IFATCA The Controller - June 2006

We are very happy to greet our colleagues and introduce our country and National Air Traffic Services of Mongolia (MATS) through "The Controller".

Geographically Mongolia is situated at the heart of Central Asia, Bordering China from the south, Russia and Kazakhstan from the north. Mongolia Population is 2.5 million, and our capital is Ulaanbaatar.

2006 is a very special year for us, as this year Mongolia is celebrating the 800th anniversary of The Great Mongolian Empire, and the 50th anniversary of the foundation of both the air traffic controller's profession

and the air traffic services in Mongolia.

In 1998 we created the Mongolian Air Traffic Controllers Association (MONATCA) which was the first non governmental organization within the Mongolian Civil Aviation.

MONATCA became a member of IFATCA also in 1998 in Toulouse, and since then is actively participating in IFATCA 's activities. MONATCA and MATS are working together to organize the next Asia-Pacific regional meeting in Ulaanbaatar on 4 to 7 September 2006. It will be a great pleasure for us to meet our colleagues under the eternal blue sky of Mongolia.

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COVER PHOTO ChineseDragons Photo DP

Editorial

Forewordfrom the Executive Boardof IFATCA

by Marc Baumgartner,Presidentand CEOIFATCA

'JustCulture'in Aviation- An Illusion? ollowingthe InternationalCivilAviation Organization(ICAO)amendmentof Annex13,AccidentandAccident InvestigationexplainingJust CultureReporting in aviation,our Italian MemberAssociation helda seminarhighlightingthe needfor an aviationreportingsystembasedon this conceptof 'JustCulture'.Ironically,as the seminarconvened,controllersthe world over were being suspended, dismissedor incarceratedfor what manywould call "human errors" in the workplace.

Why?Theworld of aviationis a high-risk industry,working toward levelsof safety beyond1o-6, which meansaccidentsare rare, thereforelittle can be learnedfrom them.As a result,safety-enhancing measuresin aviation rely heavilyon data receivedby system operators.Themotivationrequiredto report an incident(s)only existsin an atmosphereof mutualtrust, i.e: in a spirit of just culture.We mustnot "shoot the messenger"!Tomake sucha systemwork it musttrustworthy, transparentand be sanctionedby both the State,and Company(Provider)and not fall

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The motivation required to report an incident(s), only exists in an atmosphere of mutual trust, i.e. in a spirit of just culture.

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within jurisdictionof authorities,policeor magistrates.

IFATCAis disappointedthat as professionals we havebeenunableto convincethe nonaviationworld that it is essentialto havesuch reportingsystemsin place.If we saythat ICAO Annex13 talks about a "non-punitive" system,we may be surprisedby the reactionof others.At least in legal termsit seemsto no longerexist (exceptmaybefor politicians, Kingsor Emperors!).JustCultureis about fairness.We mustunderstandthat "nonpunitive" doesnot mean "no blame"! Noblamethinking is reservedfor thosethat considerthemselvesabovethe law. No person(s)or group is abovethe law!

We believethe industryhasreacheda stage of maturityallowing usto openlydiscussjust cultureand its true meaning- not just what it meansto lawyers,magistratesor police

The Old 2005-2006 IFATCA Executive Board says good bye (from Moscow) and welcomes some new members (discover them on page 18 to 20).

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officers!Thisbringsa secondchallenge- how to introducea just culturereportingsystem.

We mustidentifywhat is just and what is not by first defininghumanerror after verycareful considerationof the responsibility(s) of individualsin givensituations.

Toquote (ProfessorDekker,Hollnagel, Woods,Levenson)from the new (systemic) view of HumanFactorsand SafetyScience: "Welike to believethat accidentshappen becausea few peopledo stupid things.That somepeoplejust do not pay attention.Or that somepeoplehavebecomecomplacentand do not want to do a betterjob. On the surface, thereis often a lot of supportfor theseideas.

A quick look at what happenedat Linate,for example,showsthat controllersdid not follow up on positionreports,that Airport Managers did not repaira brokenradarsystemin time, that nobodyhad botheredto maintain markingsand signson the airport,and that controllersdid not evenknow about someof the stop marksandpositionsout on the taxiwaysystem.And of course,that a Cessna pilot landedin conditionsthat werebelowhis minima.Heshouldneverhavebeentherein the first place.

Whenwe examinethe aftermathof an accidentsomeshortcomingsstrikeus as egregious,as shocking,as deviant,or evenas

Continued on page 11

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Editorial

EDITORIAL PhilippeDomagala,Editor

FLYINGDRAGONSand ATC o you wonderwhat the coverphotoof this issuehas to do with ATC?Well the photo showsflying dragons,the oldest form of flying objectsin China.Youcan seein the photo that they are quite difficult to separatefrom oneanother.Thismusthave causeda lot of difficultiesto ATCin Chinaat the time. A bit like today.

I took the photo insidethe templeof Enlightenment, nearthe LotusLakein Kaohsiung,after our Conference.

Seeingthe nameof that temple,I would encourageany ATCmanagementto visit it, in the hopethat they will alsoget enlightenment.

Anywayin China,dragonsare a symbolof good luck,and ascontrollers,whenwe work, we needall the luck we can get, don't we?

So,you seea lot of reasonsto put the dragonson the cover.

Visitingthe Asia Regionis always interesting.Comingfrom the "old "Europeas the currentPresidentof the USAlikesto put it, onecan reallyseewherethe future is going to be.Thecurrenteconomicgrowth is reflecting on AviationandATCin a majorway here.

TheApron in Taipeiwas full of aircraft belongingto airlinesthat I had neverheardof before.Thereweretens of Airbusaircraft parkedfrom an airline calledAir Macaufor instance,but the last time I visitedMacau, they evendid not havean airport!

TheRegionis booming,but the sameold problemsremainfor controllers.

Readingthe veryinterestinginterviewfrom

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It seems that some young prosecutors like to raise their profile in the media which would be good for their careers, by attempting to pursue every controller for any error they can put their fingers on.

Otto Chin,the Presidentof the Taiwanese association,page22, one can seethat the same"old" problemswe are still facingin the "old "Europeare still there.

Readingthe letter of our 2 Japanese colleaguesinvolvedin the nearmid air in 2001 (page17) andthe informationon the Iran C130crash(page14),we can seethat sending controllersto jail is still popularthere as well, just like in the "old" continent.( And this tendencyexportsitself all overthe world , see the last minutebox on SouthAfrica below) SoAsia is leadingthe future,possibly,but nothing muchchangesfor controllers.

A largepart of the magazineis concentratingon Incidentreporting.A big

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J issueverymuchlinkedwith the notion of nonpunitiveor, as we like to call it today:"Just culture". Nicewordsin theorybut not applied in practice.It seemsthat someyoung prosecutorslike to raisetheir profile in the mediawhich would be goodfor their careers, by attemptingto pursueeverycontrollerfor any error they can put their fingerson.The Forewordof Marc,(precedingpage)our President,is excellentin this respect.A must readfor everyone.I would urgeyou to photocopyand passit on to your local management.

Whileyou are at it, photocopyalsothe articleby DavidGleaveon pages14-15, they might learnsomething.

As Marcsays,we controllersdo not look for total immunityfrom the law, but for respect andthat "system"errorsare not automatically blamedon individuals.

And this is valid everywhere, whetheryou are in Asia,or in the "old" world.

BREAKING NEWS: SOUTH AFRICA - Again a controller sent to jail after an incident We just learnedof the arrestlastApril of a formerSouthAfricancontrollerinvolvedin an aircraftaccidentin April 2002.Thecontrollerhad left ATCafter the accidentand was pursuing anothercareersince2003. Althoughthe final reportof the accidenthighlightsseveral contributingfactors,noneof them would justify criminalprosecutionof anyonein particular.

"By putting professionalsin jail the SouthAfricangovernment,which is responsiblefor the safetyof the travelingpublic,strikesa seriousblow to the maintenanceof internationally agreed-toaviationstandards":commentedMarcBaumgartner, Presidentand CEOIFATCA. Themoveis alsocondemnedby many institutionsinsideSouthAfrica,and the ATCservice Provideron SouthAfrica (ATNS)who decidedto providelegal assistanceand hassecuredthe bail for the controller.

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Incident reporting

ENDOFTHELINEOR AGENTOFCHANGE? byMikeEdwards, Headof IncidentInvestigation, NATS s incidentinvestigationan activeor a the UKMandatoryOccurrence Reporting passiveactivity?Putanotherway,should Scheme(MOR),we weren'tsatisfied.It was investigatorsjust wait for somethingto obviousthat somesituationsand concerns happenor shouldthey act as a first line of were not capturedby the formal regulatory defenceby raisingpotentialproblemsbefore scheme.But it wasalsoobviousthat therewas they arise? a needto gain the trust of staff that such Theansweris that today'sinvestigatorsare eventscouldbe reportedwithout fear of certainlynot expectedto play a passiverole. retribution.A goodstart hasbeenmade.A Instead,they aremuchmorelikelyto be seen company-wide safetyreportform cannow be as the publicguardiansof safetyperformance, usedboth for MORsand in-housesafety the peoplewhoseknowledgeand experience observations not passedto the regulator.The givesthem a real insightinto wherethe real conceptis that the form, now electronic,is a risksare lurking. one-stopshopand that all events,including As one of the world's leadingair navigation engineeringones,canbe entered.Thereis also serviceproviders,NATSis fully awareof the a sectionwhichallowsthe reporterto suggest needto harnessthis expertiseto its safety possiblesolutionsto the problem. managementand for its incidentinvestigators Laterfigureshavegivenus someindication to be part and parcelof its safetysystems.

All of how we are performing.In 2005the total four of its areacontrolcentresand two of the numberof safetyreportsroseto 5430, airportsat which it providesair navigation including1600observations.

Thisequatesto serviceshavefull-time investigation around250 reportsper 100,000movements. departments.

At the other 14 airports Theproportionof lossesof separationto operationalmanagersact as investigators. reportsdroppedto six percent and the In the pastATCinvestigatorsworked diligentlyand enthusiastically but they usually workedin isolation.Now we know better.

Within NATSthe first step in unlockinga company-widesafetyimprovementhasbeen to providedirection,training and supportfor investigators.But they alsoneeda favourable climatein whichto operate.Thisis why NATS is also intent on creatingan openand just culturein which reportsare valuedand investigatedand the conclusionsfed back.As a result,we haveestablisheda programmeof continuousimprovementin incidentreporting and investigationby focusingon four main areas:encouragement of voluntaryreporting; consistency and standardsof investigation; investigationrequirements and techniques; and recommendations andactions In 2004 3150safetyreportswerefiled. This ;:;:;;,;=_%,~~""....,:;:i___,=:s: gi ·equatesto around150 incidentsper 100,000 ci: movementswith ten per centaccountedfor by ~ lossesof separation.Althoughthis represented ~ 9 a goodlevelof reportingin accordance with l

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numberof lossesper 100,000alsofell.

Encouraging, but there'sstill someway to go, especiallyas mostobservationsrelateto externalsourcesor ATSsystems.It's alsoclear that controllersdon't yet wholly trust the investigationsystemand that this will take sometime.Thenext step is to be ableto demonstrateto themthat, while the company takesactionto reduceerrortypesand causal factors,individualcontributionsare treated with respect.

Anothervery importantissueis resourceand feedback.Havingencouragedstaff to report everything,and havingreceiveda large increasein the numberof reports,it's crucial that investigationresourcesare madeavailable and primedto respond.Everysafetyreport mustbe examinedand investigatedto the extentnecessary with feedbackthe most importantpart of the process.If peoplehear nothingand feel that nothingis beingdone they stop reportingand aviationhistoryis litteredwith the consequences of failureto

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Incident reporting reportconcerns.NATShasincorporateda feedbackmechanism into its electronic reportingdatabase(STAR) so that when an entryis madeon the recordof an event, reportersautomaticallyreceivea feedback notificationin their intranetworkspace.

Incidentreportingin NATSis doneby the reporterinputtingdirectlyinto the safety databasefrom any networked-PC. On completionof the report,the databaseallows the watchmanagerto add initial findingsand the reportis distributedto all interested parties.Thefunctionalityof the databaseis constantlybeingupgradedto provide investigatorsand analystswith the tools to tracksafetyperformance and analyseemerging trends.Company-wide formshavebeencreated to facilitateinitial watchinvestigations and unit investigationreports,which providespace for a descriptionof the actiontakenin the immediateaftermathof the incidentpluswhat is plannedfor the future.Therearealso requirements to statewhat lessonshavebeen learntfrom the eventand how theywill be disseminated within the unit and acrossthe company.

Thetrick is to providea simple consistentprocessratherthan something perceivedas yet morepaperworkimposedon localmanagers.

It's impossibleto unravela sequenceof eventsanddiscoverwhat triggeredit off if investigatorsdon't fully involveall the parties in the investigativeprocess.

Thissounds obviousenoughbut thereare manyexamples of investigatorsnot talkingto the controllers concerned,let alonediscussing the eventwith

team,part of whosetask is to supportATC investigations.

Indeed,all investigationsinto significanteventsinvolvean HFspecialistwho, in idealcircumstances, joins theATC investigatorin discussing the eventwith the controllerconcerned.

TheHFspecialist'sinput is includedin the investigationreport.

Thefinal keyinput,however,mustbe that from the flight deck.NATSinvestigators contactaircraftoperatorsto askfor the informationthey need.Foron-goingissues, suchas levelbusts,runwayincursionsand airspaceinfringements, NATShasa nominated focal pointto co-ordinatecontactwith operatorsand driveimprovementprogrammes in co-operationwith them,airportauthorities and the regulator.

It's not enoughto find out what happened and why without suggestingactiondesignedto preventrecurrence.

Investigators should considerthreepossibleavenuesof recommended action:what would preventthe eventhappeningagain?Whatwouldat least significantlyreducea recurrence?

And what would significantlyreducethe riskfrom such an event,suchas improvingdetectionand recovery?Recommendations, though,must makeit clearexactlywhat is being recommended and whoshouldcarryout the recommended action.Deadlinesshouldbe set.

Investigators shouldavoidmakingsoft recommendations suchas callingfor a procedureto be reviewed.ATCmanagement find suchrecommendations easyto accept: there'sgenerallyno urgencyand no actual changeis required.

It's not enough to find out what happened and why without suggesting action designed to prevent recurrence aircraftoperators,the militaryor otherATC units.Theusualreasonsofferedare lack of time and necessity.

Persistence and patience aretwo of the keyattributeswhich investigatorsmustdevelop.Theymustalsogive controllersa full opportunityto tell the story and conveywhat, for them,the incidentwas reallyabout.We mustestablishwhat made senseto the controllerat the time ratherthan as it appearsnow.It is only by doingthis that we can hopeto understandwhy an event unfoldedin the way it did and be ableto focus on the mosteffectiveactionto preventa recurrence.

