nature.Thereforeit is importantfor the quality considerthe systemasanother"paperpushing" committed.Safetystartsat the top. Justas of a flight safety reporting system that exercise.Upon adoption of the new reporting importantfor the processis the supportfrom the organisations. individuals,within certain well-defined limits, systema new incidentinvestigationdepartment air traffic controllers'professional are granted immunity from sanctions. The was set up in Naviair.Todaythe size of the If they do not indorsethe initiative it will be immunitycannot,and shall not, be complete.It department (6 investigators and recording impossible to establish a communications makesit possibleto givefeedbackto channelto will alwaysbe necessaryto punish individuals specialists) the reporter, whenever,first, a reportis received the controllers. when they have been behavingin a grossly negligentway, and likewise substanceabuse and, second, the analysis of the event is In order to give the Air Traffic Controllers cannotbe tolerated. concluded. themselvesthe responsibilityfor flight safety,it At the sametime,experience from investigation Once a reporingsystemis started, it is very is very important that the people that are show that gross negligenceand substance important that the organisationis ready to communicating safety have a professional abuse are extremelyrare factors in aviation handle reports. Naviair started the reporting background.Many feelings becomeactivated, will follow whenyouembarkon incidentsandaccidents. systemwith only two investigators(the "old" anddiscussions way of doingthings).However,we veryquickly the endeavourof communicatingflight safety. In order for any reportingsystemto be useful, realisedthat this was not enoughin to handle Thesediscussionsand questionshave to be particularlywhereit is expectedthat individuals the high volumeof reportsand ensurefeedback answered by people who have "felt" the Managementwill haveto are expectedto reporttheir own mistakes,it is to all the reporters.Feedback is now offered businessthemselves. importantthat informationobtainedby selftwice a year in which all Air TrafficControllers, show support and be visible in the safety discussions have reportingis not usedto prosecutethe reporter. in-groupswill receive a safety briefing and campaign,but the professional This would also be inconsistent with discuss the safety events that have been to be amongprofessionals. internationallaw. reported and analyzed. These briefings are supported by replay of radar recordings The ultimate test for any non-punitive Thefirst court trial that has relevancefor the wheneverpossible.Naviairalso producesfour confidential reporting system (the legal the psychology) new reportingsystemwas held in Denmarkin issues of a company Safety Letter, where framework,the .confidentiality, late 2002.A generalaviationpilot wastried for informationfrom the reportingsystemis passed will come if a country runningsuch a system, experiences an aviationdisasterwith lossof life. flying in an unsafeway - he took off on a flight to all the Air TrafficControllers. not carryingenoughfuel and had to land his Whenthis happens,everythingtakesa newand aircraftin a cornfield.Thetrial hadstartedbased Conclusion unknown course. To prepare for this it is on the pilot's own reportof the incident.But it important to focus on the fact that without wasrecognised duringthe trial process,that the Todaywe feel confidentthat the systemwe put aviationsafetyreportingsystems,the likelihood incidentreportfrom the pilot couldnot be used in place2 yearsago is solidlyestablishedwithin of disastersare muchgreater. in orderto be understoodandget priority by Air TrafficControl.

THE CONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control

HongKong'sFirstFlights Many of the millionsof passengers who pass throughHongKongInternationalAirport every year do not have time to cast more than a cursoryglanceat the fragile wood, wire and fabricbi-planewith a smilingmannequinin the pilots seat, hanging in the main terminal building.It is a pity that they are all too busy rushingto the check-indesksand immigration queuesand do not havetime to spenda few momentsto admire the replica of a 1910 Farmanaircraft, and perhapswonder what is the aircraft'sconnectionwith HongKong. Theaircrafthangingin the HongKongTerminal Building is a replica of the 1910 Farmanbiplaneaircraftthat madethe first poweredflight in HongKongin 1911.Thisflight was madeby a Belgian,Mr. CharlesVan den Born, on the afternoonof 18 March 1911 at Shatin,at a point approximately12 milesout on the final approachto the presentairport'srunway25L. Unfortunatelybecause of highwindsandrain at the plannedtakeoff time earlyin the afternoon, the flight was delayedand when the Farman finally got airbornein the late afternoonall of the dignitariesand invitedguestshaddeparted. Thereforeonly a few curious villagers were thereto witnesshistorybeingmadejust before sun-set. Fora brief time in 1997the aircraftthat is now cocoonedin the air conditioningof the Airport TerminalBuilding recreatedthat momentous event of 86 yearsbefore,and at the sameit createda bit of historyof its own - by beingone of the first aircraftto use the new HongKong InternationalAirport. Theideaand planningfor the projectof building a replicaof the first aircraftto fly in HongKong was initiatedand organisedby the HongKong HistoricalAircraft Association(HKHAA).The

Plfture f ·Farmanin CLKTerminal.

THE CONTROLLER

project literally started from scratchas there were no plansof the Farmanflown by Charles Vanden Born.A few Farmanbi-planesstill exist around the world, but they all differ considerablyfrom the aircraft flown in Hong Kong.Fortunatelya numberof photographsof the aircraft that flew in Hong Kong were obtainedfromthe BelgianMilitaryMuseumand plans were drawn up based on these photographs.The HKHAAapproachedvarious vintageaircraftspecialistcompaniesin England and New Zealand,but eventuallycontracted Vintage Aviation Servicesof Marion, Texas, USA,to constructthe aircraft.Thereplicawasto be built as close as possibleto the original specificationsof the 1910 aircraft within the requirements of modern airworthiness regulations.Oneobviousexceptionto this was the engine- a modern150h.p.Lycoming engine replacingthe original 50 h.p. rotary Gnome engine.

single runway with the non-stop stream of wide-bodyjets. It was fortuitous that the new Hong Kong Airport at Chek Lap Kok was nearing completion,readyfor openingin July1998,and the Airport Authority of Hong Kong gave permissionfor the Farmanto fly from the new runway eight months before the official opening.Thereforeapartfrom a few calibration and test flights,the Farmanwasto becomeone of the first aircraftto take off and land at the new airport! Once again the aircraft was dismantledand loadedon to a bargefor a short journeyacrossHongKongharbourand around LantauIslandto the new airport at ChekLap Kok.Therethe GovernmentFlyingServiceonce againprovidedhangarspaceat their brandnew facilityfor the Farmanto be re-assembled.

After a numberof test flights on 16 and 17 November the Hong Kong Civil Aviation department issued a Certificate of In August1997the aircraftmadeits first flight, Airworthinessandthe aircraftwasregisteredas and after a seriesof test flights at Marion,a FAA Permit to Fly was issued. Immediately B-HMBfor its brief flying careerin HongKong. afterwardsthe aircraft was dismantled,and courtesyof a Cathay PacificB747 freighter On 18 November1997 in front of 500 invited aircraft, the Farmanwas deliveredto Hong guests,some wearing costumesof the 1911 Kong'sKai Takairport. TheGovernmentFlying era, Mr Roger Freeman,owner of Vintage Servicesprovided hangar space for the re- Aviation Services,piloted the aircraft from runway07Randcompleted6 circuitsbeforethe assemblyof the aircraftin HongKong. final landingof the Farman. Thesite of CharlesVanden Born'sflight is now a park in the middle The aircraft was then carefully transported of one of Shatin across the airport to the Terminal Building Town's many high- whereit was lifted up to its currentpositionin risehousingareas,so the Terminal'ssouthhall. the commemorative flight would have to CharlesVan den Born had flown the original take placeat another aircraftin Saigonand Bangkokbeforearriving location.At that time in HongKongandthenwent on to fly in Canton (nowknownby the nameof Guangzhou) before Kai Tak was at its busiest with one he returned to France.The replica aircraft's movementscheduled flying career had been much briefer, but its for every90 seconds displayat HongKongInternationalAirportgives that passthroughthe during the daylight the millionsof passengers hours, therefore airport eachyear an opportunityto marvelat the progressof aviationfrom wood, wire and there was no way of flying the frail craft cloth of 1911 to the sleekmodernairlinersof today. there, sharing the

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control

HONGKONGATC - an HISTORICAL REVIEW Phil Parker- VPTechnical/Professional HKATCA 747'sof total movementsof any airport in the Themoveto the new airportat ChekLapKokon Due to the severe limitations of the two July6th. of 1998,meantthe closureof KaiTak, runways,the Governmentdecidedto look at world when it closed. 1970 also saw the and with it, the closureof one of the most optionsfor a newairport. After extensivesurvey commencement of work on the runway uniqueairport environmentsin the world. Like work, it wasdecidedthat the bestandcheapest extension which was completedin 1974.The all controllerswho usedto work at KaiTak,I still option was to build a single runway on entire length of the runway wasgrooved.One miss the old aerodrome.Its famous curved reclaimedland in KowloonBayon the Western of our problems at Kai Tak was the runway approachto runway13, closeto the buildings edgeof the then current airport location.This promontorywidth. It meantthat the parallel andsurroundinghills of the KowloonPeninsula, would enableHongKong to takejet aircraft. To taxiway was very close to the runway. 111 is still in aircraftsimulators,both militaryand savemoneyapprovalwas only given to build metersfromthe centerlineof the taxiwayto the civil with every major operatorin the world. the runway8000' long.Thiswasfalse economy centerlineof the runway.IFALPAhad a black Mostairlineshadverystrict criteria beforethey as in 1970approvalhad to be givento increase markagainstHongKongfor this reasonand we had instructions in placegoverningthe useof would allow their crewsto operateat Kai Tak the lengthat great expenseto the 11,130'. the taxiway. For example, no more than 3 and for those aircrew who only flew there 2 or 3 timesa year,I hadthe utmostsympathy, Thenew runwaywas 13/31andwas positioned aircraft on it at anyonetime - a sterile taxiway as they tried to copewith windshear,weather to enable aircraftto be ableto depart straight if an aircraft was landing with brake, steering and closeterrain alongwith complexapproach aheadon RWY13with a curvedapproachfor or engine out problems- onlyexperiencedlight and missedapproachprocedures. landingor straightin RWY31with a curvedtrack aircraft pilotscould landor departwith an RPT for departure.The new runway was officially aircraft on the taxiway. I had the privilegeof workingat Kai Takfor 12 opened on September12th. 1958. The old yearsand ChekLap Kok for 5 yearsas both a runwayswere closedand then formedpart of The 1970's were a time of expansionat the Tower and Radar Approach Controller and the apron, cargo complex and maintenance airport. A further terminal expansion was thought that I would take the opportunity to area.Because of the positionof the newrunway, completedalongwith a new cargoterminal. In write about the operating environment, a temporary tower was built nearthe runway 1976,HongKonghandled4,000,000passengers and 150,000tonsof freight for theyear. Onthe equipmentandprocedures of ATCovertheyears and was in operationuntil 1962. ATCside,at the end of the 70'swe had around here. Themid 50'ssawthe first recruitmentof local 80 Controllersincluding supervisorsplus 40 controllersas assistants.Our first local Director StudentATCO'sand Assistants.Dueto the lack ATCHISTORY of CivilAviation,Mr. PeterLok,wasoneof those of contactwith, and, flights to and from China, Hong Kong had very limited airspaceto the TheJapanese occupationof WorldWarII, led to first assistantcontrollers. North due to its geographicallocation against the expandeddevelopmentof Kai Tak from a system came into the southern boundaryof the GuangzhouFIR. 180 acre grass field without runwaysto 380 In 1959, the lighting acreswith 2 concreterunways13/31 & 07/25, operationallowing night operations and with In fact the radar was blanked out so that the new runway,jet operationswere on the controllerscouldnot look acrossthe borderand 4686' and4755' in lengthrespectively. limited to an arc of increase.In 1960,work commenced on the new was therefore After theSecondWorldWar,when Britishforces terminal building. In 1962 the ATC Centre, approximately 140 degrees from the East re-occupied Hong Kong, the military initially locatedon the 5th floor of the new building, through Southto the SouthWest.Also by this lookedafter the aerodrome.In 1946 the Civil where it still waswhen KaiTakclosed,and the time, the majority of the ATCworkforcewere Aviation Departmentwas formed to regulate new Towerat the end of the terminal building local,with someexpatriatecontrollers, mainly right abovethe ATCcentre,were moved into. British. civil aviationand KaiTakoperations. Thethenlatestin ATCequipmentandnavigation Hong Kong was by now well equippedwith In 1947the responsibilityfor Air TrafficControl aidswere was handed over to the Civil Aviation available to controllersand pilots, including radarand navigationaidsincludingSurveillance Departmentand the controllers operatedfrom PrecisionApproachRadarto help pilotsin bad Radar with SSR,Approach Radar (without the RAF Tower. VHF and HF radios were weather on both approachon runway31 & associatedSSR),PAR,3 VORs,3 NDBs,4 DMEs, availableaswell as DirectionFindingequipment departureon runway13.ThePARwasstill in use the ILS to RWY31 and the famous IGS and some navigationaids. Therewere 5,500 until Kai Tak closed,in an updatedform of (instrumentguidancesystem) to RWY13.The movementsthat year and 82,000passengers course,and KaiTakwasone of the onlyfew civil IGScameinto operationon the 7th. of January 1974.Bythe early70's,the military presenceat and 1000 tons of freight carried.In 1948the airports in the world with this equipment. Kai Takwas almost goneand the only military staff movedto a new controltower.From1947 until 1952, traffic steadily built up and a 1970was the first landingin HongKongof the operationswerein the form of helicopters.Kai number of world airlines commenced B747on April 11th.How timeschanged.I think Tak was by now a totally civilian airport Kai Tak had one of the highestproportionsof operatingRPTtraffic and somelight aircraft. operations.

THECONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control Theonly military aircraftallowedinto Kai Tak weretransporttypes.

4% overthe last coupleof years,but by the use All of the radars were fed through a radar of moreandmorewidebodyaircraft.A300sand display data processing system to amber Tristars were replacedby A330s,MD11s and monochrome Alenia displays.Viewingwas in a With the openingup of China, after the endof B777s.EvenCathayPacificwas usingits B747- darkenedenvironment.This was becausethe the CulturalRevolution,aviationin Chinareally 200/300aircraft for "local" flights of 2-4 ApproachRadarwasright nextto the Precision "took-off". Flights between Hong Kong and hours. Everyavailablelanding and departure ApproachRadar,whichbecause of the nature of citiesin Chinastartedwith CAACprovidingdaily slot had beenallocated.Becauseof the lackof the beast, had to be viewed in a darkened flights using mainly Tridents.Longhaulflights high speedturn-offs, geographicallimitations environment. All positionsin the RadarCentre to Europe were allowed to transit China, which effectmissedapproachprocedures,and and Towerhad accessto displaysof weather, reducingflyingtime andallowingshorterflights other limitations, for example the high current and forecast, a wind analyzer and to Londonand other Europeancities for the proportionof ultra-long-haulflights effecting clearance anddeparturedata.TheTowerhad a first time. By this time around 70% of all runwayoccupancytime,the scheduled number small radar display,SurfaceMovementRadar, movementswere wide-bodytypes.By the mid- of movementsper hourwas32. I had seenup Wind Analyzer with in-built windshear 80s CAACwere really expandingand buying to 38 aircraft handledbut this dependedon the warning, RunwayVisualRangedisplays,touch ever more Westerntype aircraft such as the mix of traffic and the weather,which can be screenlighting panel, Ceilographs for cloud B737, A300, B747, MD80 etc. Businesswas diabolical in Hong Kong. We had built an basereadingsat the middle markerfor each expandingrapidly between Hong Kong and additional90 degreetaxiwayat the SouthEast end of the runway and a voice synthesized Chinaandthis wasthe incentiveto startanother endof the runwayto facilitate aircraft vacating ATIS. airline in Hong Kongto fill this market.This the runway if they missedthe only high speed airline was called Dragonairand they started we had downthere,but this was the last major AIRSPACE & GEOGRAPHY with B737schangingto a fleet of A320'sand works programat the airport before its closure. A330'sbythe time KaiTakclosed.CathayPacific Theresultwas that up to 150 flights a week Thesizeof the Territoryof HongKongof 870 sq were not standingstill eitherand by 1985they werebeingturned awayfrom KaiTakduring its km,hadno bearingon the sizeof our FIR,which had a fleet of 9 Tristarsand 9 B747s,later last 2 yearsof operation. was quite large. The FIR extendedfrom the addingmoreB747's,L1011's plusA330,A340& Southerncoastof Chinato the Southand South B777aircraftto their fleetas time went by. Forthe airlinesthe new airport couldn't come West out to approximately330 nautical miles soonenough.CathayandDragonairwere also and to the Eastaround 200 nm. It therefore The late 1980s & the 1990s brought further pushingthe limits. At the time Kai Takclosed, coveredmost of the SouthChinaSea.Beyond expansion to Kai Tak within the physical Cathay operated62 aircraft including B747/ this was an "Area of Responsibility",which boundariesof the airport.Therewasfirstly the A330 / A340 I B777and Dragonairhad 11, 4 extendedeven further South along side the expansionof the Easternside of the airport A330s & 7 A320s.Therewere not enough Northern part of Vietnam. Adjacent FIRs which eventuallyaddeda total of 15 parking included Guangzhou(China) 12 nm to the parking bays to parkall of their aircraft. baysaswell asparkingfor GeneralAviationjets. North,Taipeito the East,Manilato the South Thisincludeda new taxiwaybridgeacrossthe East,and Ho Chi Mihn to the South.The ATC nullah (opendrain). The final expansionwas ATCEQUIPMENT Centrehad speechcircuits or direct lines to what was known as the South Apron with Guangzhou,Shenzhen& Macaoand satellite eventuallyanother13bays,a taxiwayanda new Tokeepup with the traffic demandtherewasa linksto Taipei,Manila & Ho ChiMihn.Fromthe bridge joining the Southernend of the apron continuingprogramof equipmentupgradesfor Eastthru Southto SSWwe had 5 major air with the runwaypromontorytaxiway.Thisgave bothATCandin the formof navigationaids. In routeswith the Easternoneby far the busiest. the last coupleof yearsof Kai Takoperations, Thisstill handlestraffic to and from HongKong a total of 65 usablebays.Whatdid this meanfor ATC?It meant a very tight apronwith nearly the equipment included Toshiba Route andTaiwan,Korea,Japan,Canada& the USA. everybayhavinga different limitation applied SurveillanceRadarwith a rangeof 200 nm,and to it, from what typecoulduseit, to whichway Alenia ApproachSurveillanceRadarwith a 60 TheothermainroutesarethroughChina.About the aircraft couldenter andwhichway it could nm range. We had a Cardion Approach 30% of all of our traffic camefrom or through pushback or taxy. Everythingat Kai Takwas SecondarySurveillanceRadar and a Cossor China.This is probablyup to more than 40% longrange monopulseSSRwith a rangeof over now.Thereis a routeto the SouthWestwhichis right on the limits for space.The division of responsibilitybetweenATCand Apron Control 250 nm. All radarswere housedin domesfor for some flights to Europebut is mostly for was that Apron ownedthe parkingbays and protection in Typhoons.In addition,at the aircraft going to Hainan Island.There is a did the bay allocationand ATCownedthe rest airport we had a ThomsonCSFdigital Airport transferpoint about100nmEastfor aircraftto and it was ATC'sjob to get the aircraft into Surface Detection Equipment.Thiswas very and from the Eastern coastalcities of China usefulnot only in bad weatherbut on a dayto which continuesdramaticincreasesof traffic. andout of the bays. day basis.The ControlTowerat Kai Tak was The main route for the rest of China and Startingand pushbackat Kai Takwere very adjacentto the beginningof runway 13 and approvedoperatorsto EuropeentersChina12 tightly controlled.To say that this placewas quite closeto the runway.Thismeant that the nm Northof the old KaiTak.Theinboundroute when wasjust a coupleof miles Northof where the busywas an understatement. This little airport tower controllershadno depthperception in it's last yearhandled29,000,000passengers lookingat activity at the SouthEastendof the new airport is but now is situateda few nm and1,500,000tonsof freight,makingit the 3rd. runway. The ASDEallow us to determine furtherWest.Apartfromaircraftfrom China,the busiestInternationalairport after Londonand whetherfor instance,an aircraftcould makea route was also the main inbound track for Frankfurtand was 2nd. busiestfor freight after particular taxiway after landing. The new aircraft from Europe.Our main problemwith opened using the same China being so closewasand is that they use Narita. The design capacityof Kai Tak was airport systemswith the additionof metre levels,while we of courseusefeet. 24,000,000 passengers,so the place was approach/enroute anotherapproachradarat ShaChau,an island working way over capacity by the time it whereKaiTak closed.Thesefigureswere not obtainedby a just northof ChekLapKok.Thenew airportalso Exceptfor the KowloonPeninsula, (now PARKAIR SYSTEMSwassited,HongKongis coveredbyvery rugged hugeincreasein aircraftmovements, which,due has a NORCONROL terrainup to over 3,000'high. Thereis a range to movementcapacityconstraints, were around SMR).