Tohelpinvestigatorsthroughthis part of the process, NATShasa largehumanfactors(HF)

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Evenwith a set of perceptiveand challengingrecommendations, the investigator is still not done.Theinvestigatorsshould engagewith ATCand airlinemanagement to helpall partiesmovetowards"actionsagreed" statements.

Theseshouldbe accompanied by a timelineappropriateto the identifiedrisk.

Finally,havingagreeda set of effectiveactions, it's vital that air navigationserviceproviders havesimplemechanisms in placeto trackand chaserecommendations to completion.Thisis easiersaidthan done.In NATS'experienceit requiresseniormanagement commitmentto be successful.

It alsoneedsto be doneboth locally and at a corporatelevel.

IncidentInvestigationis of little valueif it's

limitedto establishingwhat happened.

Air navigationserviceprovidersmustdevelop systemsto gain the bestvaluefrom investigations throughcommitmentto training (seebox),consistency and standards, reporting and feedback.It alsorequiresthe involvement of all partiesconcernedand beingopento challengeand change.

NATSfirmly believesin fosteringa progressive and creativeattitudewithin an openandjust culture.Nowthe taskaheadfor all incidentinvestigatorsis to deliversafety improvementthroughthe timelyreportingof keyissuesto ATCmanagementand by helping peopleto get into genuineactionquickly.

Supportingthe investigators WithinNATS, trainingfor incidentinvestigators is focussedon increasing the capabilityto drive realsafetyimprovement andto do so quickly.

A formalincidentinvestigationtraining coursehasbeenestablishedwith two modules.An initial segmentis designedto helpwatchmanagersor seniorcontrollers carryout the correctactionsand start an investigationon the day of the event.The advancedcourseis for thosetaskedwith carryingout a full investigationand reporting.

Thecourseslast two and a half dayseach.

NATSis putting some200 peoplethroughthe initial coursewith about60 peoplegoingon to the advancedone ThecoursecoversNATSprocesses, human factorsand practicein interviewing,report and recommendation writing. It includesa full investigationscenario,but mostimportantly coversthe philosophyof investigationand asksquestionslike:why do we investigate?

Howdo we go aboutan investigation?

What are the coreskillsof an investigator?And who is the customerandwhat doeshe want?All investigationreportswithin NATSinvolve corporateoversight.Investigatorsreceive feedbackand coachingand in additionreceive visitsto their unit to discussthe latestissues.

Thereis alsoa quarterlymeetingof investigatorsat whichnew techniquesare consideredand informationshared.

Highlevelsafetyaccountabilities, as well as the mattersrequiredto be investigatedand actedupon,are prescribedby the company's safetymanagementmanual.Managersare alsobeingassistedby the consolidationinto an appendixin the manualof guidance materialon the investigationprocess.

Assistance is alsogivento investigatorsand managersduringan investigationon request or if thereis concernon the seriousness of the event.

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African Affairs incident reporting

BARRIERS TOSAFETY REPORTING IN AFRICA& MIDDLEEAST byMD Matale,RegionalDirector nadequatesafetyreportingcontinuesto be one of the mostbothersomeelementsin the systemof Air TrafficControlin the Africaand Middle EastRegion.Thisresults from factorsrelativeto lack of recognitionof the uniquenessof the professionby someAir NavigationServiceProvidersand Governments.

Culturalissues,which in mostcasesare completelynot taken into consideration,also find their way into hinderingyoungerAfrican controllersfrom freelyexpressingtheir viewsin casesthat involvetheir eldersin the workplace.In the nativeAfricanculture,'elders are alwaysright' and this hasa negativeeffect on the kindsof professionssuchas air traffic controlwhere adoptionof professionalculture is highlyemphasized.

Thereis ultimatelya realmof perpetualfear that culminatesin youngercontrollerscompletelyrefrainingfrom anonymouslyor voluntarilyreportingincidents that occurduringtheir shift schedulesfor fear of being undergradedor losingtheir jobs prematurely.

In mostcases,incidentswould rather be reportedby pilots or other air traffic control officerswithin the sameunit who would rather makesuchtailored reportsfor the adverse purposesof 'fixing up' their fellow work mates.

Theseproblemsresultfrom the continued tendencyto apportionblameand punishment on the concernedair traffic controlofficers.The extentto which this blameand punishment can go is absolutelyunlimited,moreoften subjectiveand resultingin total lossof morale.

Thistendencyby seniorcontrollersand administratorsabsolutelyclosesthe mindsof controllersto evenvolunteeringto report incidents.

Theprevailingproblemof recognitionof ATC as a uniqueprofessioncontinuesto hinder efforts madeby internationalaviation professionals to upgradesafetystandardsby way of learningfrom past incidentreports.The basicICAOrulewhich statesthat incident investigationis importantfor avoidanceof repetitionof similarincidentsratherthan

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impositionof punitiveactionis not easily applicablein a systemwhereinair traffic control is not appropriatelycategorizedas a safetycenteredprofessionin accordancewith ILOdocumentation;but insteadcategorizedor regardedjust like any other profession.

If onecouldsit down and imaginehow car accidentsdowntownare resolved,there could be a clearerpictureof the differencebetween the kind of action takenthereinas opposedto the one takenwhen dealingwith an air traffic incidentor accident.If for examplethere is a situationwhereinmotorvehicledriversare involvedin a car accident,the commonaction taken is obviouslyjust to identifythe culprit and forthwith apportionblameand punishment.

But in the caseof air traffic incidents,the action takenshouldbe to executea professionallyorientedinvestigationinto the incidentor accidentwith the aim of avoiding repetitionof the sameoversightin future.

Thephrase"Remedialaction" as commonly expressedin associationwith air incidents, shouldnot be taken to imply'punishment'.But ratherto imply a moreconstructivesolution suchas post incident/accidentpsychological counseling,considerationof refreshertraining, applicationof work and restschemesand other formsof stressmanagement, assessment and improvementof management/controller relationship,improvementof working environments,reviewof the recencyand competencyof the concernedair traffic controllerslicenses,applicationof principlesof team resourcemanagement,avoidanceof

singlepersonoperationsin air traffic control, etc.

Theentire processis quite uniqueand has beenconsideratelyput in placeand recognized by internationalaviationprofessionals representingvariousreputableinternational organizationslike ICAO,IFATCA, IFALPA, IATA, ILO,etc.

In the modernbusinessworld characterized by introductionsof financialdisciplineand widespreadeconomicreforms,it is completely not justifiablefor any governmentto spend millionsof USDollarspurchasingstateof art navigationequipment,training controllersin specialselectICAOrecognizedcollegesand thereafterfailing in the work placeto applya complementarydegreeof humanresource utilization.

Thehumanelementof the ATCsystemshas alwaysbeenand continuesto be the central resourcethroughwhich CivilAviation Departmentsand CivilAviationAuthoritiescan confidentlybeartheir trust.When appropriatelymotivated,they canact without limitation and do anythingbeyondthe foreseeablescope.Unlikemachines,such humansor controllerswould "feel" encouraged;havea 'sense'of belonging.They would not only volunteerto report incidents but alsoact relentlesslyto ensurethat the safetyof aircraft operationsis not compromisedin any way at any giventime. For the benefitof the system,controllersshould not be expectedto functionout of administrativepressureor by useof unnecessary threats.

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Interview During a meeting in Brussels recently, I had the opportunity to interview Erik , and ask him about Safety reporting issues in Europe.

Philippe : How important is "Safety reporting "for Eurocontrol ?

Erik: Very,very important,the reasonbeing that among all our safetyprogramswe noticedthat Safetyreportingis the weakestof all. But in our latestsafetyinitiative,the so calledEuropeanSafetyPlan( ESP),Incident Reportingis oneof the most importantareas on which we want to makemuchmore progress.

INTERVIEW with ErikMerckx,Headof Safety Enhancement Business Divisionin Eurocontrol

by Ph. Domagala changingtheir existinglaws ( e.g.Switzerland and Netherlands)to allow blamefree reporting.Thereis obviouslythe excellent well-knownexampleof Denmarkwho havea good law in placeand is now one of the best in Europe.

Theother areawe are lookingat in waysto createawarenessin the media.We are trying to makea campaignto showthat it is in the interestof the generalpublic and of the passengerthat we learnfrom incidents without blaminganyonefor honestmistakes madeby individuals( pilots or controllers).

Ph:Are all the European States playing the game correctly ?

E:No,despitethe manyexistingregulations (e.g.ESARR2) , various ICAOrecommendations and the recentEUDirectives, what we seeis that the actual levelof reportingvariesa lot from one Stateto the next.

Whatwe seeat the momentis that certain Statesreport incidentswhich are in the order of magnitudeof 10 to 20.000a year,while other countries,with similartraffic flows,send us only a few hundreds,we cannotbelievethat one is so muchsaferthan the other,but rather that we havean unequallevelof reporting.

Ph: from the States that reports correctly their incidents, are there already results available?

E:Yes,you can seesomein the Annualreport of the SRC(safetyreviewCommission)but what we seeourselvesis that moreand more Statesare reportingon ESARR 2 and alsothe quality of the reportsare increasing.Many reportsincludethe basiccausesof incidents.

In the beginningit was nearlyall classifiedas operationalerror,but now we alsoseemore ATMsystemerror reports.Furthermore, we are alsoworking verycloselywith the incident investigatorsof many ANSPswithin a group calledSafetyImprovementsub group(SISG), wherewe meeta coupleof times a yearto exchangeinformation.Examplesare: Runway Incursions,LevelBust,Air-Ground Communicationetc.Anothervisibleresult is the HINDSIGHT journal.I seeit often on the deskof the controllerswhen I go in the operationroom.(It can be downloadedfrom http://www.eurocontrol.int/safety/gallery/conte nt/public/library/Hindsight2Layout3.1.pdf)

Ph : Besidesexisting regulations, does Eurocontrol provide practical guidance on how to report?

E:Yes,there are manyGuidancematerials available,just checkthe web sites (http://www.eurocontrol.int/corporate/public/st andard_page/cb_safety.html ). But we realize that mostof theseare on the mechanicsand formalitiesof Safetyreporting.We are now developingmoreguidancematerialon the safetyculture,for instanceexplainingin more detailsthe "just culture"principles,and how to implementthis.

Ph : But how can you improve both the actual level of reporting and convince States to implement the" Just culture"?

E:We now are in a campaignto work on that just culture,and for the first time we are doing this outsideour traditionalaviationcircle.Our mostrecentdecisionwasto go political,and the current chairmanof the Eurocontrol PermanentCommission(the highestdecision taking body in Eurocontrol)which is the TransportMinister of Slovakia,haswritten to all his colleagues,ministersof transportin the 36 memberstatesof EUROCONTROL, and with copyto the other ECACStates,to check their

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nationallawsfor any legal impedimentsthat preventadequatesafetyreporting,and if necessary start a dialoguewith their colleagues,the ministersof Justice,on this issue.

Thisis extremelyimportant,as certainStates operatecurrentlyaviationlaws that have financialpenaltyclausesfor an air traffic controllerreportingan incident.

Thereare other Statesthat are working on

Ph : Finally,are you optimisticabout the future of safety reporting?

E:Yes,I think thingswill changefor the better becausemoreand morepeoplerealizethat we needto learnfrom incidentsto avoid accidents.Also becauseif we do not do this, seenthe currentcontinuousriseof traffic, the numbersof accidentswill increase.beyond what is acceptablefor the public.

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INCIDENT INVESTIGATION GLOBAL GROWTH

by RickSharpe,Manager, AirTrafficOperations, SERCO, MiddleEast he aviationworld hasrealized exponentialtechnologicalgrowth over the last thirty yearsespeciallyin the developmentof aircraftsystems.

Groundbased hardwaresystemsavailableto Air Navigation ServiceProviders(ANSP)havealsoseen extensivedevelopmentbut in both instances theyare dependenton humanproficiency while systemcapacitylevelscontinuallyplace stresson the HumanMachineInterface(HMI) environment.

Air traffic controlsystemshaveto realizea life cyclein the realmof 10-15yearsas the acquisitionof suchsystemsis lengthy, expensiveand in manycasespainful.Thedaya systemgoesoperationalthereare usually technologiesout therewhichare more advancedand it is incumbenton system operatorsto maximisehardwarepotentials.

Thatbeingsaid,the humanfactor playsan increasingly importantrole in the safety performance of ATSsystemsand the failureof humanperformancelevelshasdirecteffectson safety.Whenthesefailuresoccur, investigationsmustbe completedin orderto determinethe underlyingcauseswhich may includeseriouslatent unsafeconditionsposing potentialsignificantsafetyrisks.In 1969,Frank E.Byrd,Jr publishedthe 1:600Rulewhich researched industrialsafetyresultingin a conclusionthat for every600 reported occurrences with no injuryor damage,there were30 incidentsinvolvingpropertydamage, 10 accidentsinvolvingseriousinjuryand 1 majoror fatal injury.Drawingthe parallelto aviationit is easyto seethat investigatingall occurrences can leadto the identificationof trendsandrisk areaswhichcanthen be mitigatedto preventthe accidentfrom occurring.Incidentinvestigationis to avoidthe incidentfrom reoccurringand in the longterm avoidthe accident.

In the past,therehasbeena blameculture attachedto incidentinvestigationthat would tag aircraftaccidentswith "pilot error" and reductionsin separationwith "controller error".With the introductionof safety management systemsas an ICAOrequirement, investigations arebeingdirectedtowards

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determiningthe hazardsand risksthat cause incidentsand accidentstherebyallowingfor effectiverisk mitigation. It is not the goalof an investigationto apportionblame.!CAO Annex13 statesthat an investigationis "A processfor the purposeof accidentprevention which includesthe gatheringand analysisof information,the drawingof conclusions, includingthe determinationof causesand, when appropriate,the makingof safety recommendations."

In countrieswith matureregulatorypolicies, investigativeprocesses are into their second generationof evolvementand a lot of time and resources havebeeninvestedinto directingtheseprocesses alonglinesof objectiveand pro-activedevelopment.

In the developingareasof the world,thereare neitherthe resources nor the manpowerto

It is not the goal of an investigation to apportion blame

maintainthis independentdevelopmentand thereforethe sharingof resources and processes playsa significantrole in raisingthe issueof the no-blamecultureto fostercredible risk mitigatingprocesses.

In orderto fosteran objectiveandblame free investigativeenvironment,thereare issues whichneedto be overcomein suchareasas culture.Thecultureof a nationor ethnicgroup permeateseveryfacetof the work environment.

Thewesternworld'sapproachis verymuchemotionallydetachedand "scientifically"based.Otherareasof the world are influencedby differentvalues,beliefsand behaviourswhichfuel reactionsand conclusions which maynot be "scientifically" understoodby personsfrom "developed" aviationjurisdictions.In this regardthere needsto be a wider understanding that the processes developedin the so-called"first world" canbe learnedfrom as long as we havethe right understanding of how theycan be bestintegratedinto culturesthat are influencedalongdifferentnational, professionalandorganizationalvalues.