THE CONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control of hills up to 2,000' highwhich paralleledthe 13 IGS localizer to the North and wrapped aroundthe Easternside of Kai Takto within 2 nm. To the SE,on the extendedcenterlineof RWY 13, aircraft had to fly through a gap between the mainlandarea of Kowloon and HongKongIsland which itself is coveredwith ruggedhills up to 2000' high.Thisterrain had a majoreffect on our approachesand procedures and contributedgreatlyto weather,wind shear andturbulenceeffects in thevicinity of KaiTak. Althoughwe now havestraight in approaches for all runwaysat ChekLap Kok,we still have terrain problemswith mountainsup to 3000' just southof the airport causingWindshearand Turbulencein the vicinityof the airport.

ARRIVALS& DEPARTURES Theprimarytrackingaid duringthe Kai Takera was the Cheung Chau VOR which is still situatedon the island of CheungChau 11 nm SW of the old Kai Tak. Runway13 was used about 90% of the time becauseof localwinds as well as other factors. It had a longer operational lengthfor departures,which were over water,while the 31 departureswere over the built up areasof Kowloonand required a left turn assoonas theaircraftwasairborne.The mainapproachflown by aircraft was of course, the IGS(InstrumentGuidanceSystem)approach to RWY13.Toquotethe AIP" Thesystem uses ILS componentsbut is offset from the landingdirectionby 47 degrees.Pilotson final approachon the IGS must therefore makea visualrightturn to line up with the runway after reaching decision height. Duringthis visual portion it is imperative that the correctvisual cuewith the surface is carefullymaintained,making reference to aeronautical ground lights where appropriate.In view of the localterrainand the IGS being offset from the runway, operatorsintendingto usethe systemmust ensure,for flight safetyreasons,that their pilotsare fully conversantwith, and have adequate practice in, published procedures." The systemwas designedfor the instrument flight segmentof the approachto be completed not later than the Middle Markerwhen visual flight had to be established or an immediate missedapproach procedure initiated. Other notesincluded:"After passing the Middle Marker the indicationsare not relativeto the required aircraft visual and missedapproachflight paths and must be ignored. WARNINGContinuedflight on the IGSflight pathafter passingthe Middle Marker will result in lossoff terrainclearance." In otherwords,you would crash into a hill. The hill wherethe IGSwassituatedwaspaintedwith

huge orange and white checksand was lit at Departureoff runway13 was straight forward night.Thesite was knownas the Checkerboard. but the departure31 was not. For a start, the The approachitself was very long (around28 pilot had availablea muchreducedoperational nm), if done in its totality and commencedat runwaylength. Justoff the end of the runway CheungChauVOR.Theaircraftflew Westfor 7 was KowloonCity with buildingsof up to 6 nmon descentto 6000',turnedright on a track floors. Also,if the pilot flew straight ahead,he of 040, descended to 4500' and after another7 would go into the 2000' rangeof hills Northof nm intercepted the localizer at 4500', The the airport. Hethereforeturned left as soon as aircraft then descendedon the localizeruntil he crossedthe end of the runwayand tracked reachingthe MiddleMarker,at the MM turned towards StonecuttersIsland to the West. The right 47 degreesto line up with the runway. pilot then turned further left and tracked Thisfinal leg of the approachon the localizerto towardsChengChauVORand there-afteronto touchdown was around 14 nm. Obstacle his plannedroute. Clearance Limit for the approachwas 660'.

CONTROLPOSITIONS

Becauseof air traffic numbers duringthe last coupleof years, very few aircraftcarried out The control room at Hong Kong was directly the full procedure. Normally the Approach below the Towerat the Westernend of the Controllerwould vector aircraft onto the localizerto have more controlon spacing.By terminalbuilding. All radarpositionsworked in the way, at Kai Tak we neededabout 8-9 nm the same room. At one end of this cramped between aircraft on final to enableus to get a environment was Approachand Precision departureaway in between.Because we hadso Approach radar and at the other end of the many long-haul aircraft for departure and room was the Enrouteradar and procedural because of taxiway and holding point positions.Beyond250 nm to the Southof Hong configuration,it took up to 1 minutefor a 747 Kong, the control was proceduralas the area to line up and up to minute to get airborne was outsideof radar coverageand over water. in this areawas through Hong when clearedfor take-off.Duringthat time an Communication aircraft on final had gone 5 to 6 nm. Now all KongRadiousingHF. we need is 1 runway length betweenthe departure and the landingto be legal but the Normalstaffingon Approachwas 2. One radar problemwas the missedapproach.If an aircraft controllerand one coordinator.The Approach madea missedapproach,he had to go out on controller was responsiblefor all arrivals and the centerline and due to the surrounding departuresfrom Hong Kong, all local flights terrain hecouldnot turn off the centerlineuntil and IFR training, flights to and from hewasabout6 nm out. ThelowestaltitudeATC Guangzhou and Shenzhentransiting Hong could hold an aircrafton missedapproachwas Kongairspaceon climband descentand about 2500'.Onerunway length is 2 nm.Thereforeif 80% of all movementsinto and out of Macao we had one aircraftwhich hasjust rotatedand (40 nm West)- Kai Takprovidedan Approach another went around you had two aircraft Radar service to Macao for all aircraft locked on the centerline with no radar, transiting HongKong airspace,while Macao longitudinal,lateral or vertical separationand itself providedan AerodromeControl Serviceyou couldn'tturn either of them. If conditions Approachhandled all of this traffic out to were visualin this contextit wouldbehavebad around45 nm, sealevelup to unlimited.It was enough,but HongKong is not known for its a very busy position. The Coordinator was good weather, so we spacedaircraft even anothervery busypositionashisjob, apartfrom further apart when weather deteriorated. overseeingApproachwas to coordinatewith

THE CONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control basicallyeveryonewithin the Centreand Tower positionsand for the manningand training for systemto the other overnight with no lossin aswell as Macau,Shenzhen andGuangzhou. He the new airport. New arrivalswere runningat traffic handling capacity,and in a safe and was also the Flow Controller. Although the rateof 7 every2 months at the time KaiTak orderlymanner.KaiTakclosedat midnight and movementratesat Kai Tak had only increased closed(aboutthe limit of our trainingcapacity). ChekLap Kok openedat 6 a.m. Througharea marginally overits lastcoupleof years,(around TheHongKong Governmenthavea localization trafficwas controlledbetweenthosehoursfrom 460 per day with a curfew betweenmidnight policyfor all Government Departments andwas, Chek Lap Kok. The first landing at the new and 6.30 am),through area traffic had been until the downturnin the Asianeconomies, still airportwas a CathayB747-400 flying the first increasingat the rate of 20-25% per year vigorously recruiting local StudentATCOs. direct,non-stopflight from NewYork to Hong meaningthat all radar positionswere at their Over the last few years we have gone from Kong via the North Pole. From an ATC absolutemaximumcapacity. around9% expatriatesto around40% with the perspective,the move and change-overwas expatriatesworking on 3 year contracts.To flawless.Thesamecan't be saidfor the rest of At the other end of the room was Enroute maintainflexibility for rosteringand as part of the airport in the first week of operation. Control.Theairspacewas dividedinto Eastand the over-all promotion structure for local However,the problemswere dealt with quickly Westand eachhad 3 positions.Oneradar,one controllers,all ATCOshavemultiple ratingsin and HongKongInternationalAirport has since procedural and one assistant, who did the Hong Kong. Either Enroute-Procedural, won a numberof awards.It's one of the busiest coordinationwith adjoining FIRs. Enroute/Radar andApproach/Radar or Approach InternationalAirports in the world and is the Radar/Coordinator and all Towerpositions. busiestfreight airport. TheTowerhadone ClearanceDeliveryposition, Thiswasmodifiedwhenwe weretrainingfor the one Ground Movement Controller, one new airportas the requirementfor 2 ratings on As far as I am aware,HongKongis one of the AerodromeControllerand one ZoneController the day of opening would have requiredtoo only placesin the world that has managedan (who looked after local helicoptersand light much from our training resourcesand time. ATC movelike this and hashad sucha smooth aircraft).We alsohada TowerSupervisorand a Gradually,mostcontrollersarebackto 2 or more transition from one airport to another.Other numberof ATCassistantswho carriedout non- ratings. placeshavemovedto new airportsbut the ATC control functions necessaryat the airport. Centrewasthe same.Onlythe Towercontrollers HongKongATCis a real UnitedNations.It might required training. In Hong Kong, everything CONTROLLING AIRCRAFT be of interestto readersto note that the largest changed.It mustalsobe one of the only places numberof expatriatescomefrom Australiaand in the world where the radar system was Aircraft from China came inbound through New Zealand.In fact, the third highestnumber deliveredon time andworkedas advertised. TAMOT(19 nm NWof KaiTak)and weregiven of Australian Controllers working in one levelsto be at by TAMOTin accordance with a locationafter Melbourneand Brisbaneis Hong AIRSPACE DESIGN Letter of Agreement with Guangzhou.This Kong. stipulatedthat the lowest level at TAMOTwas The ATCramificationsof Macao,Zhuhai,and FL150 with 10 minutes between following Shenzhen airportsbeingso closeto HongKong aircraftat the samelevel. If we didn't have 10 WORKINGat KAI TAK and a little further a field, Guangzhouairport, minutes,the followingaircraftaresteppedup at meanthat managementhad to put somevery 2000' intervals.i.e. 170, 190, 210 etc. These What was it like? Well from my perspective complex proceduresin place to handle the aircraft calledApproachdirectabout3 minutes workingboth Approachand Towerfor all those respectiveflights to and from these airports beforecrossingTAMOTand we did not get an years it wasthe besttime of my now 35 years through HongKongairspace.Theseprocedures electronic hand-off ( due incompatible in ATC.SureKai Tak had its problemscoping are mainlyfor usein the Approach/Departures equipmentandthe fact that Chinaonlyprovided with the airspace, rampspace,terrain,weather area. Hong Kong Approach Radar now just a radar monitoring service backing up and the occasionalaccidentand nearaccident, handleapproachesand sequencing from FL130 proceduralseparationat that time).This meant but there was something about the place. down. DeparturesRadarhandlesall departures that Approachcouldn't even start to handle Everyonewho flew there, or worked there, out of Hong Kong and all departuresout of inbound aircraft from China's airspace until worked hard to make Kai Tak a successand Macaoand Shenzhenwhich enter Hong Kong they were 3 minutes from overhead. consideringall of its limitations, it was a airspace.DeparturesRadarhas airspacefrom remarkably safe airport. I know many pilots SeaLevelto FL250 & from FL140to FL250 over WORKLOAD & STAFFING enjoyedthe challengeof a goodapproachand the top of Approachairspace.Departuresis also landingat KaiTak and I canassureyouthat ATC responsiblefor all arrivalsthrough Hong Kong Our problemsat KaiTakwerethe resultof rapid also enjoyedthe challenge of facilitating that airspace to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and to increasesin movementsboth into Hong Kong approachand landing. Macao.Withthe Macaotraffic,Departureslooks and thru-area in the last 6 yearsbeforeclosure afterthemuntil he handsthemoverto the Hong with no corresponding increasein the number CHEKLAPKOK Kongradarpositionresponsiblefor Macaoand of working positions to handle the traffic. inbound China traffic. Macao departuresoff Because of this traffic increaseand to increase Planningfor the moveto ChekLap Kokstarted runway34 (by far the most usedrunway)enter the numberof working teamsfrom 4 to 5, the some 5 yearsbeforethe new airport opened. Hong Kong airspacefrom the North West at CivilAviation Departmentin 1995embarkedon ATCrequiredto train all staff, within a limited 6000' and Shenzhendepartures,also from the a recruitment campaignwherethey advertised time frame,for not only a newradarsystem,but North Westat 7000'.Theyvirtually go straight worldwidefor experienced controllers.Thiswas a new airspace structure,an increasein the over the top of Chek Lap Kok, hence the very successfuland by January 1996 we numberof operationalworkingpositions,a new departing aircraft from Hong Kong initially standardized on 5 teamsworking a 5 day cycle, tower with its associatednew equipment,a maintain5000' on the departureSID. 4 dayson, 1 dayoff, which comparedwith the completely new airport layout, a new 4 teams8 daycycle,7 dayson, 1 dayoff we had geographicallocation, and, to do all of this Fromthe HongKongATCpointof view,thereare previously. while keepingthe third busiest international 4 possiblecombinations of operationfor Macao, airportin theworld operatingin an efficient and eachrequiringdifferentprocedures. i.e. RWY25 Therecruitmentwas on-goingto expandcontrol safemanner.We also had to changefrom one HongKong/ RWY16Macao,RWY25HongKong

THE CONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control / RWY34Macao,RWY07HongKong/ RWY16 structureas envisionedhas worked extremely MacaoandRWY07HongKong/ RWY34Macao. well. HongKonghas,in the last 5 years,already Becauseof the lower minimafor the 34 ILSat experiencedsome very busy traffic periods Macao,RWY34 is favoredfor approaches. The associatedwith ChineseNew Year and other letter of agreementwith Chinastipulatesthat holidaysand a continuingincreaseof over all HongKongwill providea radarcontrol service traffic movements.This increased traffic has validatedthe soundness of the originalairspace to:structure.(Of coursewe had a huge drop in passenger traffic due to SARS,howeverCargo • ArrivalsMacaoRWY34(i.e.All arrivals movements remained unchanged and irrespective of wherefrom) movementsarenow backto normal.) • Departures on MacaoRWY34and RWY16 transitingHongKongairspace.Trafficto & from the East,thru Southto the South-West Other major changes over the years since openinghavebeen:& traffic to EastChina, e.g.Shanghai, • Openingof the North Parallelrunwayin 1999 whichtransitour airspacethru DOTMI • Theopeningof a new ChineseFIR(SANYA), (100nmto the Eastof HongKong) southof HongKong takingoverour Areaof Responsibility in November2001. ZhuhaiATC now provides a radarservicefor (Thisoccurredat the sametime asa major Zhuhai,Shenzhen and :changein China'supperlevelMetriclevel schemeand requireda greatdealof training • Departures on MacaoRWY16& RWY34 for HongKongcontrollers)It alsoincludeda transitingShenzhen airspace. majorairspacerestructuresponsoredby • Arrivals, MacaoRWY16 ICAOcoveringall of the SouthChinaSeaarea. • MissedapproachRWY16 • RVSMimplementation in October2002. MacaoTower providesan aerodromecontrol • Pre-Departureclearancevia Data-Link service,flight informationserviceand alerting • ATIS& VOLMET via Data-Link serviceto aerodrometraffic. Unfortunately,we have had 1 major accident Theairspacedesign,validationand cooperative sincethe airportopenedwhena MD11crashed nature of all concernedin the run up to the on touchdownon the 22ndof August1999.The openingof ChekLapKok,hasmeantthat apart right wing snappedand it rolledupsidedown from some very minor changes,the airspace in front of the tower in a ball of fames.

Fortunately, only 3 peopledied,but manywere injured.I'll alwaysrememberthat accidentas I wasthe AerodromeControllerat the time.

WORKINGat CHEKLAPKOK What is it like ? Well from those controller's point of view who workedtherefor any length of time, we still miss Kai Tak. We miss its convenience and the "buzz" the place generated.It was unique. It worked because everyoneat that airport madeit work, and the placehadcharacter. CHEK LAP KOK is 'just another airport'. Everything works,we movethe traffic, we have generallygood equipmentand procedures,the working environmentis better, we have a supportivemanagement,Hong Kong has an airport it can be proudof. certainlyone of the bestin the world, but it's just not the same.The travel to & from the new airport taking an averageof at leastan hour eachway for most controllers doesn't help either with the additionalproblemof the ATCX& Towerbeing "air-side". This meansgoing to work is like takingan Internationalflight everyshift. However,if youare everin HongKong,(andnot just duringIFATCA 2004),pleasevisit us. Hong Kong controllers always like to see their colleaguesfrom aroundthe world and we will be happy to arrangethe securityand escort aspectsfor you.Welcometo IFATCA2004.

Issuesare usuallypublishedat the end of March,June,September andDecember. Subscription ratesfor 2003Volume42, four issues are US$24.00per annum,plus postage& packing.OrderFormpage22. A reducedrate is availableon requestfor bonafide Air TrafficControllers Magazines aredispatchedusingpriorityairmailworldwide

Payment canbe madeby chequeor banktransferin USDollars,or for individualsubscriptions by visa/mastercard in poundssterling.

Furtherinformationavailablefromthe Subscription Manager: StephSimmonds, 58AttwoodDrive,Arborfield,Reading,BerkshireRG29FEUK Tel/Fax:+44 (0) 1189762697• e-mail:subscribe@ifatca.org • web site:www.ifatca.org

Goto page28 for subscription form

THECONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control

...Welc ChekL Few of the 34 million passengers that pass throughHongKong'snew InternationalAirport everyyearrealisethat onlya fewyearsagoChek LapKokwasa smallisolatedislandwith a little fishing community,and the site of today's passenger terminalbuildingis where a village with lessthan 100peopleusedto be.

_,--7

·--

.., -~ Thestoryof how this tranquilspot cameto be the homeof oneof the mostmodernairportsin the world can be tracedbackover manyyears and starts long before the announcement in 1989 that a new airport was to be built to replaceKaiTakAirport.

•

I '

As far back as 1946 it was realisedthat the scopefor furtherdevelopment at KaiTakAirport was very limited and a numberof alternative sites were consideredas locationsfor a new airport. All of the 15 sites were eventually rejectedfor a numberof reasons,including finance,difficultyof accessfor passengers and closeness to the Chineseborder.Oneof those siteswasto the westof ChekLapKokisland,at exactlythe locationof the presentsouthrunway. Howpropheticthat a siterejectedmorethan 40 yearspreviouslywould eventuallybe chosenin 1989! In the interveningyearstherewereto be many more surveys,studies and reports on replacement airportsfor KaiTak,but alwaysthe final decisionwas to expandand developKai Takyet onemoretime. The decisionto finally replace Kai Tak was announcedon 11 October Kong, China on July 1997) had to be 1989,but the planningand postponed.On 20 February1997a HongKong building of the new airport Government FlyingServiceKingAir becamethe was fraught with problems first aircraftto land at the new airport and a because of the troubled seriesof test flightsby a numberof airlinesthen political situation that followed.Theairport was officiallyopenedby existedbetweenthe British the ChinesePremiere, Mr JiangZeminon 2 July Administration and the 1998and ChekLapKokfinallybecamethe new Chinese Government. HongKongAirport However,all these troubles at 0600on 6 July1998. wereeventuallyresolved,but the original date for Priorto the decisionto buildthe newairportat completion of the airport, Chek Lap Kok, the locationwas alreadywell June1997 Gustprior to the knownto all the pilotsflying into KaiTakAirport British handover of the • the 'LT' NDBsitedat the top of the 400 foot Territory and the hilll which was the highestpoint on ChekLap establishment of the Special Kok island, was the turning point for EconomicRegion of Hong interceptingthe localiserfor the famousrunway ---------------------------------

THE CONTROLLER

................ ..-.