Thereare differencesin responses to

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Incident reporting authority,individualexpression,how people dealwith uncertainty,personnelselectionand training,adoptedbehavioursfrom previous generations, perceptionsof invulnerabilityand non-existence of error in high stresssituations as well as organizationalculturewhich is influencedby militaryexperience.

A lot of theseissuesneedto be considered when investigatingincidentsso that the maximumbenefitcanbe drawnfrom conclusions.

Wheninvestigationsare fair, objectiveand non punitive,a safetyculturecan be fosteredin whichoccurrences canbe reportedfreely.Fromthis, databasescanbe developedand safetyrisk areascanbe identifiedand mitigated.Thisin turn providesa fertile groundto developand raisethe safety standardof the investigativeprocessand of the ATSprovideroverall.

Thereare a numberof areaswhereincident investigationhasdevelopedand areaswhere awarenessis breakingnew ground.Although thereis guidancefor investigation documentationin ICAO,thereareANSPswho are adoptingformatswhich add a morerobust contentto their final reports.Thisevolution allowsfor a wideningof an investigation's scopewhich,coupledwith investigator training,providesa morecomprehensive look

into safetyrelatedissuesrevolvingaroundthe actualoccurrence.

Thismaturationprocess raisesthe prospectof latent errorsbeing discoveredand subsequently mitigated.

Theinterviewprocessis one whichcanbe very revealingif conductedin a constructive manneror very limiting if the environmentis antagonistic.Thepresenceof a no-blame cultureis highlyrelevantto the outcomeof a successfulinterview.In the Middle Eastwe haveintroducedInvestigativeInterview Techniques trainingwhich is deliveredby the true professionals in this areaof expertise,law enforcement.

Thecourseof instructionhas beentailoredto ATCspecificsituationsand allowsfor constructivefeedbackinto the variousavenuesopento an investigatorto extractthe mostusefulinformation.ATC investigatorsare not expectedto be expertsin

this field but raisingtheir awarenessabout how to structurean interviewand how to deal with varioussituationswhich they maybe confrontedwith allowsfor objectivityand thoroughness.

With appropriatetraining,a standardised structuredformatand improvedinterviewing skills,investigatorsare increasinglybetter preparedto draw conclusionsand offer recommendations which fuel safety managementprocesses within an ANSP. TheMiddle Eastspecificallyhasmadegreat stridesin aviationoverthe last threedecades and this safetycritical industrycontinuesto experiencedoubledigit growthyearin year out. Safetymanagementdevelopmentneeds to stayastrideof this growth as muchas is humanlypossibleand the incident investigationprocessgroundsthe very essence of safetyculturewithin an ANSP. Thiscultureis enhancedby a no-blamepolicy,thorough investigationsthat revealrisk,trend identificationwhich allowsstructuredchange managementand safetyrecommendations which raiseindividualand unit-wide operationalstandards.Continuedefforts in this directionwill seecontinuingmaturityin resultsand the wider benefitof raisingglobal aviationsafety.

I

FOREWORDJustCulture'in Aviation-An Illusion?Continued from page 4 criminal.Wechallengewith statements- If only thesepeoplehad donethejob whichwe pay them to do, then the accidentwould never havehappened.Tobe transparentto the travelingpublic and the familiesthat have beentragicallyinvolvedthereseemsonly one option:makethoseinvolvedsufferthrough losing theirjobs, evenprosecutethemandput themin jail. Makean exampleof themso that their colleagueswill learn the repercussions of makinga mistake.

Theproblemwith this logic is that it does not get us anywhere.Negativeactionsrarely providepositiveoutcomes.Thereasonthe logic doesnot work is twofold. First,accidents don't just happenbecausea few peopledo stupid thingsor don't pay attention.Second, firing or punishingpeopledoesnot create progresson safety:it doesnot preventsuch accidentsfrom happeningagain. " Forhow long mustwe listento HumanError beingblamedfor aviationaccidentsand incidents?In an ATCenvironmentindividuals are not permittedto fail! Controllersdo the bestjob they can.It is ridiculousto imagine they approachtheir work with criminalintent

THE CONTROLLER

or with havingthe objectiveof causingan accident.It is not in controllers'psycheto even considerthis. But,systemsdo fail! Whythen, canwe not protectour colleaguesfacing criminalcharges,be it Japan,Italy or elsewhere?Controllerscontinueto be "held hostage"by legalsystemsfor breakdownsand errorswhichthey simplycannotbe held responsiblefor. It is unreasonable to punish individualsfor an incident/accident whenthey were doingtheir very best in a flawed environmentproneto failure.

A challengefor our ATMenvironmentin the future is to bridgethe gap betweennew safety-science theoriesand HumanFactors issuessurroundingthe practicalwork. If traffic growth continuesas predictedin coming decades,safetymustincreaseexponentially.

Thiscanonly be achievedif a systemic approachis chosen.Thischallengerequires out-of-the-boxthinking and supportby all playersin the aviationsector.Societywill have

to acceptthat therewill alwaysremaina certainlevelof risk involvedin travelling,be it by air,sea,roador evenon foot.

Asa Federation we will continueour effortsto educateour members, andthe aviation communityso theyunderstand the newsystemic safetyapproach.

Wemustbridgethe gap betweenthe needsof the aviationcommunity andthoseof the travellingpublic(whichis alsoa governmentresponsibility) all the while ensuring protectionof the rightsof both.Convincing legal institutionsthat a "just culture"is the way forwardin improvingandmaintainingsystem safetywill be an uphillbattle!

Air TrafficControlis a high-riskindustry workingbeyondrisk levelsof 1o-6. Improving safetyin this strict environmentcanbe achievedthrougha meaningfulincident reportingsystembasedon a just culture.The few countriesthat practicethis theoryare achievingpositiveresults.We shouldlearn from thesesuccesses.

Negative actions rarely provide positive outcome

11

Air Navigation provision

AIRNAVIGATION PROVISION AT SAFETY ANDCOMMERCIALISATIO CROSS ROADS byAlbertAidooTaylor, IFATCA EVPAfricaandMidleEast

he Air Navigationindustryis currentlyat a crossroads.

Thedrivetowards commercialisation and globalisationhas broughtthe industryto a point wherethe need to ensuresafetyis competingwith the needto operateprofitably.

Thereare proponentsof the old schoolof thinking,who believethat safetyis the ultimateobjective.Thisgroupof leaders believethat safetyis paramountand that no economicallysoundoperationis sustainable without first providingsafety,at whatevercost.

Suchleadersbelievein the saying,'if you think safetyis too costly,just try an accident'.To suchsafetyapostles,anyamountof resources spentto achievesafetyis justified.Theybelieve the aviationindustryis the enablerof socio economicactivitiesof nationsand an importantcatalystto engenderregionaland globaldevelopmentprogrammes; but aviation is not necessarily a profit ventureof its own.

On the other hand,there areproponentsof the businessschoolof thinkingwho believe aviationis a self-sustaining businessentity.

Thisgroupof businessorientedleadersbelieve the keydriversfor the industrytodayshouldbe economicoperationsand efficient managementof marketdynamics.Some industrypartnersfrom the businessgroupare questioningthe currentmonopolisticideology and practicesin air navigationservices provisionwithin the global commercial environment.

Thebusinessphilosophyin air navigation provisionhasits strengthsand challenges, too.

Commercial Air NavigationServiceproviders havethe autonomyto managetheir businesses without rigid governmentcontrols.ANSP's(Air NavigationServiceProviders)areable to accessfinancialmarketsto obtainmuchneededfundsto build new infrastructuresor acquirenew facilities,and in somecasesinvest into researchprogrammesthat aim to improve servicedelivery.Thecommercialenvironment hasenhanceddialoguewith clientsand thus enabledthe airlineoperators'viewsto be consideredin the overallplanningand provisionof services.In otherareas,therehas beena significantreductionof feespaid by the

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12

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airlines.Someairlinesand other financial watchdogorganisationsbelievethere is improvementof air navigationservicesat a reducedcost.It hasbeenargued,that the mostcommerciallyfocusedairlinesare alsothe oneswith impeccablesafetyrecords.

Sadly,the emergingbusinessculturehas alsocreatedan environmentin whichmany commercialATCserviceproviders,in their desireto show handsomeprofits,have resortedto providingair traffic serviceswith minimumstaff and tight shift rosters.Ironically, thereis a significantrecruitmentof personnel for the supportservices.

While thereappearsto be an orchestratedclampdownon professional and technicalactivities,there is an increaseof internaladminrelatedactivitiesand contractualprogrammes, someof whichare highlyquestionableand are implementedat

high costs.Thisswallowsup savingsgained from the curtailmentof somesafetyrelated professionaland technicalprogrammes.

In severalcases,this approachhasbecomeone of the controltools regularlyusedto reduce operationalcost in air navigationprovision.

Someprofessionalsin the industrybelieve that by adoptingthis approach,safetyis being sacrificedin pursuantof commercialisation.

I do not believethat commercialisation per se reducessafety.However,I urgethosewho are quickto trumpetthe financialachievements of commercialair navigationserviceprovisionto first learnto scrutinizethe cost reduction methodsthat areused,in orderto genuinely comparewhetherthe savingsmadejustify the reductionin existingsafetylevels,that has resultedfrom curtailmentof sometime-tested industrypractices.

THE CONTROLLER

Air Navigation provision Theindustryis indeedat the crossroads.

I believethe choiceof not doing anythingnow by letting the statusquo remain,is suicidal.

However,I alsobelievethe exclusivechoiceof either of the two philosophies(the safetyor businessschoolthinking) shouldnot be an option. It is time to build anothervisionary roadthat deliversafetywhilst ensuring economicallyefficientoperations.Thenew road mustmaintainsafetyas its priority objective and commerciallystreamlineactivitiesof operationaland technicalgroupsto focuson the corebusiness.It is extremelyimportantto encouragethe developmentof commercial programmesin a mannerthat doesnot shift emphasison safetyas a priority objective.The buildingof anothervisionaryroad,which would be beneficialto all industrypartners, would be possibleonly in an environmentof cooperation,healthycompetitionand mutual respect.Thisis necessary to harnessthe wealth of knowledgeand best practicesavailablein all sectorsof the industry.

Thepast decadehasseensignificant improvementsin servicedeliverythroughthe adaptationof improvedtechnologyinto the aviationindustry.In somecases,proliferationof systemsand conceptshaveconfusedmany plannersandwhittled awaymuchneeded resources.

It is alsothe periodwherethe dynamicsoutsidethe industry,suchas the use of aircraftas terroristtools,SARS, Bird Fluand high fuel costsare impactingnegativelyon air transportand its allied industries.Theeffect of the negativetrendsappears,in somecases,to haveerodedthe significantfinancialgains madeby technologicaladvancements.

These challengeshaveprovidedus with unique opportunitiesto find moreeffectivewaste reductionmethodsand also highlightedthe needto searchfor moreefficientservice deliverymethodologiesthat provide sustainableeconomicbenefitswithout reducingthe existingtarget levelsof safety.

Effectiveand efficientleadershipis critical in the searchfor anotherroad.Arguably,some aviationprofessionals appointedfrom the aviationindustryto headANSorganisations havebeenunableto performas effectivelyand efficientlyas somecareermanagers.

Thisis understandable in manycaseswherethe transitionto commercialisation was not proactivelymanaged.Similarly,somecareer managersappointedto headANShave performedabysmallybecause,they,first of all, did not understandthe criticalsafetydynamics of the industry.Theincreasingtrend of appointingcareermanagersto headair navigationservices,as a commercial

THE CONTROLLER

organisation,though hasmerits,is therefore not the panaceafor non-performingANS organisationsthat are headedby seasoned industryprofessionals.

Thereare too manycaseswhere lackof cooperationamongstindustrypartners, governments, civil aviation/airnavigation serviceproviders,equipmentmanufacturesand military authoritieshavecompromisedsafetyof flights and increasedoperationalcost significantly.

It is interestingto readresearchfindings aboutthe interconnectivity, interactivityand interoperabilityof systemscurrentlyusedin the aviationindustry.It is equallyinterestingto learnof CollaborativeDecisionMakingtools and programmesthat are emergingamong differentsystemsin the industry.It is however ironic,indeedstrange,that the humanswho developedimpressiveequipmentto collaborate are finding it difficult to cooperateand collaboratewith one another.

Thisis the time for closecollaborationand cooperationamongstall the industryplayers.

Theperiodof suspicionand mistrustshould thereforepavethe way for a regimeof genuine cooperation,collaborationand mutualrespect.

Thiswill createthe platformto harnessthe potentialof individualsand identifiable industrygroupings.Competitionis good for progressbut it shouldnot be too viciousin a safetycriticalindustry,suchas aviation,to an extent,that it makescooperationunattractive or lessbeneficialto the partiesinvolved.

Thesearchfor solutionsshouldtake advantageof the knowledgebaseof current industryprofessionals, technocratsand managers.Currently,entryqualificationsto

start a careerin manyaviationvocations emphasizethe needfor Science,Mathsand Geography.

Thetime is ripe to alsoemphasize the role of businesssciencesincluding economics,managementtechniques,etc, in the initial training of pilots,air traffic controllers,engineersand other aviation professionals, or to encouragecrosstraining of the samein selectedbusinesssciences.

I believethe time hasarrivedfor the emergenceof a globalaviationwatchdog organisationto monitorand scrutinize emergingconcepts,equipment,procedures and practicesto ensure,that publicsafetyand the environmentare not endangeredby unbridledcommercialisation.Therole of such a publicwatchdogorganisationwould be relevantin areaswhere,ICAO,due to its diplomaticstructureand modusoperandi, facesa challengeto overcome.

Thefact that an air navigationservice provideris not commercialised doesnot guaranteean inherentexistenceof safety; consequently, air navigationserviceprovision doesnot becomeunsafesimplybecauseit is commercialised.

Theexistenceof safetyin the provisionof air navigationservicemust be our own creation,and the lack of it our collective failure.Therefore,commercialisation doesnot reducesafety;our actionsand inactionsdo. It is possibleto enhancesafetyin a commercialised environment;this shouldbe our goal.We all havea collectiveresponsibility to create,nurtureand promotesafetyin the commercialisation of air navigationservices.

Theclarioncall for all industrypartnersis simplythis: Cooperate Lest We Perish, Fly Together or We Stall.

13

Controllers jailed

CONTROLLERS BRIEFLY JAILED IN IRANAFTERCRASH Why the controllers were arrested in the first place is unknown n 6 December2005a HerculesC-130 TheControllerAssociationfound out a few crashedafter take off, while attempting factswhentrying to defendthem: to returnto MEHRABAD airport . The Theaircraftdid not havea CVRso the only pilot reportedenginetroublesome minutes recordedcommunications availablewerethe after take off and wantedto returnto VHFtranscriptsfrom the frequency( pilotMehrabad.It crashedinto a 10 storeybuilding, controller)makingit difficult to determinethe killing all on board(94)and 12 on the ground. real natureof the aircraftproblems.