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control

13 IGS approach to Kai Tak, landing over KowloonCitywith the 47Jright turn at one mile final. Beforethe buildingof the airport ChekLapKok islandwas a tranquilplace,visitedby few,apart from a small number of nature observers seekingthe rarewildlife that livedon the island and some archeaologistssearchingfor more signsof the earliestsettlementsin HongKong.

With the commencementof constructionin 1990, ChekLap Kok islandbecamea building site and home for over 25,000 workerswho daily toiled over the now unrecognisable landscapeas it was transformedinto the new airport. Becauseconstructionof the bridges linkingthe airportto the restof HongKongwere not ready until 9 months before the airport opening,everythingfrom bulldozersandcement to hard-hatsand food had to be broughtto the site by boat.

f.l.:---\~:\!/ .....-

~-~-

\~i',! '':,\ •

,i.y~,.. , .

!-~·~

;;.~

.:,.A\':

. ,;tM •,!.. • ·--:-~

... 1 \ .:r"·

:..,• -d, •

....~

.......

,_ ~·'. \ ~~ ,.\ ... ~ ..: /_, /;,",.; • ~/_..V.,,_ ... t. i

·:,\·.· ... :.:ii/~--'(;~

Over 38,000 tons of explosivewere used to flatten the hills of ChekLapKok,the earthand rocksthen becamepart of the fill for the 1,250 hectaresof reclamationthat now makesup the airport.Onlyone part of ChekLapKokislandis now recognisable- in the southeast cornerof the airport a 100 foot hill with a Chinese pavilion on top has been retainedas a noise barrierfor the benefit of the residentsof Tung Chungnew town which is beingdevelopedon Lantauadjacentto the airport.Therest of Chek Lap Kok island is now hidden beneath the Passenger TerminalBuilding,south apron and landsidebuildings. The entire airsidearea of the airport is either currently utilised or reserved for a specific purpose,includinga secondmid-fieldterminal,a secondaircraftmaintenancebaseand a second air cargoterminal.Development of the landside area continueswith the recent opening of a coach station dedicated to mainland China services,the establishmentof a marinecargo terminalfor rapidtrans-shipment of cargofrom air to seaandviceversa,andthe constructionof a ferryterminalwith highspeedferryservicesto

, .

~ ..... , ~;...j~

,·...., -:: . ':.~.~· .,.,.,,:., 1;-v~~.;,:,:, >!•'·~~-~:\.,(I,;

~ ~~

'·(

,:;A.,,'

It is anticipatedthat HongKongwill be one of the initial destinationsfor the new AirbusA380 when it entersservice- the north runwayand associatedtaxiways,together with the north west concourseof the terminal building and apron, were all designedfor the new large aircraft. ThereforeHong Kongwill be able to acceptthe A380with no changesto the current procedures.

.•

..\ .....~<

...,..

::--.., ~

.•

e~•· ....

At KaiTakAirport passengers useto be ableto gaze out at the high rise blocks of flats and factoriesthat surroundedthe airport on three sides and feel the energy and vibrancy that makesHongKongsuchan excitingcity. At the new airport passengerscan look out at the serenegreenhills of LantauIslandand wonder at the many contraststhat Hong Konghas to offer the traveller.

THE CONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control

Goo8byeKaiTak ■

■

EventhoughHongKong'snew airporthasbeen rememberingthe pre-jettimes when the openfor morethan five years,for manypeople, piston powered airlines graced the air DC6s, DC7s and be they pilots,passengers, aviationenthusiasts routes with or ordinarypeople,Kai Takwill foreverbe THE Constellations being regular visitors, otherswere parentswith their children, HongKongairport. givingthem a chanceto view yet another The entries in the control tower log book for part of Hong Kong that was about to Sunday5 July 1998simplysay,'1538 HDA841 changefor ever. landedRWY13 lastarrivalat KaiTak'and '1705 CPA3340departedRWY13 last departurefrom Thestoryof KaiTakAirportis as amazingas the of HongKongitself. KaiTak',a verybrief andunceremonial reportto development the end of 74 yearsof history. Apart from a few intrepidearlyaviatorsmaking In the weeks leading up to the final day of demonstrationflights from fields in the New operationsat Kai Takall of the vantagepoints Territoriesand HongKongIsland,all earlyflights looking out over the airport and the famous in HongKonghad beenby seaplanesfrom the curved approach over Kowloon City were many harboursand baysaround the area. All thronged with people. Some were elderly, this changedin 1924 when a companywas formedby Dr Kaiand Mr Tak,for the development of a housingarea on a

---------·····

THE CONTROLLER

newly reclaimedsite on the edge of Kowloon Bay.Unfortunatelythis businessventurefailed and the companywent bankrupt,forcingMessrs Kaiand Takto sell part of the site to the Hong KongAero Club- the small grassairfield was calledthe KowloonCity Field,or by some,Kai TakField. Fromthis humble beginningthe airfield went through an endlessseries of expansionand development. On25 January1925,ChineseNew Year'sDay,it was officially openedas Kai Tak

..···................... .

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control Airportwith the Abbot Schoolof Aviationasthe resident operator. In 1927 the Hong Kong Governmentrealisedthe potentialof the airport and took controlof the site. Duringtheseearly yearsit was the military that mainly usedthe airport and at the behestof the RoyalAir Force (RAF)the airport was expandedwith further reclamationfrom Kowloon Bay adding to its area.

Managerwas appointedto handle Picture - CAL8747-400 165 turn. the burgeoningcommercialflights. On 23 March1936the first Imperial AirwaysOH86 arrivedfrom Saigonto add Hong Kong to the 'EmpireAir Routes' emanating from Croydon Airport in England. Many other routeswere still flown by seaplanes and a Pan American Airways Martin Ml 30 arrived from In 1930the HongKongFlyingClubwas formed the USAvia Manila on 23 October and the airportofficiallycameunderthe control 1936. This landed in Kowloon Bay of the HarbourMaster.Thiswas becausethere then mooredclosebythe airport- the completingtheir journey werestill a largenumberof seaplanesoperating passengers at that time and becausethesecameunderthe to the terminalbuildingby launch.TheChinese Commercialoperationscontinued to develop jurisdiction of the Marine Department,it was CNACalso operatedseaplanes- their Douglas with moreairlines,largeraircraftand increased consideredthat all aeroplanesshould be his Dolphin commenced regular flights from frequencyof flights- in 1937therewere 3,685 Canton on 6 November1936.Thenext year recorded passengersand in 1938 this had responsibility! Lufthansastarted operationsin to Kai Tak in increasedto 9,969passengers. This changedin 1936 when the airport was conjunctionwith EurasiaAviationof Chinaand dividedinto two separateareas,the RAFmilitary a JunkersJu 52 arrivedfrom Berlinvia Canton Privateaviation was also developingwith the Far East Flying Training School commencing area and the civilian area, and an Airport on 29 June1937. businessin November1933.Apartfrom offering flying training the FEFTSalso organised aeronautical engineering coursesand many studentsfrom Hong Kong, Macau,China and other countries around the region gained groundengineerslicences. In 1938KaiTakAirportwasstill a grassfield, but plansfor a 1,500feet tarmacrunway13/31were drawnup. Howeverthe dramaticdevelopments of the Sino-Japanese Warand SecondWorldWar curtailed these plans. Instead it was the Japaneseoccupyingforcesthat carriedout the next stage of developmentat Kai Tak. They organisedthe constructionof two 4,000 feet runways, 13/31 and 07/25 using building material from many structuresthat had been demolishedin KowloonCity as foundationsfor the runways.

THECONTROLLER

Hong Kong Air Traffic Control Aher the war t KaiTakAirport quicklyresumed development as an airport,but it wasconcluded civil operationsagain althoughthe majorityof that buildinga new airport at anotherlocation flights were military aircraft. A Director of would be too costly,thereforeit was decided Airport Serviceswas now in charge of the that Kai TakAirport would be evelopedfurther. airport. It was soon realisedthat the war-time The airport was to be expandedand runway runways were unsuitable for the large 13/31rebuiltand lengthened. commercialaircrahthat werenow operatingthe main commercial air routes. In 1946 the In September1946the companyCathayPacific Governmentundertook a study of sites for AirwaysLimitedwas registeredand with a fleet Topleft - Kai Takin late S0's;Top right - Flat top Radarearly B0's; middle- Old Kai Tak;bottom - Kai Tak today.

of 2 DC3sa businessthat wascloselylinkedwith the post-war developmentof Kai Tak Airport was created. Becauseof the limitationsto the increasingly largerand heavieraircraftoperatinginto Hong Kong, (a one way operation was required runway13take off only, runway 31 land only, runway07 land only and runway25 take-off only),in 1951anotherreviewof sitesfor a new HongKongairport was carriedout. Onceagain it was concludedthat the most economical solutionwasthe furtherdevelopmentof KaiTak Airport. In 1954 the final plan for the reclamationof anotherlarge area of Kowloon Bayand the constructionof a new runwaywas completed.Overthe nextfouryearsthe shapeof Kai Tak Airport changed radically with the completionof an 8,405feet runwayandtaxiway on a promontorypointing out into Hong Kong harbour.On 12 September 1958the newrunway was officially opened, with the star of the ceremony,a BOACComet 4, being the first commercialjet aircraft to land in Hong Kong. Althoughthis was the 'official' openingof the new runway,it had been used on 31 August 1958whena USAFC54blockedthe old runway and the new runwaywas pressedinto service earlierthan planned. After the runwaythe next major development was the construction of the new terminal building. Howeveruntil it was completedin 1962the old freightterminalwas utilisedas an additionalpassenger terminalfor the increasing number of passengers• in 1961 478,300 passengers passedthroughthe airport. With the introductionof the Boeing747 and increasingdemandsfor long-haulflights the decisionto lengthenthe runwaywas made in 1970. A 2,525 feet extensiongiving a 10,930 feet runwaywas openedin June1974. In 1989 the Government announced that following yet anotherstudy of sitesfor a new airport,the islandof ChekLapKokon the north coastof LantauIslandwould be developedas the locationof the newHongKongAirport. In spite of its impendingdemise,the expansion of KaiTakAirportcontinuedwith the conversion of the old military area into additional apron area in 1989, whilst in 1992 yet more of KowloonBaywas reclaimedfor parkingaprons, and the passengerterminal building was extendedin 1989andagainin 1994. On 5 July 1998 the world lost one the great airports,but on 6 July1998HongKongopened a new world classairport. Although the new airport may lack the never to be forgotten atmosphereand heritage of Kai Tak, it has consistentlywon awards from the aviation industryfor being the best and most efficient airport.

THE CONTROLLER

Centennial

INVITATION LETTER

Greetings from HongKong!

sessionswill recessat 1530 in the afternoon, thus giving delegatessufficient free time to enjoythe manlyattractionsof HongKongafter Canada workinghardfor the day.

Accompanied Person Programme

bdebenham@asia.com troedson@netvigator.com tommdawg@hotmail.com jacquahk@netvigator.com earoche@netvigator.com

Thereis a choiceof programme available.Listed U.K. jslater@netvigator.com beloware someof them: NewZealandchris@caseys.org It givesme great pleasureto invite all Member (1)ShoppingSafarito Aberdeen thorpetj@pacific.net.hk Associations to attendthe 43rd IFATCA Annual (2)WalkingTourin TsimShaTsui SouthAfrica swharma@attglobal.net Conference in HongKong. (3)Off the BeatenTrack U.S.A webeinhk@netvigator.com The event will be held in the Hong Kong (4) LantauIsland Denmark bilidt@netvigator.com Conferenceand Exhibition Centre on the (5) MacauExtension janand@netvigator.com waterfrontof the famousVictoriaHarbour. (6) HealthyLivingTour Norway jjuriks@netvigator.com (7) HongKongIslandTour TheOrganizingCommitteeis planninga full and (8)Cityand Harbourby Night. UPDATEON SARS variedprogramme to ensurethat all participants HongKongis safeandSARSfree cancompleteall of the necessary work, but also The abovetours will be operatedby a travel • sinceMay2003therehasbeenno new SARS havetimeto relaxandenjoythe manypleasures agentwho hasguaranteedthat the pricewill be cases of the Orientto be foundherein HongKong. lowerthanin the normalmarket.Pleasereferto • in June2003the WorldHealthOrganization the web-sitefor details of each tour. At this declaredHongKongfree of the infection We guaranteeyou a warm welcomeand feel stage,it is on a user-pay basis. Dependingon • thereis no evidenceto suggestthat a further surethat youwill enjoyyourstayin HongKong. the amountof sponsorship forthcoming,the OC outbreakwill occur. may organizefree tours for the programme. CONFERENCE WEBSITE Pleasecheckon updatedinformationon our The Government has implemented many Get the latest Conference2004 information web-site. measuresto improvethe overall health and including forms for registration and hotel hygienestandardsin HongKong booking.from the officialwebsite

http://hkatca.org/ifatca2004

Other Assistance

Wehavea numberof expatriatecontrollerswho HongKongis openfor businessn tradefigures haveworkedin HongKongfor manyyears.They haverapidlyreturnedto normallevelsandevery Additional Information will be ableto providefurtherinformation.You day thousandsof overseasvisitorsare arriving The IFATCApanel will be held on Wednesday can contactthem via email and they will be to enjoythe sightsand samplethe pleasuresof morning.Furthermore, youwill noticethat there more than happy to assist you with more HongKong is a significantreductionin the registrationfee informationon what is bestto do,whereis best as only snacksand light refreshmentwill be to go andotherinformationyou require. PleaseRegisterEarlyand hope to see you in provided instead of lunches. The working Australia jeffblack@asia.com HongKong.

--------------------------------------------------------------•THECONTROtlER Subscription OrderForm Please Returnto:Steph Simmonds, Controller Magazine Subscription, 58AttwoodDrive,Arborfield,Reading, Berkshire RG29FEUnitedKingdom Tel/Fax:+44 (0)1189762697 e.mail: subscribe@ifatca.org

Goto page22 forsubscription Rates

BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE FamilyName FirstName(s) Address Country Numberof copiesrequired: Methodof Payment: (pleaseindicate) ChequeenclosedD visa/mastercard D requestinvoiceD Cheques to be madepayableto "TheController"in USDollars If payingby visa/mastercard CardNumber: expirydate Signatureof cardholder Nameof cardholder Addressof cardholder (if differentfrom above) Thetransactionwill appearon statementasa saleto GATCO in £ sterling

--------------------------------------------------------------28

THE CONTROLLER

Centennial

DECEMBER 2003 : THECENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT ? AbsolutelyNOT! PhilippeDomagala - EuropeanEditor crossing was As I saidin a previousissueof this Journal,the Channel made by Frenchman first time a man flew was not in 1903 as the successfully Americanswould like the rest of the world to Jean Pierre Blanchard and believe.1903is not eventhe first timesomeone EnglishmanJohn Jeffriesin an flew in a poweredaeroplane. Everythingis a Hydrogenballoonin 1785) The question of marketingand we all know the first successfulparachutejump Americansare expertsat that ! So amidstthis was made in 1797, when Andre-Jacques Picture:WanHu in his47 rocketschairin 1500. centennialmaniathat you canreadeverywhere, Frenchman I would liketo adda bit of historicalcontroversy Gamelinjumped from a balloon 1000mover onlyfor 18m and at an altitudeof onefoot and ( you did not expectanythingelse from me, Paris. Theseaviation landmarksare well over crashedupon landing.However,in November 200 yearsold Osowhy the centennialof Flight 1903, he flew a modifiedmachineand this right ?) . then? time the flight was 60 m and at an altitude of 10 feet. Thiswas still one month before the Forget Icarus, that's Mythology.The first recordedattemptto fly was madein 1500AD, Well we are talking about real aeroplanes, not Wright brothers6butagain, no photographic the fact that Jathocontinued in China,by a nut casecalledWANHU. Hewas balloons.,but eventhis is not historicallycorrect: evidence.despite a fireworksmanufacturer and decidedthat if he the first aeroplaneswere,in fact, glidersand, his quest, becamea well knownmanufacturer strappedsomeof his powerful fireworks to a for instance, Otto Lilienthalof Germany,100 and in 1908, produceda veryadvanceddoublechair,he could reachthe moon. One beautiful yearslater,madeover2000flights in his gliders deckaircraftequippedwith a 36 HPengineand day,he strapped47 rocketsundera armchair between1892and 1896, In 1892he madethe a pushpropeller andasked47 servantsto eachlight a rocket,all first flight , and later in the year flew 350m friendsaresaying,we are Therewere also manyattemptsmade in the at the sametime.Theydid so and ran for cover. ...Well,myAmericans but the talking about powered flight... Ah! , you mean UK.,someof them reportedsuccessful, Suddenly, therewas a veryloud bang,amidsta cloud of smoke,and there was nothing left of with an engine?Right! In that case,the first WrightBrothershad the ideaof havingall their Wan Hu and the vehicle.. Whetherhe actually man that flew in a powered aeroplanewas flights recordedon cameraand of continuing flew is debatable,but the legendpersistedand Frenchman Clement Ader who flew over the development and marketing of their he is reveredin Chinaas the first aviator( seea Armainsvilliersin his Eoleon 9th October1890, machines.The US was not very warm to the 16 th centurydrawingof hisadventure).But the over a distanceof 50m at an altitude of about ideaat the time , and is is often forgottenthat first real aviators were in Francein the 20cm (lessthana foot) Thisis well documented. the Wright brotherswent to France to start demonstratingtheir machinesand started the 1780ss.They were in fact , the brothers However,even if you say that this was only a Montgolfier,who flew, in an hot air balloonof luckyattempt,whichwas neverrepeated(true), first flying schoolin Pauin 1908.Theyhad the a German,(alsoknownin the foresight to immediatelybuild (as early as their own constructionaboveParisin 1783. The GustavWeisskopf, first hydrogen-filledballoonflew two yearslater USAas Gustave Whitehead)built a powered 1904) double seats with dual commands, which allowedthemto take passengers and to and its inventor,Pilatre de Rozierlater killed aeroplane,the No21, for the University of train new pilots who could buy their machines. Boston,which flew half a mile near Bridgeport himselfwhile attemptingto crossthe Channel after havingmade80 successful flights.(the first Connecticutin 1901. Sinceas no photographic Thesearethe brilliant ideasthat truly makethe brothers the real founders of evidenceof the flight exists, Wright (despite numerous commercialaviationas we know it today.Due Picture:GustavWeisskopf•~d his machine"No 21" prior witnesses)this flight is not to this, I agree,we have had 100 years of to i _ ,:stflightin August1~03. commercialaviation.However,the first human well- known. flight waseithermadein Chinaa 500yearsago http://www.weisskopf.de , orby the 2 Frenchmen in a balloon,over 200 (for moreinfo go to http://www.weisskopf.de) yearsago . Theycamebackalive from this trip and shouldget the Recordof havingbeenthe AnotherGerman,KarlJatho, first humansto fly.. flew a double-deck poweredmachineof hisown However,a friendof minesaidthat balloonsdo invention on 18 August not fly, theysail . Ok! Controlledpoweredflight 1903, four months before it is then , and as the advertisementsays the Wright brothers. It flew Poweris nothingwithout control...