Justafter the crash,the 3 controllersfrom Theinitial captainof the flight is reportedto MehrabadTower(the Supervisorand the 2 haverefusedto fly that flight due to some controllerson duty)were arrestedand put in technicaldeficiencieson the aircraft, but jail. After a few hoursthey were releasedand anotherpilot was foundand was orderedto allowedbackto work. fly.( militaryorder) Whythe controllerswerearrestedin the first Againstall recommendations from ICAO placeis unknown,and attemptsby the Iranian Annex13 , beforeany accidentinvestigator ControllerAssociationto cleartheir casewere couldcometo the crashsite to investigate,all not possible.

• the pieceswere removedfrom the crashsite.

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Thispreventedanyonefrom determiningthe natureof the technicalproblems.

Thepilot said he had problemsbut never reportedan emergency, just that he wantedto returnto land. Hewas offeredanothercloser airfieldcloserto its positionat the time he saidhe wantedto returnto land , but the pilot insistedon landingbackat Mehrabad.

It is not known if the 3 controllersare totally and definitively safefrom any further prosecution.IFATCA is watchingand carefully monitoringthe situation.

TheContrallers belongto the Air Traffic Controllers'Associationof the Islamic Republicof Iran , which is a memberof IFATCA.

INNOCENT UNTILPROVEN GUILTY ORGUILTYBUT INNOCENT?

SIDEVIEWS:SideViewsis a topic whereideasand controversial subjectsare discussed,Theseideas do not reflectthe positionof IFATCA but onlythat of the author

At the Informal Asia Pacific Region Meeting at Conference2006, held in Kaohsiung,David Gleave,Chief Aviation Safety Investigator with Aviation Hazard Analysis, gave a presentation titled, 'Responsibility of an Air Traffic Controller'.

The presentation contained material worthy of serious consideration by All controllers. The following article is based on this presentation with the kind permission of David Gleave.

What the Books Say Ask anycontrollerwhat the primepurposeof

14

the job is and they will instantlyreply'safetyof aircraft'. Howeveraccordingto ICAOAnnex2, Rulesof the Air,the commanderof an aircraft is responsiblefor avoidingterrain andobstacle, avoidingcollisionon the ground,avoiding collisionsin the air and avoidingweatherand wakevortices.

Sowhat is a controllerresponsiblefor ?

AccordingICAOAnnex11,Air TrafficServices givesmanyreferencesto the objectivesof ATC, It shouldpreventcollisionsbetweenaircraft; and preventcollisionsbetweenaircraftand obstructions But nothingin directrelationto a controller and safety.Theonly mentionof a controller

exercisingresponsibilityis for avoidinghazard betweenpersonsor vehiclesand aircraft.

ICAODocument4444, PANSATMgives detailsof the rulesand regulationsthat controllersshouldapply,but the only direct referenceto the safetyof aircraftis when reestablishingseparationafter a TCASmaneuver ( Chapter15, para 15.7.3.3).

TheICAOAnnexesStandardsand Recommended Practicesarethe lowest commonguidelinesto be appliedby all States - mostStatesadopt ICAOStandards, however someStateshavehigherstandardswhilst other Statesdo not implementcertain Standards.It is incumbentuponthe Stateto

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Side Views notify ICAOof any differencesand to publish thesedifferencesin theirAIP.Thereare many AIPsthat do not list anydifferenceand even morewith incompletelistsof differences.

What Should Happen ICAODocument4444 PANSATMrequires everyATCServiceProviderto establisha Safety ManagementSystem,including; Its CEOSafetyPolicyStatement, the definitionof hazardsto be managed, Responsibility and accountability; Targetlevels of safety,riskassessment processand risk management process.

A SafetyManagementSystemshould providethe following legaldemonstration of safety: Thatis : a) the formalallocationof safety responsibility, accountabilityand liability of all parties,b) the formaldemonstration that the risk exposureis reasonableand c) Theformaldemonstrationthat the risk exposureis well managed.

Any controller working at a unit where any one of the itemsaboveis not already establishedis leavinghimselfor herself open to potential legal action in the event of an accident.

As well as the publishedresponsibilities of a controllerthereis now an expectationthat a personin a positionof responsibilityhasa 'duty of care'whendischargingtheir responsibilities.

Thereforeafter an accident, eventhoughATCwas not at fault, theATC serviceprovidermaybe facedwith a civil law suit for not applyingduty of care.

Unlessthe unit safetymanagement systemclearlydefinesthe individualroles and responsibilities, the ATCService Providerwill be liable for any oversight.

(ATCServiceProvider= managementand the duty controller.)

What Could Happen To You ?

Whatis 'duty of care'? Considerthis scenario.

YourServiceProviderhasa well constructed and fully documentedSafetyManagement System,your Statecomplieswith mostICAO standardsand hascorrectlyfiled the few differenceswith ICAOand they are published in the AIP,you arefully licensedand ratedas a tower controllerandyou complywith all unit instructions.

Youhavea responsible employer and you area conscientious tower controller ..

An jet aircraftreportsthe ILSouter marker andyou givea landingclearancewith the

wind velocity.Yourjob is doneand you watch the aircraftfly the ILSapproach.Suddenlyas the aircraftcrossesthe runwaythresholdit dropsout of the sky,the undercarriage collapsesand the aircraftslidesto an undignifiedhalt leavinga trail of wheels,

those5 minutesandtell the pilot, nor report the actualwind velocityto the pilot whenthe aircraftwas on shortfinal, you will be found lackingin your duty of care.

Eventhoughyou mayhavedoneeverything correctly,it is what you did not do that the

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enginepiecesand bentflapsdown the runway.

Fortunatelythereare no injuriesto the passengers and crew.At the subsequent enquiryyou accuratelyrecallthe eventsof that day.Laterthe boardof enquirypublishtheir accidentreportciting wind shearas the most likelycauseof the accident.

Fiveyearslateryou receivenotificationof a civil law casefiled againstyour employerand you by the insurancecompanyof the aircraft claimingnegligenceand lackof duty of care.

Whatwent wrong? Youdid everythingby the book.Youwerenot to blame,the accident reportsaysso.

In today'slitigiousworld,the courtwill closelyscrutinizeeveryrule and regulation, and if theyfind a fault with a rule or regulationthat you applied,then theywill find fault with you.A lawyerwill deducethat the two minutemeansurfacewind you passedto the aircraftin accordance with ICAOAnnex3 (Appendix3 para.4.1.3.1)is not instantly updatedon the controltower display, (normallyit is onceeveryminute),therefore the informationyou passedcouldbe up to 3 minutesold and a jet aircrafttakes approximately1-2 minutesto fly the four miles from the outer markerto the runway.Therefore if you havegiveninformationto the pilot that is 5 minutesold and you did not monitorthe changingwind speedand directionduring

courtwill criticize.

What Can You Do ?

ThroughIFATCA, your unionor association shouldensurethat:TheSafetyManagement Systemreflectsmanagements' responsibilities and definesthe individualcontrollers' responsibilities; TheServiceProviderhas properlyqualifiedsafetyexpertsworkingwith it; TheSafetyManagementSystemis audited by competentpersons; Exercises for management and controllers shouldbe heldsimulatingthe eventsafter an aircraftaccidentin the handlingof the police, the media,the lawyers,the insurersand the unions;Inefficientrulesand poorprocedures areamended;A risk assessment is conducted on all procedures and equipmentfor safeand efficientoperation;Contingency procedures are documentedfor individualand multiple equipmentfailure;Contingency procedures are documentedfor the massdiversionof traffic dueto largescaleadverseweatheror closure of airspace.

A Final Thought IFATCA canhelpyou- but first look in the IFATCA Manualfor policyand guidance material.Thenif all elsefails,get a good lawyer................... .

(Are we) open to potential legal action in the event of an accident?

THE CONTROLLER

15

European affairs

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

by PatrikPeters, Contributing Editor- European Affairs was one of the requirementsfor privatization beneficialto the flying public. or corporatizationof ANSP's.Existingtight Whetherthis is still seenas an achievement when today'shigh safetystandardsare bandsbetweenserviceproviderand regulator might havea detrimentaleffecton the adjusteddue to low costATS,is questionable.

A solid safetymanagementis necessaryso that executionof their supervisoryresponsibilities. the currentlevelof Europeanair traffic safety Examplesexistwhere Europeanregulators follow the recommendations of their ANSP'sin doesnot deteriorate.Sucha systemwill require constantinvestmentandthis maybeseenas a a far too easyway . burdento future investorssolelyaimingat Tobe ableto ascertainthe levelof safetyin a Europeancontext,ANSP'shaveto make maximumrevenue.Theeventsof September their data availableand this wherethe 3th 11th and the following economicaldownturn in the aviationindustryhaveshownthe Performance ReviewReport(PRR8)and the vulnerabilityof a systemrelyingon investors criticismvoicedby the commissioncomeinto rather than public funding.Alreadyat that time play.Quality,quantityand consistencyof manypartiallyprivatizedand corporatized safetyinformationare inadequatefor serviceproviderswere strugglingto survive. measuringand managingsafetyat European Evenmorethan the questionedcontinuation level.Safetymanagementsystemsin Europe of our currenthigh safetystandards,this move differ too muchfrom one anotherand are far sendsthe wrong messageabout EuropeanATM from beingtransparent.Datais missingor in the light of the SingleEuropeanSky collectedwith differingstandards.

Initiativeof the EuropeanCommission.

Air TrafficControllersin Europeare,only in Memberstatesare currentlymakinghuge a veryfew countries,legallyprotectedwhen it efforts to adoptthe FunctionalAirspaceBlock comesto incidentreporting- which means model,wherethe emphasislies on CO· that we are missingout on an enormous operationand harmonizationratherthan potentialto enhancethe overallsystem.The competition.Competitioncould- just to give it just reportingculturein aviationis essential a thought- alsoturn into monopolyand for our future.Thisis not to be misunderstood reducefuture harmonization.Co-operation as beingblame-free,as the target of would then only playa minor role. improvingsafetylevelswill not be reachedby But comingbackto privatizationvs.safetyissuinga generalwaiver.Theimprovementof will we be going down that track for certain? safetymustalsobe the reasonfor measuring Thereare examplesin Europewhereit is it accordingto harmonizedguidelines,but this c. shownthat privatizationdoesnot necessarily shouldnot be abusedfor benchmarkingof ~ leadto reducedinvestmentin the air traffic ANSP'samongstoneanother.Benchmarking €. safetymanagementsystem.Shareholders of then would potentiallybe counterproductive ANSPslookingfor a healthylong-term to a safety-reportingschemeand negateall n 7th April 2006- probablyfor mostof developmentof their investmentswill not spoil benefitsof sucha system.And this cannotbe us a normalday like manyothers.Not the chancean openmarketsystemoffers.They the aim - we will makemistakesbut we want so thoughfor our colleaguesin alsowant, in the future,to havean improved to learnfrom them!

Germanywherethe lower houseof parliament statusand solid evolution.Theonly But unfortunatelywe are not yet there. We decidedon a new air traffic controllaw. organizationsthat can,to a certaindegree, now hearaboutdisciplinaryactionsand Thislaw allows the capitalizationof the influencethe maintainingor improvingof criminalchargesbeingbroughtagainstair Germanair traffic serviceproviderDFS, safetylevelstop-downare the national traffic controllersin Europe. regulatorssupervisingtheir ANSP's.

Thereis a meaningthat up to 74,9% of DFSsharescan Whichbringsme backto the beginningbe boughtby investors.Air traffic control- a, needfor strong regulatorsto be ableto are developmentsnot overtakingus?Are the so far,public serviceis now subjectto trading performthesetasksin the desiredway.In foundationsfor a properfunctioningsafety Europethe differentiationbetweenservice and biddingfor contract. managementsystemset and canwe rely on Are these developmentsovertakingus? provisionand regulationis relativelynew and them?

Takingthe DFSas an example,the door is now open to the acceptanceof tendersoffering There is need for strong regulators the lowestoperatingcosts,which couldthen chargelower feesto airspaceusersand

0

16

THE CONTROLLER

Japan near Mid-air

LETTER FROM JAPANESE CONTROLLERS involvedin near mid-air over Japanin 2001

Themajor problemwhy this did not happen is that in Japan,the accidentinvestigation could not be completelyseparatedfrom the policeinvestigation.Forthis reasonthe accidentinvestigationwas delayed, and its resultscould not be usedin time to prevent further accidents.

Lotsof peopleincludingATCcolleagues, membersof all transportationUnions,andairline crewssupportedusduringthose5 yearsuntil we finallyheardthe judgmentof "not guilty".

We got many messages of supportfrom IFATCA and we stronglyfelt that we were supportedby quite a lot of people.It gaveus energyto moveforwardand fight in the court.

This"not guilty" verdict is not only ours but alsofor all of thosewho supportedus.After the ruling, manyATCcolleaguescongratulated us.But the congratulationsare to all of you.

Pleaseconveyour feelingsof "Thanks"and "congratulations"to all your colleagues.

We thank you again for your continuous u concernand supportfrom the bottom of our ~ hearts. § Hideki Hachitaniand YasukoMomii .c

0..

uring the IFATCAconference in Kaohsiung,ltsuro Nakajo, general secretary of the Japanese controllers association read a letter of thanks for all the controllers worldwide who had supported them during their ordeal which lasted 5 years.At the time of writing and reading this, we were all still aware of the good news that on the 20th of March 2006, the Judge of the Tokyo district court had found the controllers not guilty We are HidekiHachitaniandYasukoMomii, both controllersat the TokyoAreacontrol Centre.We havebeenprosecutedfor the near mid-aircollisionof JAL907and JAL958that occurredon 31 January2001.

LastMarch,after 14 daysof trial we were acquittedfrom all charges.Thisis a first in the historyof Japan,as a court recognizedthat it was an accidentconnectedwith a system ratherthan individuals.

We feel great remorsefor a long time for the injuredpeoplein this accident.and as a consequence couldnot analyzethis objectively.

However,with time,we graduallyrecognized that this accidentwas complexand causedby

D

THE CONTROLLER

manyfactors.

Oneand half year after our case,a mid air collisionoccurredaboveUeberlingenin Germanyinvolvinga OHL8757 and a BashkirianTul 54. Bothcasesare relatedas they both involveTCASin a similarway.

We think this collisionmight havebeen preventedif the causesthat led to our JAL accidenthad beenproperlyclarifiedat an earlierstage,and notified worldwide.

This was done on 24 March, in the euphoria of the moment. However during the Conference,we learned that the State Prosecutor decided to appeaI the first court decision. This means that we are back to square one, still a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the head of our colleagues, and will do so for some time.

IFATCAis monitoring very closely the situation.