THECONTROLLER

Ueberlingen Collision

FOLLOW UPOF UEBERLINGEN COLLISION TCASLOGICFLAWS - an update. PhilippeDomogala By the time you read this, possiblythe final was not working (absolutely) as originally the hope of IFATCAthat the so called " report of the Germanaccident Investigation envisaged,but that since most of the SA01 Ueberlingen TCASflaws " be resolvedto ensure Board(BFU)will have beenpublished.We do problemsoccurredoutsidethe USA.it wasnot a that Ueberlingenneverhappensagain. not knowif it will containa detailedexplanation priorityfor the FAAto re-openwork on TCAS.For of the TCASsequenceand of the logic flaws the FAAthe work on TCAShas beencompleted NOTES: encounteredthat night. In the meantimewe and the TCASTeamshave been disbanded. would like to keepyou up to date of the latest Thereis alsono TCASprogramoffice anymore. Note 1 : TheJAL/ JALnear mid air was developments considering what we called Therefore,it was felt that correctiveaction on covered in lengthin a previousissueof THE amongourselvesthe "UeberlingenTCASflaw" the CASwould be verydifficult. In their meeting CONTROLLER Thefollowing is basedon the minutesof the of December2002, the EMOTION-7group Eurocontrol EMOTION 7 meetingsand on Papers concludedthat they shouldrequest: "needfor presentedat the last ICAOANC11 Conference. further work in the reversallogic area" and Note 2 : SA01 now encompassesall renamed issue SA01 into : "inappropriate previouscodessuchas CP112,SA013etc..) If you can recall from previousarticlesin THE reversallogicoperation" CONTROLLER , we identifiedat an early stage Note 3 : ICAOANC11WP no 087 "ACAS that somethinghad gonewrongwith the TCAS It was then decidedto raise the issueat the the Europeanexperience"availablefrom RAssequence,as printed on the GermanBFU ICAOANC11 conferencelast September (2003) www.icao.orgin ANC11papers. web site. This was done in a form of a working paper Note 4 : full text available from Without getting too technicalor abstract,the ( WP087)(* note3) presentedby Eurocontrol on www.ifatca.orgin the Forums, problemwasthat no " reversalRA ", i.e an RA behalf of the ECACStates. It mentioned changingthe direction, was issuedto the B757, "specificTCASperformanceissues" and asked Note 5 : Corrigendum No 1 , ICAO despite the fact that the TU154 was to " rectifya specificcollisionavoidancesystem ANC11 WP no 184 available from manoeuvring in the opposite sense of his logic issue" . www.icao.orgor www.ifatca.org original RA. In other words,sincethe altitude reportencodedby the transponderof the Tu154 When the paper was discussedat the ICAO was showinga continuousdescent,why did the conference, the IFATCArepresentatives insisted B757 TCAScontinueto issuea descentRA , on a definite paragraph stating: "IFATCA while both aircraft were descendingtowards supportsthe proposedreviewof the TCASlogic, one another roughly at the same rate? The in which urgent attention should be given to possibility of sense reversal RAs exists with situations requiring a RA sense reversal, TCAS version 7, and both aircraft were including issuesthat are known as SA01 or equippedwith that latestversion. CP112."(* note 4) A group within Eurocontrolcalled European Eurocontroland IFATCA pointswere later taken Maintenanceof TCASversion7 ( EMOTION-7) on boardin the corrigendumof the Conference identifiedthis problemas a shortcomingin the Report(*note 5 ) whichstatedthat ICAOshould TCAScollisionlogic (CAS)as earlyas February pay attention to currentACASII performance, 2000.In January2001an nearcollisionbetween and in particularnuisancealertsand RA sense 2 JALaircraftin Japan(note *1) confirmedthe reversallogic, and improvethe performanceof fear of the groupMoresimilar incidentstook ACASII (AS logic." placeand were analyzedby the group : In July 2001,an eventin Belgium,in November2001 Timewill tell if any real follow up is coming, one in France,in February2002,one in Germany and if indeedtherewill be a TCASversion7.2 or , in March2002anotherone in France,until the evenTCASversion8. collisionin Ueberlingenin July 2002.Thecode Thiswill needresourcesand financeand being namefor this problemwas knowninternallyas ableto convincethe USA, who own the patent SA01.(*note2) Themeetingnotedthat the CAS on the logic,to re-openthe TCASprogram.It is

THECONTROLLER

4-( 1oo3

Travel Report

TravelReportfromJordan RobertAlmqvist- Air TrafficController Welcome to Jordan Welcometo the HashemiteKingdomof Jordan, a landof mesmerising beautyandcontrast.Here you will find Crusadercastles,remote desert canyons,RedSea coral reefs and the famous rock-carvedcity of Petra, a UNESCOWorld Heritagesite. Thiswas my first time in Jordan, and at QueenAlia InternationalAirport outside Amman, I was met by the Jordanian ATC delegation. They helped me with my visaproceduresand organizedmy transport into Amman,where I checkedinto a comfortable hotel.

The city of Amman Amman, Philadelphia- as it was known in Romantimes,is a fairly modernand cleancity, built upon a seriesof hills.Thereare not many Picture: IFATCAin Jordan. sights to see,the main attraction lying in the legendaryfriendlinessof the easy-going· people. Academy. His presentation gave us the presentationwas excellent,actuallyone of the Downtown Amman is a very popular area, backgroundto RVSM,SATSA'srole and the best I've ever heard. He began with a some wherethe travelleris happyto spendhis time. trainingpackageconcludedin Sweden.Thelast controversial questionsfor usto think aboutand Thereyou will find the oldestmosquein Jordan, presentationI will mention,regardingRVSM,is at the sametimegaveus someexamplesof how which has been recently restored. A few that of CaptainNg Kok Seongfrom Singapore someof our authoritiesproducequestionable hundredmetersdownthe roadis the impressive Airlines and the viewpoint of IFALPA.His SMS-reports, e.g. "Thisriskassessment doesnot RomanTheatre(6,000seats),in front of whichis presentationincludedthe ATS route structure needto considerhumanerror,as the pilots and a shadypark,anda largepedestriansquare.The overthe SouthChinaSeabeforeandafter RVSM controllersare licensedand follow approved hill right in front of this square has some implementation,the problemsencounteredin proceduresso they do not make mistakes. remnantsof a Citadel,from thetop of whichone implementingRVSMoperations,the benefits Equipmentis approvedso failure doesnot need canenjoya pleasantviewoverAmman.It might from RVSMand finally the lessonslearned.I'm to be considered."Hmm,so what if there is a strikeyou as unusualthat manyhousesfeature not surehow muchyou,asa reader,knowabout mistakeor a systemfailure? Or this comment miniatureEiffelTowerson their roofs:theseare fuel andoptimumutilisationof airspacecapacity from a seniorATCofficer: "Spendingmoneyon meantto hidethe disgracefulTVantennas.From for airlines.If you're not an expert,you should safetymanagement is not a priorityof the Board the Citadel,you canseetwo beautifulmosques readthis: A 8777 on a flight from Singaporeto of Directorsat this moment."I wonderwhat will that seemworth a detour. In the immediate HongKongburns25300kg at FL300,23200kg happento this officerif there is an accidentat vicinity of these mosquesare two Christian at FL340and 21400kg at FL400.If optimumor that airport next week?David then gave us a churches,providing a nice reminder of the nearoptimumflight levelswere flown, savings reviewof the Linateincursionwhich was very religiouscrossroads that Jordanis. would derivefrom lower fuel burn off. Forthis interesting,beforehe giving a short briefingon route,fuel savingscanbe aroundUSS630each the SMSfailuresat Uberlingen.Finally,hereare The Africa/Middle East ATC flight whichmakesperyeara savingof US$1.15 some examples, regarding SMS, from his Association meeting million on just one sector,Singaporeto Hong presentation Kong.In the field of SMS, Marc Baumgartner • Whatare your legal responsibilities, not just in ICAOAnnex11? So how about the Meeting?With so manynew gave a presentationon Eurocontrol'ssafety if you impressions in just a coupleof days,I'm still not policies. Chris Stock, from SercoAerospace, • Whatareyour legal responsibilities surethat I've sortedall the informationyet, but gave a presentationon the implementationof controloutsideyour own country? • Whatis the largestfailure in Safety I cansaythat it wasveryinterestingand to give SMS; Rod Baldwin from BIS gave one on Management? you, somehighlightsfrom the agenda,namely, creatingan organisationalsafetycultureand a the discussions about implementationof RVSM presentationon Safety ManagementSystem and Safety ManagementSystem.Regarding Failuresfrom David Gleave, a specialist on Thethird day of the Africa/Middie Eastmeeting discussedregionalissuesand task forceswere RVSM,there were viewpointsfrom different AviationHazardAnalysis. set up. Associationsand speakers.The president of IFATCA, Mr MarcBaumgartner gavea verygood As Davidis sometimesa little controversialor, Thank you JATCA, for your hospitality presentationfrom the controller'sperspective, as hesaid,"I'm not paidfor beingnice" someof as did Mr Clas Follin from the SwedishATS you maythink differently,but I will saythat his thoroughlyenjoyedmy shortstay in Jordan.

THE CONTROLLER

Air Traffic Management

Seaof Chan Managemen NewATMlicensinglegislation,technologies and economicrealities are radically changingthe way Air Traffictraining is conductedin Europe and aroundthe world. After the selectionof suitable candidatesthe basic elementsof Air TrafficControllertrainingare theory,simulation and (, J' ,,i , ( Thesethree elementsequip studentswith the knowledge, i'ls and (: ~1i>rin c s to perform their tasks as controllers. The boundaries betweentheseelementsare now shifting like neverbefore. In Europeuntil recentlyindividualnationalATM serviceprovidersdeterminedtheir own training syllabusrequirements, includingtheorycontent, the level and lengthof simulationand amount of OJT. However,the introductionof the new