The Tokyo ACC

17

IFATCA Conference

J

C xcellentConference held last marchin the secondtallest buildingin Taiwan (and6th in the world ), over 1100feet

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high.

We welcomedthere 2 new associations: the Controller'sAssociationof the Comoros (Africansmall islandsnorth of Madagascar) and FATCOA of France,replacingAPCA,the FrenchfoundingMemberassociation.

Theexecutiveboardwasrenewedwith 3 new members: DaveGrace from the UK,as EVPTechnicalreplacingAndrewBeadle,Cedric Murrell of Barbadosas EVPAmericasreplacing JPMafia,and PatrikPetersof EGATS (Maastricht)replacingNicosLyrakides.

18

Daveis working in PrestwickAreaControlin Scotland,and is a formerpresidentof GATCO. Cedricis workingat GrantleyAdamsAirport in Barbados, and is alsothe Presidentof the Barbados ATCAssociation.Patrik is working in MaastrichtUAC, Eurocontrolin the Netherlandsand is Presidentof EGATS. All 3 areveryvaluableassetsto the Federationand their experienceand input in the last yearshasbeenremarkable.

MarcBaumgartner was re-electedas presidentand CEO,DaleWright as EVP Financesand DougChurchillas EVP Professional, all for a two yearterm.

After a tough competitionbetweenJordan,

TheDominicanRepublicandTanzaniafor the organizationof the 2008conference, Tanzania won and we will be goingto Arushafrom the 10thto the 14th March2008.,while the next IFATCA conferencewill be in Istanbul,Turkey 16-21April 2007.

TheConference was openedby the TaiwaneseMinisterof Transportation, Madame Yao-ChiKuo.In herspeechshewelcomedthe delegatesby sayingthat in Taiwanthe

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IFATCA Conference. developmentof air transportis veryimportant for their own economicgrowthand that ATC wasa cornerstone of that development.

Shethen joinedthe IFATCA executiveboard in beatingsomelargedrumson the stage whilea funnyDragonexpelledevil spirits.This workedwell as no problemsdistortedthe 5 dayconference, and the relatively major earthquake(6.4on the Richterscale)that shookKaohsiungwaitedto happenon the SaturdayApril 1st , whenthe conference was over (Thosein the 70th floor in the hotel at a 1000feet were quite scared!)

Duringa verywell organizedtraditional ChineseDinner,a special awardwasgivento the oldestfriendof IFATCA in Taiwan,Mr HarleyLiu,now well over80 yearsold, who pioneeredin the 1970's the entryof Taiwan into IFATCA. Seenthe politicalsituationat the time,it was not an easytask I canassureyou.

HealwayssupportedIFATCA and it wasa pleasureto seehim again-insucha goodform and goodspiritsas always.(seephoto)

On theTechnicalissuesdiscussed, there wasa tendencyto moveawayfrom " separationassurance"to ASAS,beinga system that enhancessituationawareness andto use this as sequencing and mergingtool.

ADS-8: Australiais lookingto mandate ADS-8and to removesomeof the existing radarsas a consequence . Howeverit doesnot intend(at the moment)to implementADS-8in terminalenvironments as a replacement for primaryradar.

IATAis claimingsubstantialcapacity benefitswhen usingADS-8but the Conference was remindedthat ADS-8only workswhen everyoneis equippedand that is still some way away.

A verylengthydebatetook placeon the so called" virtual" and " remote"controltowers, whereATCat someairportscouldbe actually donefrom anotherairport,sometimeslocated hundredsof Kmaway.TheConference concludedthat suchmethodswouldonly be acceptableto IFATCA whenthe technical alternativemeans of providingdirectvisual observationareas goodas,or betterthan

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directvisualobservation, and appropriatefall backprocedures are in place.IFATCA will also drawthe attentionof ICAOto the needfor a controlTowerto be normallylocatedwithin visualrangeof an aerodrome.

TheProfessional issuesincludedthe English languageproficiencytestingaboutto start for everycontroller(andpilot) worldwide(see Lastissueof TheController).We learnedthat while ICAOrecommends level4 as a minimum,the EuropeanCommission (EC)has proposedthat European ANSPswith certain density/complexity areasmayrequirelevel5.

Discussion alsotook placearoundwhat is knownas "safestaffing" Thiscovers maximumlengthof shihsand singleperson operationsand Eurocontrolwill publish a studyon this shortly.

Another"hot" subjectis that of the useof unqualifiedpersonalto replacecontrollersin casesof industrialdispute.We had recent examplesin centralAmerica,and veryrecently in Lebanon.

TheConference concludedthat for the purposeof guaranteeingsafety,controllers shallnot be replacedby personnelnot holding

ATClicenses(ICAOAnnex1) for the position and Unit at which thosedutiesare to be performed" and reaffirmedthat shouldan incidentor an accidentoccur, the responsibilitymustlie with the authorityor personallocatingthoseunqualifiedstaff,and not the individualstaff ohenorderedto do so.

Therewasalsoconsiderable discussion aroundthe definitionof what is an unsafe airspaceor aerodrome.Finally,the recommendation was passedwherebythe IFATCA ExecutiveBoardwill informICAOwhen sucha situationoccurs,which is whenthereis unacceptable riskto the safetyof aircrahin that Airspaceor airport.It will alsowarn AirlinesandANSPsof that decision.

Followingan IFALPA initiative,IFATCA will alsoproducean Industrialassistance guide that will be distributedto all its member ControllerAssociations shortly.

Duringthe EuropeanregionalMeeting(one of the 4 heldduringthe Conference ) 11 European Associations and Unionsfrom 6 countriespresentedan ambitious project called"MOSAIC"as a directreplyto the EuropeanUnion"SingleSky" initiative.

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---------------------------------------IFATCA Conference

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B 0 ii: ThoseAssociations and Unions requested the creationof one singleATCentity that will providingATSservicesin the airspaceof Belgium,France,Germany,Italy,Luxemburg andthe Netherlands, from groundto unlimited.

As the presentersaid:"We aim at building the Airbusof air navigationservices"and hopedthat everyoneshouldsupportsucha view.

Needlessto saywe are goingto hearmore aboutthis projectin the next months.

TheConference wasalsothe occasionto meetsocially,often in a very nicemanner.

On oneevening,the Asia Pacificcontrollers went to the scenicChengchingLaketo watch the sunsetfollowedby a 'Night of Asia Pacific' at the nearbyGrandHotel. Thenight began with a performanceby the Taiwancontrollers ,but the entertainedsoonfoundthemselves becomingentertainersin turn. "Lots of fun.

Greatnight out" commentedDavidCheung, EVPAsia Pacific.

TheEuropeanregionorganizedit's traditional"Karaoke"evening,run by the CommitteD "SCFun" wherenearly150 participantsmadefools of themselvestrying to imitate famoussingers.

ThefamousCAAawardwent this yearto someonefrom the Netherlands.

Thesesocialeventsarethe occasionto meet in a morerelaxedatmospherecolleaguesfrom aroundthe world and are perpetuatingthe true spirit of IFATCA.

20

D. Cheung chairingthe Asia Pacificregional meeting

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THE CONTROLLER

Flight Safety Seminar

SWEDISH CONTROLLERS FLIGHT SAFETY SEMINAR

by HelenaSjostrom

wedishSATCAheld its fifth FlightSafety Seminarat SASRadissonHotel, Stockholm-Arlanda Airport February9 10.What startedin 2001as a rather small seminarstemmingfrom the will to improve flight safety,has now grown into a wellestablishedevent.46 controllersemployedby the SwedishproviderLFV,representatives from LFVheadquarters, from the SwedishCAA Luftfartsstyrelsen and 24 pilotsfrom different airlinesmadefor a record-breaking attendance.SATCAhas representatives at all 37 ATC-unitsin the countryand out of these, 30 units had sentone or morecontrollersto participate.

S

Most accidents are caused by human error which· are induced by threats SATCAs Flight SafetyGroup,leadfor the last time by KarinAnghus,had put togetheran extensiveand interestingagendawith Swedish aswell as internationalspeakers .. Karin Anghuspointsout that it would be impossible to havethe seminarwithout supportfrom LFV as well as from the pilot's associationSPFand the airlines.

-"The first yearwe held the seminar,many pilots and controllersattendedon their own free time,but the employersnow recognisethe importanceof the seminarand we were particularlydelightedto haveso manypilots attend".

Thepresentationsstartedwith EvaMyrin, environmentalmanagerat ArlandaAirport. She explainedthat the three factorsthat govern her work are; legislation,demandsfrom those aroundthe airport and her own convictionof the necessityof safeguardingthe environment.

A largepart of the environmentaldisturbances is obviouslynoise.To be consideredan environmentaldisturbancehowever,the noise mustaccordingto Swedishlaw,exceed70 db.

Emissionsare anotherpart of the environmentaleffects,but EvaMyrin stated that the aviationbusinessis responsiblefor only 3 % of all fossilfuel emissions.

THE CONTROLLER

Arto Helovuo,chief CrewResource Managementinstructorat Finnaircontinued, talking aboutexpectations.

What can go wrong? Do pilots and controllershave differentexpectations?

Most accidentsare causedby humanerror.

Errorsare inducedby threats.Threatsand errorsare managedby CRM.Pilot- Control!er interfaceshouldpreventthreatsand errors, not producethem.

Somebasicprinciplesin orderto achieve this are: • No interruptionsduring criticaltasks • No additionalworkloadduring critical phases • Provideinformationin time for adequate planningand anticipation • Avoid alterationfrom originalplans LarsAlvestal,SwedishAccidentInvestigation Boardand PhilippeDomagala,endedthe first day with presentationson the subject TCAS/ACAS, still a problem?Thespeakers concludedit is.Althoughthey alsosaidthat of course,it is mostlyhelpful.Unofficialadviceto controllerswas "Whateveryou do, if you find yourselfin a situationwith two aircraft comingtoo closeto eachother,turn them as well".

Thatthe seminaris an importantpart of the continuingwork for flight safetyin Sweden was confirmedby MichaelStandar,C LFVATM Supportand Development.

"-I think the work by SATCAon flight safety in organisingthis seminaris commendable and I am glad to seeso manycontrollershere.

I would also like to seeSwedenmoreinvolved in IFATCA and am preparedto consider financiallycontributingto costsfor Swedish controllerstaking a larger part in the work of IFATCA in the future". MichaelStandaralso gavea visionarypresentationabout the role of ATCOsin the future,coveringtopicslike FABs, SES& SESAR, SWIM(SystemWide Information Management),UAVs,GreenApproaches, Virtual Towersand the new NordicATSAcademyat Malmo-Sturup:EntryPointNorth.

Therestof the speakerswere:JacobStolpe, pilot at Fly Nordicwho gaveexplanationsto expressionslike FMS,FMC,B-RNAVand PRNAV. ThomasJonssonand SofiaLundgren from StockholmATCCtalkedabout CFMU. RichardJorgenssen from LFVASDgavea presentationabout investigations,levelbusts and how to avoid runwayincursions.Christer Leijon,chairpersonof the Flight Safety Committeeof SPF, talkedabout implementing RunwaySafetyTeamsat airports.Theseminar's last speakerwas PatrikPeters,IFATCA, who gavea presentationabout IFATCA2006.

In connectionto the seminar,SATCAalso held its annualmeetingfollowed by a dinner for all the seminar'sparticipants.Christopher Vozmediano, a controllerdividing his time betweenStockholmATCCand LFV headquarters, was electednew presidentof SATCAandAnna Granberg,Lulea/Kallax, was electednew chairpersonof the FlightSafety Group.AnnaGranbergwas alsoelectednew memberof IFATCAs Technicaland Operations Committeein Kaohsiung.

21

IFATCA Conference

INTERVIEW with with Otto Chin,PresidentROCATCA, Taiwan

by Ph.Domagala

At the end of the ConferenceI interviewedOtto, askinghim about hisfeelingsabout the conferenceand about the ATC situationin Taiwan: Ph:Was the conference successfulfor you and did it met your expectations?

OC:Yesit wassuccessful, we got a lot of supportand the participationis well over650 participants.Thisis slightlybelowour expectationsas we expectedmore(in 1997in Taipeiwe had 800 participants)but we are pleasedwith the results.

Also all controllersin Taiwanhelpedus.We have100%of the controllersbehindus,even retiredcontrollerswere involved.It is a good showto our management, and we learneda lot in the process.

Ph : What did the controllers learn?

OC: Especiallyduringthe CommitteesB and C (Techand Prof.committees)manyof our controllersparticipatedand camebackwith an awful lot of knowledge.

But moreimportantlyfor us this conferencereunitedthe controllerstogether.Beforethe conferencesomecontrollersweredissatisfied with the Association.I havebeenelected Presidentjust a few monthsago and my goal was to reunitethem.Thisconferencehas definitivelydonethis and I am very glad about it.

Ph : What kind of problems do controllers have then? it is salaries ?

OC: No,we arecivil servants,andour salary levels are aboveaverage,and while they couldstill be better, this is not the prime issue. Our mainproblemis that since20 years we areshort of staff ( around10-20% dependingon location ) makingus work over 200 hoursper monthson average,20-25days work per month.We cannotrefuseovertime, which is also not paid as overtime.Weget

22

samepayif we work night,week end or Christmaseve..

As a result,it is very difficult to recruitnew youngcontrollerswith thoseconditions.

We alsosufferfrom negativereportsin the Pressabout our Profession.

Formany youngsters, the job is seenas too difficult, too dangerous,and as we cannotfind enough recruitsthe working conditionsdeteriorate further,makingit evenmoredifficult to attract them.A perfectviciouscircle.

Ph:What is your normal retirement age?

OC: it is 65, the sameas anyother Governmentofficial,but manycontrollers leave earlieras they cannotdo the job any longer.

Ph : What are your working relations with Mainland China?

OC: Officiallythere cannotbe negotiationsor evencontactsbetweenus and Mainland China.But Controllersand pilotsAssociations have,and in fact are usedfor the neededcooperationwork.

Forinstancewe negotiatedfor our internationalairlines( EvaAir and China Airlines) comingfrom the southWestto be able to overflySANYAFIRin the mainland, considerablyreducingtheir flight time.

In 2001our Associationinvitedall Directors of CAAin mainlandChinato take a visit to Taiwan.Theycame,and in 2002,they reciprocatedand our DeputyDirectorof CAA plus 11 ChiefControllersfrom TaipeiTWR,APP andACCwent to visit Beijing.But after 2002it stoppedand we haveno morecontacts.

ROCATCA is trying to renewthe relations and we plan Controllervisitsacrossthe Strait (oceanbetweenTaiwanand MainlandChina) as an initiativeof our Association.

Ph : Is it the same with Hong Kong and Macau controllers?

OC: No,we havealwayshad and still have excellentrelations with both HongKongand Macau.Nothinghaschangedwith them.In

Asia-Pacific region,all MemberAssociations are our bestfriendsalso!

Ph : Are you pleased with IFATCAwork?

OC: Yes,ROCATCA is fully behindthe IFATCA conceptand we supportthe Federation 100%.We hopeall the controllersin the world that attendedthis conferencewill remember ROCATCA andTaiwan.It wasa pleasureto haveyou here.

THE CONTROLLER

Book Review

ormallysucha book is aimedat local colleaguesand personswho like to rememberthe "good old days" as they weredirectlyinvolvedwith thoseyears.But this book is differentin that it is first verywell written, (by 2 controllers),and secondlyfull of very high qualityphotos.Oneof the authorsis a photographerand it shows.

What makesit interestingis the insertionof sometimesveryfunnyATCanecdotesthat happenedoverthe years.Theyare nicely spreadaroundthe mainstoryand in the technicalexplanations.

Theseanecdotescouldhavehappenedin almostanyATCfacility aroundthe world, so everyonereadingthem,whereveryou are,will immediatelyremembersimilarsituations.

N

I totally enjoyedit, eventhe technical explanationsof the variousequipment and add-onsoverthe years.

Soif you want to know how to get free breakfastfrom airlines,offer a airportterminalfor sale,how to pass traffic informationon a hugeballoon in the form of a pink pig, or the story of the life of the gardengnomesin the windsockarea,and muchmore, buy this book.

Toorderit sendan e-mailto adverts@zebedeelist.co.uk and you will get an orderform.

160 pages,hardcoverISBN 0-9550042-0-9, 24 UKpounds includingpostage.Reviewedby PH.Dom

BrianPiket Pete Bish

TheCONTROLLER is 4 issuesa year,usuallypublishedon 1st March,June,September andDecember.

Subscriptions will beautomatically renewed for oneyearon 31st Mayod eachyear,Cancellation or amendements to numbersof issuesmustreachthe Subscriptions Manager (office@ifatca.org) by 1st April.A reducedrate is availableon requestfor largeorders.Magazines aredespatched usingpriorityairmail worldwide.Costsfor a year(4 issues)inclusiveof mailingareasfollows

Payment for largenumberscanbe madebychequeor banktransferin USDollars,or for individualsubscriptions byvisa/mastercard in USdollars.

Furtherinformation availablefromthe Subscription Manager: t email:subscribe@ifatca.org t websites:www.ifatca.org www.the-controller.net

Order form: I

PleaseReturnto: TheControllerMagazineSubscription via email:subscribe@ifatca.org or mailto: IFAT CA,1255University Street,Suite40B, Montreal,Quebec, H3B3B6,Canadaor fax:+15148667612

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j j fj}J on CorporateMembers KevinSalter - ContributingEditor,CorporateBusiness

Welcome to the 10th Anniversary of our popular Corporate Members feature Dueto workloadand othercommitments, I am afraid that the plannedfeatureon NICESystemshashad to be postponed until a later issue.

Howeverin this anniversaryfeatureit is fitting that I cannow up-dateyou on the positionof oneof the majorSpotlight supporters, Firstof all I would like to bringyou newson a recentThalesco-operative agreement.

Denmark, Ireland and Sweden sign cooperative agreement with Thales ATM 3 April 2006: T H A LE S TheIrishAviation Authority(IAA),the LFVGroup(Sweden) and Naviair(Denmark)havetodaysigned a contractwith ThalesATM,the Frenchair traffic equipmentprovider,to markthe initiation of a purchasingagreement knownas COOPANS. Eachof theseair navigationserviceproviders(ANSPs)has previouslyprocured,underseparate contracts,the ThalesEurocatATMSystem and the objectiveof this agreementis to facilitatethe joint procurementof upgradesto their existingcommonAir TrafficManagement(ATM)systems.

Joint procurementunderthe COOPANS agreementwill facilitateupgradesto each ATMsystemto meetnew operational needs,ensuresupportabilityand reduce life cyclecosts.Therisksassociatedwith the introductionof completelynewATM systemsare alsoreducedthroughthis new incrementalapproach.

TheCOOPANS agreementwill caterfor anyessentialrequirementsnecessitated by

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Signing the co-operative agreement

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the SingleEuropeanSkyinitiative.It also demonstrates the intent of IAA, Naviair and the LFVGroupto collaboratein a way which will bringreal benefitsto airlines whilst embracingthe spirit of the Single EuropeanSkymovetowardscommon systems.In addition,the agreementis basedon an opendoor conceptwhereby otherANSPswill be ableto join at a later date.

Speakingon behalfof the COOPANS members,Mr. EamonnBrennan,Chief Executiveof the IAAsaid;"Thisagreement representsthe bestway of achieving commonalityand interoperabilityof systems,risk reductionand economiesof scalein the futureATMmarket,all of whichwill bring real benefitsto our customers."

Alexanderde Juniac,SeniorVice PresidentAir SystemsDivision,Thales ATM,stated; "Thalesis proud to be part of this uniqueagreementwhichpavesthe way for the future organisationof A TM systems." ( ( (

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IRISH AVIATION

AUTHORITY

UOA.l,U lllUOCIOA

JoCA lol!tU_..W

The Irish Aviation Authority TheIrishAviationAuthority(IAAJwas establishedas a commercialstate sponsoredbodyin 1994.

Operationalservicesprovidedinclude air traffic management, engineeringand

communications in airspacecontrolledby Ireland.

Regulatoryservicesincludeaircraft airworthinesscertificationand registration;licensingof personneland organisationsinvolvedin the maintenance of aircraft;licensingof pilots and aerodromes; togetherwith the approval, surveillanceof air carrieroperation standardsand of generalaviation.

TheSingleEuropeanSkyis an EU initiativeaimedat creatinga more efficientand harmonisedair traffic managementsystem.

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"-:al=="'

The LFV Group

w,r,ARrsvER«

TheLFVGroupoperateand developStateownedcivil aviationairportsin Sweden.

TheGroupis alsoresponsiblefor air navigationservicesfor civilianand military aviationas well as for the trainingof air traffic controllers TheLFVGroup'sbusinessconceptis to generateaddedvaluefor its customers and promoteair travelby operatingcost efficient,safeandwell managedairports and air navigationservices.TheLFV Groupcontributesin a business-like and profitablemannerto the fulfilmentof transportpolicyobjectivesin Sweden.

TheLFVGroupis a state enterprise employingover4,000 peopleand with annualrevenueof approx.SEK5.5 Billion.

TheLFVGroupsuccessfully participates in the developmentof cross-border air

T F

Spotlight navigationserviceswithin Europe.On 19 March2005,a newair traffic control systemwas broughtinto operationat the ControlCentresat Arlandaand Sturup.

Naviair Naviairis a State Enterpriseunderthe DanishMinistryof Transportand Energy.

Provisionof air navigationservicesis Naviair'sfirst priority,i.e.to provideits servicesin an efficientand expeditious way,guidingaircraftsafelythroughDanish airspacewith minimumdelays.

Naviairhasa staff of approximately700 personsof whichthe mainpart consistsof Air TrafficControllersand technicalstaff, and is runninga businessof approximately DKK750ma year.

CHINA

THALES

Continuoussuccessfor Thales in China with major Navaidscontracts • Increasedsafety and efficiency for growing air traffic in China • In 2005,Thaleswasawardeda large numberof contractsfor the supplyof air navigationsystemsto airportsacross China.Thescopeof the contracts comprisesthe deliveryof elevenDopplerVORVHFOmnidirectional RadioRange systems(DVOR) for en-routenavigation, twenty DistanceMeasuringEquipments (DME)for en-routeand landing procedures andthree InstrumentLanding Systems(ILS)to be installedat the airportsof Dalian,Dazhou,Handan,Hong KongSAR,Linzhi,Liping,Nalati,Suining, Taiyuan,Weihai,Wenshan,Xianand Yanliangas well as at the southwest trainingcentrefor the CivilAviation Administrationof China(CAAC).In addition,Thaleswill provide comprehensive installation,commissioning and maintenance trainingto the operating engineers.

Thedeliveriesare in line with China's airport construction,expansionand modernisation activitiesas a responseto the increasein its air traffic. In recent yearsair traffic in Chinahasgrown significantlyin all areasincluding international,regionaland isolated airportsor airportsin difficult geographic conditions.

Thecontractsfollow on from other ThalesNavaidssuccesses in Chinawhich includethe provisionof morethan one hundredDME,morethan fifty DVORand thirty ILSsystemsin the past5 years.

"Buildingon a partnershipthat has

lastedfor morethana decade,we are ve,yproud to haveachieveda positionas a majorsupplierof Navaidssystemsto airportsall over the People'sRepublicof China.Thenewsystemswill enhance safetyand efficiencyof the increasingair trafficand will supportthenation'scivil aviationinfrastructure,"statedGiuseppe Panebianco, Thales'Area Manager responsible for the ChineseNavaids market.

Thales'DVORis the resultof morethan 50 yearsof continuousdevelopment of VORsystemsthat are in service throughoutthe world.Theyare particularly well suitedto operationunderdemanding conditionsand terrain.TheThalesDVOR systemsutilizemicro-processor controlto provideunequalledaccuracyand stability while providingthe userwith the highest levelsof reliabilityalongwith availability and thereforehelpingto guaranteesafe en-routenavigation.

Thales'ILSincreases safetyand reliabilityand,as a result,enhancesthe efficiencyof approachand landing procedures especiallyin low visibility conditions.ILSis a provensystemwith ICAOAnnex10 Cat.Ill performance with a meantimebetweenoutage(MTBO)of morethan 5,000hoursdemonstratedby the GermanCivilAviationAuthority(DFS) at 15 airports.

As part of the ongoingupgradeof the civil infrastructurethroughoutChina,other Thalessuccesses comprisethe provisionof air traffic management systemsincluding en-routesecondaryradarsin China's Easterncorridor,a Eurocatair traffic management systemwith co-mounted radarsin Chengduand the NESACC* contractto supplyfully integratedEurocat systemsfor Beijing,Shanghaiand Guangzhou. * NESACC: North,Eastand Southern AreaControlCentresfor China

ITALY Thaleswins major contract to supply Navaidsto Italian Airports • Increasedsafety and reliability within Italian airports • TheItalianair navigationservicesprovider ENAV* awardedThalestwo major contractsin 2005for the comprehensive supplyof air navigationsystems.

Thecontractscornprisethe supplyof 11 InstrumentLandingSystemsILS420,22 DistanceMeasuringEquipments including mobiletypesfor both landingprocedures and en-routenavigation,4 NonDirectional Beaconsand 3 DirectionFindersto be installedat airportsall over Italy.

Thedeliveryis part of a wide-ranging

modernisation programmeto upgrade airportswith the mostmodernapproach and en-routenavigationaidssystems throughoutthe Italianairspace.

The completionof all systemsis forecastin 2006.Theimplementationof the programmewill be carriedout in closecooperationwith ENAV. " Wonagainstmultinationalcompetition, this contractconfirmsENAV'sconfidence in Thalesand consolidates our relationship whichhaslastedfor decades.ENAVwill benefitfrom Thalesexperience gainedin Italy over thepast 50 yearsin research and development, blendingstate-of-theart designand manufacturingconceptsin orderto createnavigationaidsequipment of the higheststandard,"statedMassimo Sanvito,ManagingDirectorof ThalesItalia S.p.A. Thenew ILS420 instrumentlanding systemsare equippedfor CategoryIll operationand will considerably increase safetyand efficiencyof civil aviationin Italy.Thales'ILSrepresents the most advancedof its kind availableon the markettodayand surpasses the requirements of the world'saviation authoritiesfor Cat.Ill signalsand precision landings.In addition,ILS420 is the first ILSworldwideto surpassthe requirements of the DO-178B/ED-12 softwaresafety certificationissuedby EUROCAE/RTCA providingadditionalassurance to service providers. * ENAV• EnteNazionaledi Assistenza al VoloS.p.A. Thisconcludesthis 1oth Anniversary featureand,as normal,I would like to thankJoelle Lebreton and Fanny CoelhofromThalesand Paddy KennedyHeadof CorporateAffairsIrish AviationAuthoritywithout whosehelpthis featurewould not havebeenpossible.To our corporatemembership readers,if you would likeyour companyto be featuredin ·spotlight',and likewiseto any reader,who would like furtherinformationon any topic that was covered,pleasedo not hesitateto contactme usingthe following address: Kevin Salter IFATCAContributing Editor Corporate Business Flugsicherungsakademie Am DFS-Campus4 D-63225 Langen Tel: + 49 (0)6103 707 5120 Fax:+ 49 (0)6103 707 5177 E-Mail: kevin-john.salter@dfs.de or E-Mail: kevinjsa1ter2008@aol.com

2S

ATC Maastricht 2006

ATCMaastricht 2006 A

TC06is the traditionalATCexhibition with its Conference heldby Jane's.

Theexhibitionpart featuredmorethan 190 exhibitorsfrom all overthe world including, exhibitorsfrom Chinafor the first time. There were4300attendees,a 6% increasefrom last year.

Besidesthe keyplayers( Thales,Raytheon, LockheedMartin,etc..) numerousothersmall exhibitorswerethereto showcasetheir latest productsandalsoto networkwith otherfirms .

Partof the exhibitionis public,but veryintense behindthe scenetalksweretaking place betweenexhibitorsthemselves.

It is sometimes interestingto seehow a firm you havenever heardof , but with a goodideato sell,can suddenlybecomethe featurefirm of the day.

IFATCA hada boothat ATC06for the first time this year.Thespacewaskindlyofferedby the organizersin exchangefor some advertisingin our web site and in this magazine.

Thestandwasdecoratednicely(with the kind help of PatrikPetersof EGATS)and mannedby CarolGilroy from Shannonand JeanetteArthurfrom EGATS. We promotedthe Controllermagazineand IFATCA and the responsewe got was extremelygood.

HELIOS Helios,an independentconsultancy firm specializingin ATM(andwho recentlybecame an IFATCA member)organizeda data link workshopduringthe show.Attendedby 130 participants,the debateswereveryinteresting and challenging.Heliosdid alsoa surveyon the EuropeanSinglesky Initiative.Someresults are interesting:on the questionof whether SESAR will deliverit's objectives: 47% of ANSPssaidtheywere not confidentversus 37% who were.Interestingly,on the question of wheredoesleadershipin ATCreside geographically, 76% saidin Europe(but 80% of the respondents were basedin Europe!); however75% of the NorthAmerican respondents alsobelievethat leadershipin ATC residesin Europe.

Finally;on the questionas to which new technologywill bringthe biggestsafety benefitsin the next5 years,30% of respondents namedA-SMGCS ( Airportsurface movementguidance)and 20% CPDLC (data link) as the top of the answers.

26

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EUROCONTROL Not surprisinglyEurocontrolwasveryvisiblein ATC06,especiallywith data link.AlexWandels , Managerof the CASCADEprogramme was surroundedwith questions.

Theyalsopromoted a Workshopon ADS-Band Datalink in ToulousenextApril and controllerparticipation is welcometo the project.