However, in practice, the differences in language,nationalcultureand domesticpolitics meansa free marketwith a levelplayingfield is someway off. Thereareconcernsthat the CCC syllabusrequirements areopento interpretation [ ·o ir , r, • fi , required agreement on common with regardto the depthof knowledgeand the training standards. The EuropeanAir Traffic teachingmethodsused. Looseinterpretation training institutionsmust now complywith the may leadto wide variationsin teachingquality objectivesof F 1P and r --~ requirements and/ora generalloweringof trainingstandards. and, to gain recognitioncoursesmust contain Market forces could eventually lead to a separationbetweenthe Academiesand their the necessary n1 o The various countries in Europe have very traditional national providers or even a different operating environmentsin terms of contractionin the numberof Academiesand weather,equipmentand traffic density.In order open the door to a number of unpleasant to reachagreementon commonrequirements, a consequences.The currentcloseco-operation modular licensing structure has had to be betweenAcademiesand providersensuresthat adopted.All controllerswill needcertainbasic coursesare tailoredto the needsof the service requirements, andthen additionalendorsements providers and that operational staff are accordingto the type of operationthey must released for instructional and examination perform. Where existing training programs duties. Thewhole questionof audit for both exceedthe new syllabusrequirements,reform examinationstandardsand proficiencychecks maybe delayed,but over time budgetpressure on a Europeanscale is thorny, and still the and contract specificationswill likely lead to subjectof political and Union debate. If the convergence in coursecontent and objectives. number of Academiesdoes reduce or the Nevertheless, for providerssupplyingservices present delicate balance between the where the traffic density and complexity is Academiesand the ATM serviceprovidersis exceptionallyhigh, OJT is often problematic, upset, then vital corporatetraining expertise especiallyfor ab-initio controllersand at these and assetscould be lost. If, in the future, training standardsdeclineor the demandfor locationsthey will insist on special training beyond that specified under the controllers seriously outstrips supply, restandardEuropeanlegislation. An important establishingtraining institutions would be a componentof the new legislationis that it sets slow,difficult and costlyprocess. out uniform principlesfor regular proficiency and in The full or part privatisation of many ATM providersandthe economicrealitiesof our time, emergencies and unusualeventsfor meansthat training is becominga more cost controllers. consciousand competitivebusinessthan ever Sincethe content and structureof a common before. Thechallengeas always,is howto train EuropeanATMlicencehasnow beendefined,it effectively while controlling costs and is at least,in principle,possiblefor the European maintaining quality. Historically there has training institutionsto competein the provision alwaysbeena shortageof controllersin Europe of training for the various serviceproviders. and while this remainsthe case,competition

between the Academiesis largely irrelevant. Indeed, there are currently much greater advantages in terms of cost savings and efficiencyfor a more approach between the various training institutions. A commonEuropeanlicenceis merelya stepin the path of harmonisationtowards the goal of a SingleEuropeanSky. Thereis little advantagein each institution inventingand reinventingthe same wheel(s).Poolingexpertiseand sharing developmentsrequiresleadershipvision, but is ultimately the most effective use of limited resources,and many successful training initiativesare alreadyin progress. In the pasttheoryinstructionmeanta classroom and often a dry diet of books and black/whiteboards. Every teacher knows a picture is worth a thousand words and multimedia tools such as Power Point have dramaticallyimprovedthe quality of graphics andaudio-visualpresentations in the classroom. Distancelearningtechniquesusingthe Internet and the use of interactiveCBTnow meanthat some of the basic theory learning can be conductedbeforethe studentevenarrivesat a training institution. In the future studentsare likely to be requiredto completehome study packages and demonstrate more specialist theory knowledge as a prerequisite of institutionaltraining, rather than just aptitude and interest. Modern ATM training conceptspromote the earlymixingof theoryteachingand simulation. Twenty-first century students are computer literate,manyplayinformationbasedor aviation relatedcomputergamesand teachersalsohave to keepupdatingtheir computerskills. Parttask trainingtoolsfor teachingradarvectorskillsand similarbasictechniquesenteredthe classroom soon after the appearanceof the first PCs.

THE CONTROLLER

Air Traffic Management licensedcontrollers.An advanced ATM simulator is the obvious place for conducting the continuation training in emergencyand unusual events mandatedin the new European licenceregulations. All over the world ATM Academiesand even some of the major airports are investingin the latest simulation technologyand the airspaceand airport databases to operate them. In a general climate of fiscal restraintthis investmentis taking place for sound financial reasons. In a nutshell,the longterm benefits of shortenedOJT, reducedcontrollerwastage,and improved training quality more than justify the cost.

In the sameway that newcomputertechnology is biurring the boundaries between the classroom and the simulator, the latest generationof ATM simulatorsis shifting the However,recently software becameavailable boundaries between simulation and OJT. that is not only capableof driving dedicated, Licensedpilots have beenusing simulatorsfor sophisticatedsimulationplatforms,but is also continuation, proficiency and conversion designedfor classroom useandit will runon any trainingfor decades.ThelatestATMsimulators simplestandardlaptopcomputer.Realisticradar are now good enoughto fulfil similarrolesfor simulationexercisescan be createdin a few minutes.In the classroomstudentscan view a "radar screen" via an overhead beamer and the instructor can invite them to solve the traffic situations displayed. Alternativesolutionscan be entered, and the results immediatelyobserved.The time line can be frozen or accelerated backwards or forwards and different solutions discussed and compared.Electronicflight stripscan be displayed,and a MicrosoftFlightSimulator can even be connectedto one or more of the aircraft in the radar simulation. Students can sequence aircraft for instrument approachesand "fly" the aircraft in the same simulation.A new level of classroom demonstration and understanding hasnow beenreached.

THE CONTROLLER

Theinformationtechnologywave, which swept through general industry at the end of the twentieth century,is now surging throughATM. In Europe,the next years will certainly see not only legislation, airspaceand equipmentharmonisation, but also new sensors,traffic managementtools, display systemsand greaterautomation. Thetraining techniquesnecessary to meetthe challengesof the twenty-firstcenturyare just emerging,but one thing is clear, treading water is not an option,we eithersurf or sink.

Charlie's Column

(Almost) Overheard on the PA of one major European Low cost carrier : Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking.We will be landingin 35 minutes,the outsidetemperatureis minus53centigrade., but don' t worry, this aircraftis not exactlybrand new but at least the heating is working .We hopenot to be late becauseif we are our Ops are not going to be pleasedas they needthe accent:" Wemightbelost but are in Scandinavian aircraftfor 6 morelegstoday.Whenthe aircraft - Continental234 do you havea passenger not stupid! " the lav? comesto a completestop , we will ask you to No sir! leavethe aircraftasquickly as possible,as we CHECK-INSTORIES : Continental 234,you'reup ! haveno timeto lose. I still have£8000to repay for mytrainingand I needmybonus.Theairport at which you will disembarkis generallytotally Pilot: BerlinTWRwe just passeda fox crossing Manwalksup to the counter : Airlinegirl : CanI helpyou ? deserted,at about 100 Km from the city you the taxiwayright to left.. Man : I want a roundtrip ticket.. Controller : yes, we know him, this is the local purchaseda ticket for, but do not worry,a bus Airline Girl : Whereto ? fox. He is trained to avoid aircraft and is should eventuallycometo takeyouthere.Okay, it is not perfect,but what do you expectfor 20 transponderequipped.We have him totally Man : Rightbackto here.... (Telephonerings) euros?Goodbyeand thankyou for flying with undercontrol.. Airline girl : Goodmorning,big airlines,can I Pilot : Zurich, good afternoon Eurowings 1651, us. helpyou ? level140. Controller: Good afternoonLufthansa1651, Femalevoice: How long doesit takesto fly to RYANAIRCHIEFINTERVIEW NewYork? directTango. Airline girl : just a minute..... Pilot: Direct Tango, Thanks, but could you call us In a recenteditionof NEWSWEEK ( June23 ) , Voice : Thankyou, andshehangsup. Eurowings? MichaelO'Learytalks unconventionally about Controller:Sure,but onlyif youcallmeMunich.. future air travel: LASTCONCORDEFLIGHT: Excerpts: "In 2 years we will carry more CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: passengers than BritishAirwayswith 20 times The last commercialflight of Concordetook lessstaff.At the moment,BritishAirwayshavea placeon 24 October2003.BychanceI wasin the tagline in their advertisements : "Fly BA, the NOTAM:12. Sept.2003: cockpitof a transatlanticflight that afternoon world's favorite airline " It is basedon them EGTCAffectingLondonArrivals: when ConcordeBAWflight 002 was eastbound Runway Blocked : Reason : Migrating Geese. carryingthe most internationalpassengers. We backto Londonfor the last time. Everyoneon In England, it is considered a curse : they stop aregoingto write to themand demandthat we sucha the frequencywantedto partof historyandwish havethe slogan. It's goingto be : "Welcometo traffic andcausedelays.While,in France, the Paddies, the world'sfavoriteairline" Weare NOTAMis viewedwith greatjoy, as theyshoot the Concordecrew well. So numerouscalls were madejust asking: What is the Concorde not worried about competition,the only thing the geeseto eat.. position now? etc.... when suddenlya very that worriesus is lasertravel,you know like " strongAmericanvoicecameup on the frequency on 121.5 StarTrek" . thenwe'll be reallyscrewed.I think OVERHEARD ( possiblythe Gandercontroller?) saying: sometime in the nearfuture passengers will fly " All you guysdid not give a £$0/oA&* aboutit To anyone : if you see a white and red Cessna free.Thedayswhenyoucouldchargeconsumers $500or $1000perflight are over.We'rerunning 152 currentlycircling overheada big runway for 25 yearsand now suddenlyyou all want to that says31-13 can you pleasetell me which know whereit is ?" After a silence, the very glorifiedbusservices.. " typicalBritishvoicecamein andsaid " Errr,we airportit is ? are 31W passingFL600climbingO.good byeto Interesting stuff. I wonder if he, and his you all, its been a pleasure ... " We did not seeit, Over Frankfurt Airport about 15 years ago : management team, consider his pilots as glorified bus drivers,but I know of another Duringan international militaryexercisein the but as we werecruisingat Mach8.2 at FI320 , GermanEiffelarea,2 NorwegianF16sgot lost I realizedthat shouldwe be exactlyunderneath, professionthat sometimesdoes... at low level and ended up overflying the the altitude and speeddifferencewould mean that it would be the sameas watchinga 747 OVERHEARD ON THEFREQUENCY : Frankfurtairport : passingoverheadat FL300from the ground. TWRcontrolleron 121.5 : " The2 F16'snowoverFrankfurtairport,please - United93 taxi into positionand hold . MerryChristmasto you all and all the bestfor Weareunableto, we havea passenger in the identifyyourselves! " 2004 .. One of the pilot replied with a strong lavatory.

THE CONTROLLER