OPENFORUM Besidesthe exhibitionan openforumwas held on the theme: "What will be an acceptable levelof safetyfor the next ATMgeneration?", chairedby PhilipButterworth-Hayes of Jane's.

During the forum , Neil PLANZER of Boeing ATMmadesomeveryinterestingremarks: Hesaidthat ATMis basedon humandecisions; If you observeATCyou will seea dozenfailed decisionseveryday,but without any consequences; they did not causean incident and nobodygot hurt as a consequence.

The64000dollarquestionis how do you keepaccountof thosedecisionsin determining your levelof safety?

Onthe questionof automationof ATChe saidthat moreautomationwill bring its own problems.If we want to go further,he said, engineerswill haveto determinehowwe can safelyget the humansout of the loop,not to

keepthem in the loop ... A provocative thought.

A very well organized and attended event in which IFATCAwas proud to participate.

JANE'SCONFERENCE DuringATC06a majorconference was heldon: "ReshapingANSfor the 21st Century".300 participantsattendedthe conference.

Eanonn Brennan,CEOIAA(Irishaviation Authority)madea presentationon what the EU SingleSkyinitiative(SES)will meanfor European ANSPs,.

Hedoubtedthat with SESit will all becomecheaper,betterand safer. Hesaidthat low costcarrierswererunningthe showtoday and that ANSPshavenot learnedhow to changein the sameway low costairlineshave.

Hesaidthat in the 3rd quarterof 2005alone, the 11 majorUSairlineshad lost US$3.2billion and only3 airlinesin the US(all low cost operators)madea profit . " We needto changethe waywe do business"he said, " but the changesneededare morethan the EU SingleSky".Heasked if thereis a business casefor SES,leavingthe audienceand the EU memberspresentquite puzzled.

A Veryprovocativeand clearpresentationon the situationin Europetoday was madeby EricKroese,CEONVNLThe Netherlands, with the title : Competitionor Co-operation.

Henotedthat optimizingEuropeanairspace in line with SESin this smallgeographical area will inevitablyleadto competingTMA

THECONTROLLER

ATC Maastricht 2006 requirements.

Wealreadyknowthat the most efficientand optimizedTMAsmayverywell extendinto the sovereignairspaceof neighboringcountries,a situationwhichthe SingleSkyregulationis explicitlydesignedto support.Thereare manymoreexamplesof suchcrossbordersituationsto be foundin Europe,and probably elsewherein the world, especiallywherelarge airportsarecloseto present airspaceboundaries.

In the re-positioninggamethat resultsfrom the introductionof the Single Skytheseairspaceissues couldbecomehighly strategicactsand sources for potentialconflict.This leadsto the questionof which powerswill decideif theseairspacerequirements become conflictingclaims,and who arbitrates.Arethey the powersof competition,exploitingevery opportunityof the newframeworkof Common Requirements andANSPDesignation to the fullest,or will Statesenforceco-operationto avoidcompetition,or settlefor strictly controlledand regulated(pseudo)competition that will inevitablydeliverpseudoresults?Will the largeairlinealliances,who area distinct beneficiaryand stakeholder, exercisetheir influencethroughthe part ownershipof the ANSPs they control?

Heaskedif this couldresultin newairspace borders,alongthe linesof competingairline alliancesand theANSPswhich they (seekto) control?

Hesaidairlineshold a strongstakein airspacedesign.Freeand unrestrictedaccess from their respectivehubsto intercontinental routeson the NorthAtlanticandtowardsAsia is vital.Thismayverywell leadto conflicting interestsin the designof FunctionalAirspace Blocksfor both upperand lowerairspaces, becausestatesovereigntyoverairspaceis one thing,but the independence of theANSP designatedto managethe traffic in that airspaceis another.

His conclusionwasthat muchenhancedcooperation,and not marketforcesand competitionwill bringaboutthe necessary improvements in European ATM Alex HENDRIKS, Headof Airspacefor Eurocontrolspokeon the so-called FunctionalBlocksof Airspace(FABs).

Alex madea veryrealisticand to the point presentation,explaininghow a real FAB shouldbe developed.In orderfor peopleto

THE CONTROLLER

understandthe approachand not feel threatened,his presentationused"a Utopian Continent". Zonesof high traffic complexity couldbe easilydefinedandAlex stressedthat ATCin theseareasof high-complexity should not be distributedover2 or morecenters.

FABsshouldthereforebe totally irrespective of nationalborders.But like many, he expressed his expectation that a purelyoperational approachto the development of suchFABswill ultimatelyhave to be balancedwith political, economical, socialand military considerations.

Marc Baumgartner, Presidentand CEOIFATCA: Marc'sspeechwas excellent (asusual).Helistedwhat controllerswant whenfacing newtechnologyand automation.Mostof his speechwill be the subjectof an articlein the next issueof the Controller,whichwill be a specialon ATC automation.

Togiveyou a tasteof what is to come,let mesharewith you oneof his bestpunchlines: Controllershavebecomescepticalabout claimsof reliabilityof systems.Failurerates both occurmorefrequentlyand for longer periodsthan the promisedreliability.I would like you to askyourselfif you would remain confidentof continuingto usea new carwith unpredictable failuressuchas brakesthat mightfail, steeringwhich mayreverselogic and lightswhich maygo dim at night but only oncea monthand for no morethan 5 minutes at a time.Noyou wouldn't,howevermanyof the currentATMsystemsin placedo come with similar"performance"and expectthat simplyadvisingcontrollersthat it will happen somehowmakesit possiblefor the controller to managethe situationno matterwhat elseis happeningat the time.

A sidelightwasthe traditionalJANE'S

·,, we want to_go . : furtt,~r,;enginee;sWill :~_:hive: to. determine :·_;_ ·--HQ''!'/-~~}ansafely / ;. .:_geJJhe_:hii1J1ans out , ~.·i_p_fJh~./o,bp, n,ot•to •·• ;-_ k,e,~pithein:: in._the. /oop '

;,_ c:!(((Neil'PL.ANZEFJf • •.·, .:·1·· '(,,..2 ~(~-\;:...

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. .,_:: ·..:·

Awards2006- Winners Amongthe winnersthis year,two are worth mentioninghere: EnablingTechnologyaward SkyMaster.TheSkyMastersecurenetwork providesa fusionof militaryand civil aircraft positionalinformationand distributesthis to controllersand pilotssimultaneously.

Demonstrated at a GermanAir Forcebasein November2005,the systemusesexisting componentsand displayswith potential applicationsfor taxi situationawareness and airbornesafety.Theprojectconsortium includesDiehlof Germany, IsraelAircraft Industries, Astronautics, 42 Solutionssoftware houseand Eurocontrol.

Contributionto EuropeanATMaward Eurocontrol PRC/PRU. ThePerformance ReviewCommission and ReviewUnit have turnedperformancereviewinto a powerful reality.It's messages areacknowledged as authoritativeand includeeconomic informationdisclosure, efficientuseof capacity,and US-Europe comparisons on productivity.Recentlythe ECinvitedthe PRC to evaluatethe impactof the SingleSkyon ATMperformance.

It haspublishedmany influentialreportsand to date 62% of its recommendations havebeenacceptedby the governingbodiesof Eurocontrol.

27

Asia Affairs

DELAY IN HONGKONGWHOSE FAULT?

by Phil Parker,Asia-PacificRegionalEditor

his is basicallyan articleoriginally written for CathayPacific's'Crews News'.With a minor modification,it couldbe written for any airportin the world. I don't know about you,but I am sickand tired of pilots blamingATCfor delay.My articlefor Cathayis my smallpart in fighting back.

How manypilots havetakenthe easyway out whenfilling in a log or explainingthe reasonfor a delayby blamingAir Traffic Control?I was on a flight last Novemberto Fukuokavia Taipei.Therewasa shortdelayon the push-backwhichwas explainedby the Captainas beingcausedby the fact that one of Taipei's2 runwayswas beingresurfaced.

Thismeantthat all traffic now hadto usethe remainingrunwayand becauseof this there wasa requirementfor moretime between aircraftout of HongKong.A fellow controller, who arrivedthe following dayand wasgoing to the samemeetingas me in Fukuoka, (whichwasall about reducingseparation standardsbetweenHongKong,Taipei&

T

•

Tokyo),saidthat the Captainon his flight simplysaidthat there is ATCdelayout of Hong Kongfor aircraftgoingto Taipei.What a differencein explanationto passengers betweenthe pilots concerned.

Theuseof ATCas a catchall for delaydoes us a disserviceand developsin the mindof the flying publicand someairline companies themselves, the attitude that ATCin Hong Kongis un-caringat bestand incompetentat worst.ATCin HongKongis now handling twice the movementsof whenthe new airport at ChekLapKokfirst opened7 yearsago and with no increasein the numberof controllers handlingit. In addition,the airspacedesign overthe PearlRiverDeltaareais one of the mostcomplex,(noticeI didn't saybusiest),in the world.

Theotherthing concerningdelayis that controllersand pilots look at delaydifferently.

Pilotsareconcernedwith delayto their aircraft only,and that's as it shouldbe.ATCare interestedin '/east average over-all delay

of·

•. lam sick and tired pilots blaming ATC • for delays

to all aircraft'. Ourjob is to makemaximum useof levels,routes,runwaysandtaxiways, while maintainingthe laid down separation standardsrequired.Wedon't playfavorites and we don't deliberatelydelay.In fact each controllercan't wait to get aircrafton their way and out of their airspaceor areaof responsibilityas they are acutelyawarethat there is someoneelsefollowing.

Theprovisionof Air TrafficServices throughoutthe world is drivenby Lettersof AgreementbetweenadjacentFlight InformationRegions.Eachregionapplies separationstandardsin accordance with ICAO rulesand their own ability to handlethe traffic. If you take Chinaas an example,the

-•fo the "'

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if

28

THE CONTROLLER

Asia Affairs airspacestructureis differentto mostother partsof the world with their en-route separationbeingmuchlargerthan HongKong requires.As they improvetheir infrastructure, we can look forwardto theseseparation standardsbeingreduced.In the meantime, however,we mustget aircraftoff the runway here,(and Macao),to enterChineseairspacein accordance with their requirements.

It's the samewith all adjacentFIRsmeaningthat to makemaximumuseof airspace,we needto get aircraftairbornewithin verytight time limits,which in turn meanspossibledelayfor start,push-backand taxi. Evenif readyfirst, theremaybe delaybecauseanotheraircrafton the other sideof the terminal,hasto meetan expirytime. Most of thesedelaysare transparentto pilots and we simplydon't have time to explainin detailwhy they can't get what they want.

In HongKongin particular,a very high percentageof our traffic goesinto,and out of, China.Chinacan,and do, take backavailable levels,routesand alsoincreasethe required separationstandardsat veryshortnotice causingat timesconsiderable delaysto our departures.

Theresultsof delayeddepartures to other aircraftcan havea knock-oneffect with regardsto availablebays,towing and the over-allefficiencyof the aprons.

Talkingabouttowing. ChekLapKokmustbe the tow capitalof the world.Toachievethe requirementto have95% of aircraftparkedon terminalbaysas requiredby their performance pledgeand supposedlythe Airlinesthemselves, the AirportAuthorityrelyon towing aircraft from one bayto another.Now they don't do this themselves.

Theyjust tell ATCthroughthe tug driverthat they want to go from this bay to that bay.ATChaveto arrangeit. We know tows haveno prioritywith regardto taxiing aircraftor push-backs. however,if we don't movethe aircraft,other flights don't get their bayor a pendingdeparturewon't get to the bayrequiredin time to load and refuelfor departure.Eachtow is the equivalentof one push-backand one arrivali.e.2 movements.

Thescheduledmovementrate herewhenbusy is 53 an hour,quite often morewhenwe get bunchingof arrivalsand non-scheduled aircraft bringingit up to over60. It is not unusualget up to 15 to 20 tows an hour,invariablyat the busiesttimesof the day.Thismeansup to 40 extraapronmovements, taking the total apron movementsup to over90 an hour.Guesswho the AirportAuthoritytell the airlineswho is to blameif a bayis not availableor if it can't get an aircraftto a bayfor departure.That'sright, they blameATC.Who doesthe pilot blameif

THE CONTROLLER

--

__ ,,,.------~:,,>--...=-""(-.

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•

Ca

.,......

-~

n Hong- K:on~

•••••Guess who ·the . airport authority tell the airlines who is ·to : blame if a bay is not . • available?

• he can't taxi or push-backbecauseof a tow.

That'sright they blameATC. Weatheris a hugeproblemat this airport with regardto delay.It doesn'tmatterif you are talking about Cb'sor the lightningwarning system,everybodysuffers.Wheneverwe get a lot of weatherdeviation,especiallyin the terminalarea,we haveto start limiting the numberof aircrafton Approachand Departures frequencies.

We haveto start usingmore verticalseparationto allow for deviationand there is a gooddeal moretalking by all concernedoverloadingthe frequencies.

This resultsin an overallreductionof the numberof aircraftcapableof beinghandledbecauseof the frequencycongestionand ad-hoeweather deviation.In severeweatherconditions,we maybe requiredto haveup to 3 minutes betweendepartures.Is this classifiedasATC delay?

Sometimes airlinesaretheir own worst enemieswhen it comesto delays.Theday I wrote this,therewere 9 passengerand 2 freighterscheduleddeparturesbetween7.55& 8.05.At that time of day,we only haveone runwayavailable,which,allowingfor landings, meansan averageof 3 minutesbetween departures.

Toget that numberof departures airbornewould take up to 30 minutes, howeverall of theseaircraftare scheduledto departin a 10 minuteperiod.This,of course,

hasa knock-oneffectwith followingtraffic. Is that consideredATCdelay?

Therehavebeena few timesoverthe years whereATChashadto act as refereebetween pilots from the sameairlinearguingoverthe radioaboutwho wasfirst when aircraftparked on adjacentbaysboth want to start and push at the sametime.Airlinesarenotoriousfor schedulingtheir own aircraftfor the same departuretime and then insistingthat they park next to eachother so they canbe closeto the loungesand for the efficiencyof ground staff and then blameATCbecausethey can't all pushbackat the sametime.Airlines themselvesdo this with the Europeanflights on the Southapronnext to eachotherandthe Australianflights on the Westapronnext to eachother everynight.A340sare scheduled just aheadof B747smeaningthat we haveto havea largertime separationbetweenthem.

In the earlyhoursof the morningwhenwe havea numberof freighterdepartureswe have the sameproblemof aircraftall scheduledto go at the sametime beingparkednext to each other and this combinedwith the usualairport works,the lossof one runwayandtaxiway closurescausesus hugeproblemswith delay.

Pilotsshouldrememberthe nexttime they experiencedelaythat it is othertraffic or weatheror tows or poor airportdesign,or limitedairspaceor airport worksor internationalagreements, or airline scheduling causingthe delay,not ATC.Theyshould rememberalsoa point which is blindingly obvious,and that is we canonly haveone landingor one take-offat a time on any runway.Theyshouldalso rememberthat on everyflight they evermake,at somestage duringthat flight they arenumberonefor take-ofand numberone to land.

29

Americas affairs

TURNING ATCINTOA PROFESSIO

by El KadurAcosta,AmericasRegionalEditor

et's start from the beginning,the conceptualdefinitions:a professionalis someonewho makesa livingout of an activity.Also,maybe definedas someonewho exercisesin a competentmannera profession or an activity.

Thus,a professionshallbe definedas a permanentactivityfrom whichan individual makesa living.Thereare two kindsof professions: empiric,which is learnedby observationand practice,and;academic,which is learnedin an educationcentre.An academic professionalcanreachone out of threelevels of preparation:technical,associatedegreeand graduatestudies.

L

THEIMPORTANCE OFBEINGCALLED PROFESSIONAL In America,especiallyLatinAmerica,a professionaltitle is synonymousof distinguishedstatus. Thisstatusdoesnot only includesocialbenefits,but alsoinvolves certainrightsin exchangefor the professional servicesprovision.

Theparticularcaseof ATCgoesbeyondonly honoraryrightsandbetterworkingconditions:it is alsoa matterof safety.Theexistingtight relationshipbetweenmanagement and safety hasnot onlybeendemonstrated in the aviation industry:incidentssuchastheTromsoTower Case,the Chernobyl disasterin 1986and the EssoLongfordgasplantexplosionillustratethis.

EvenICAOencourages StateMembersto betterplan recruiting,trainingand developmentof their humanresources.

Moreover,recommendations to encouragethe ATSstaff professionaldevelopmentthroughout their career.Amongstotherthingsit couldhelp to reduceATSincidentoccurrence.

Thisis also one of the conclusions of ICAO'srecent RegionalPlanningGroupwithin the CAR/SAM Region.Thelackof recognitionof the ATC profession,lackof careerdevelopmentand reducingchancesof advancingwithin an administrationare,amongothers,someof the humanfactorsfoundcontributingto incidents.

LONGTERMINVESTMENT

As the ATCrecruitmentrequirements increase,

30

This is Key/is, a young controller in the Dominican Republic. She died in the morning of Feb 12th, 2006, in a Cessna • 172 accident together witb 2 other crew'rrreml:iers. Ffer colleagues from t'he Dominican Republic_would like to say a.!fflff.:_:i!i_ /ways be with them.

It is also a matter of safety professionals from otherfieldsjoin the system; someof them believetheir academictraining canbe a meansto contributeto the system beyondbeingAir TrafficControllers,both in their rolesasATCO'sand afterwards.

Amongthesecaseswe find PatriciaFaiia, who getsreadyto becomepart of the new DominicanRepublic's ATCOcropand hasan AssociateDegreein HotelAdministration.In the sameway,Francisco Hernandez, Patricia's studentfellow hasanAssociateDegreein ModernLanguages and alsostudieslaw.Heis attractedby the ATCprofession"becauseof its starringrole in the aviationindustry"as he quotes.On the otherhand,WilliamArcinaas a future CivilEngineerthinkshis engineering knowledgewill help him understandall infrastructurerequirementrelatedmatters.

Thesepeopleexpectto becomefineair traffic controllers, but astheirpassionfor the profession grows,thesystemmayneedthemonceit is time to moveon to anotherstageaswell,but as managers.

Theircasesarenot differentfrom manycurrentATCO's lined-upto becomemiddle andupperlevelmanagement staff.

THEPATH Thepath is not an easyjourney;it takesa lot

of patienceand investment,as IFATCA's Deputy PresidentGabrielaLogattostates.Despite complyingwith the requirements, the paperworkneverseemsto end.Theacademic programmeis anotherissue.TheATCO's academiccurriculummustbe modifiedto fit a profession'sminimumacademicproposal,as any Ministryof Educationdictates;this would meanthe inclusionof business, socialand collegerelatedstudies.

In America,manyMemberAssociations have formulatedtheir strategy,while othershave alreadysucceeded.

Thelatter is the caseof Chile,whereit hasbeenrecognizedas a professionalcareerfor a few yearsalready.

Theirsis a professionalassociation, called "organismocolegiado".Argentinais very advancedtowardsthe recognitionof ATCas a careerand in Mexicoit is recognized as a professionsinceOctober2005.In both cases, with supportfrom the employers.

ICAOadvocatesthe creationof a professionalcareer,as canbe readin the PROFESSIONAL CAREERFORAIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS GUIDE,preparedby the GREPECAS ATC/TF3 ATSProfessional Career TaskForcein 2001.GREPECAS is oneof ICAO's regionalplanninggroups.In mostcountries, thereare legaltools that allow the recognition of an activityas a profession.Thisdocumentis the resultof an IFATCAICAOjoint forceand excellentreferencematerial.

THE CONTROLLER

Interview During the Maastricht ATC event I met Stan Vogels of THALESand asked him his opinions on the latest developments in ATM from one of the largest ATC manufacturers point of view.

Ph : How to you see the current European and USfuture plans?Will there be 2 different future systemsor only one?

SV: In the USA,with their JPDO,Industry participationis voluntary.In Europewith SESAR,Industryparticipationis requiredand paid for. If all work as planned, SESAR will havethereforean advantageand be ready earlier. Basedon this I foreseethat the USwill likelyfollow SESAR , as no-one,especiallythe airlines, will be preparedto follow, and pay for,2 differentstandards.

But alreadyin someregions,likeAsia,our ThalesEurocatis becominga standardfor itself,( laugh !) we haveit now in 260ATC Centersin morethan 100 FIRs.

Ph: What are THALESnew plans: SV: We had a verysuccessfulyear2005with increasedsales,as the whole marketis regenerating.

Wejust completedthe delivery of 3 new centersfor China,and expectmore businessin this area.In 2006we will put a lot of effortstowards our customersto upgrade their existingequipments.Our new markets are likelyto be in China,India,Asiain general.

ForEurope, we are awaitingto see what will comeout of SESAR, but currentemphasis is in cooperationwith our existingcustomers.

Forinstance,with COFLIGHT (the new Flight data Processing systemdevelopedwith a partnershipbetweenFrance,Italy and Switzerland) or with COOPANS, (Sweden, Finlandand Denmark) Our currentobjective is to work evencloserwith all ANSPs. PH:Are thosesometimelarge delaysin deliveringATCcenterssomethingof the past?

SV: Thosedelayswere mostlydueto specific additionalrequirementsor in manycasea resultof requirementscreepingby some ANSPs .. Thetendencyuntil now wasoften to re-createwhat they had in the past,with all particularities.Everyonehasnow learnedfrom this and we stressthat one shouldhavea new conceptof operationsand then useexisting fundamentaltools to achievethis . We believe by makingmaximumuseof existingtools you will savea lot of time and money,and in almosteverycasewe haveseenthe resultant amendments to the systemis minimal.

THE CONTROLLER

INTERVIEW

with with StanVogels,Director,MarketingThales Air SystemsDivisionby Ph.Domagala We now try to discouragenew developments and complexspecifications: they only add costs,maketraining moredifficult and complicatelife cyclesupport.

WeseealsosomeANSPswantingto invest in new technologies(e.g.ADS-B)whensome of the standardsare not yet mature.

Ph : What argumentsdo you useto convinceyourclients?Becauseafter all they are callingthe shotsno?

SV: We havea persuasiveargument: money.

TakeSaudiArabiafor instance,the initial call for tenderhadfar too manyspecific requirements.

Alsotoo manypeoplewere involved,We saidthat the ACCthey askedfor with thosespecificationwill costX millions.

But if they take standardEurocatequipment that will instantlycoverover80% of their requirements, then they canhave2 ACCsfor the priceof one,and that what they did in the end.

Ph:Is this that easyto convince sometimesvery old fashionedNational administrations?

SV: No you are correctit is not alwayseasy, but thing are changing. We are certainly seeinga differentapproachemergingnow.

ManyStatesare now appointing new CEOsto chairor takeover the old national Administrations.

Thosenew CEOsare coming from differentbackgroundand culture,this is drivinga whole new approachto system acquisition.(i.e.purchasingnew equipment andATCfacilities).

Ph:We see here in Maastrichtexhibitiona lot of smallcompaniespresentingvery interestingproductsat a fractionof your prices.Are you afraid of this?

ST: No.Thefinancialstrength we havewill allow us and other largercompaniesto offer innovativenew approachesto system procurementand/orservices.We haveproven that we canbe highlycompetitive,Butyou needto havesmallplayersor companiesas they do bring bright ideasand innovation,but you also needbig companieslike us for service

assuranceand the financialstrengthto guaranteelong term supportandcommitment.

Alsowhengood,small,innovativecompanies are mature, they generallyget quickly absorbed(i.e.bought)by largerones.I believe we are going sooninto anotherperiodof acquisitionsagain.

31

Passengers and gadgets

PASSENGERS ANDTHEIR GADGETS

by PhilipMarien

verynow and then,the mediahighlight the dangersof mobilephoneuseon boardan aircraft.Quiterecently,an Americanstudyinto the problemconfirmsthat the transmissionsfrom mobilephonescan causeproblems,as it interfereswith navigationequipmentas well as with the sophisticatedcomputersthat thesedays controlthe aircraft'severymove.

It's not surprising,as a mobilephoneis a transmitterafter all. Evenwhen you are not makingcalls,the devicewill regularly'checkin' and try and switch to the mostappropriate groundstation or cell. Usuallythis is a brief transmit/receivesequence,unlessthe mobile has problemsreachingan antenna:in that case,it will increaseit's transmitpowerand try again and again to reachantenna'sthat are further away.And becausethe fuselageof an aircraftactsas a Faradaycage,electronic signalshavedifficultiesto get out. Thiswill meanthat a mobilephonewill often transmit at full powerto try and get a good signal.

Most of you will haveheardthis as the static on a normalradio when the phoneliesnearit.

In the aircraftthe energy'bounces'insidethe Faradaycage,it could easilybe pickedup by any of the severalkilometresof wires running throughthe aircraft.Suchroguesignalscould well makeinstrumentsshowfalse information, or resultin roguecommandssent to critical controlsystems.

Until now,only one accidenthas been associatedwith the useof a mobilephone:in February1993,a PiperNavajoChieftainwas on approachto Christchurch,NewZealand.In IFRconditions,the aircraftcrashed2km short of the runway,killing the pilot and seven passengers.

Twopeoplesurvivedthe crash.

Despitebeingbelowthe glide path,the pilots' instrumentshad told him to continue

E

32

descending.

Theinvestigatorsfound the pilot had beenon his mobilejust beforethe glide path signalwas acquiredand the call had ceasedwhen the planecrashed.While the report is inconclusive, no other crediblereason for the crashcould be found.

Overrecentyears,a NASAstudyrevealedat least80 incidentson aircraft,linkedto passengers usingelectronicdevices.About one quarterof thesewere attributedto mobile phones.TheUKCAAfound some35 incidents between1996and 2002 linkedto mobile phoneuse.Noneof thesehaveresultedin an actualcrash.

In additionto the problemsa mobilephonecan causeon board,there'sa lesser know reasonwhy they haveto be switched off in flight: an aircraftcouldbe carryingmore than 400 phones.When flying overa city,these phonescouldbe in the line-ofsight of hundreds of basestations and couldtry to registerwith all of them.Thiswould imposea temporarybut extremeload on the network.Thespeedof the planepassing over the small inner-citycells would alsoresult in an unusually

rapid handoverfrom eelI to cell; possiblyfar in excessof the networks'designlimits.

Interestingly,becauseof this, not only the US FAAbut alsothe FCC,who dealswith communicationissues,hasbannedairborne phoneuse.

Whilethe casefor mobilephonesis pretty clear,a lot of airlinesapplythe samepolicyto PersonalElectronicDevices,or PEDs:electronic organisers,mp3 players,CDplayers,gameboysetc. Most if not all airlinesban the useof theseduring criticaltake-offand landing stages,but someeffectivelybanthem during the whole flight.

As thesethings usuallydo not contain transmitters,what's the problem?

Unfortunately,while not intendedto contain any transmitters,they still radiatesignals.

Most electronicdevicesusehigh-frequency oscillators.An oscillatoris an electroniccircuit that generatesa 'clock pulse'.Highfrequency oscillatorsare definedas generatinga clock pulsehigherthan 100 KHz,or 100.000pulses per second.Theyusethis clockpulseto time events,in milliseconds, andto seewhat they haveto do next.In most electronicdevices, suchan oscillatoroperatesin the megahertz (MHz)range.An annoyingsideeffect of oscillatorsis that they can create

THECONTROLLER

Passengers and gadgets

electromagnetic fieldsthat cantravelwell outsidethe devicein whichthey are operating.

Tocomplicatemattersevenfurther,an oscillatorcannot only interfereon the frequencyit generates:harmonicsis a property of electromagnetic wavesthat (weaker)signals are alsogeneratedat the multiplesof the generatedfrequency.

An oscillatorworkingon 16MHz(like in a portableCDplayer)maywell generatedisturbanceat 32, 64 or 128 MHz. And the latter is in the airbornevoice communications band...

Whileone phonecouldalreadyposea problem,it gets reallyhairywhensignalsfrom severalelectronicdevices'get together'and causehavoc.Thepossiblecombinationsof differenttypesof devices,frequencies, relative locations,etc is endlessand it would be quite impossibleto test themall to guaranteethey work together.What'smore,two devices interferingon two differentfrequenciescan generateda veryunpredictableproblemon sometotally unrelatedfrequency!Imagine what happenson a 747 where75% of the passengers are gaming,talking on the phone, typing on their laptops...

But how aboutthe on-boardsystems themselves?

Dothey not interferewith each other?Theansweris yes,they probablydo. But they do in a certifiedway.Eachpieceof equipmenthasto be testedin the environment

THE CONTROLLER

it'll be installedin and proveit doesn'thaveany nastyside effects.Thiscertification needsto be repeatedfor eachtype,because somethingthat worksfine on a 737/200might not interact correctlyon a 737/300.

Suchcertificationis done in a limitedway for consumerelectronics (e.g.FCCstandardsin the USAor TOVin Germany). for non-critical environments, theseare morethan sufficient.

But they do not test them insidea Faradaycage with 400 other devices!

What'smore, everytime a deviceis repaired,you would needto get it re-tested just to makesurethe repairwas doneproperly and the shieldingwasn'tdamaged.Not a very practicallet alonecheapoption...

Banningelectronicsduringtake-offand landingis only a commercialcompromise: to be completely safe electronics would haveto be banned duringthe whole flight.

Theidea behindit is

that an aircraftin cruisewould haveenough time to recoverif somethinginterfereswith the flight controls.Maybethey counton the fact that most peoplewould put their laptop awaywhen an aircraftstartsplungingtowards the ground?

There'sa strongpushfrom the airlinesto get so-called'pico cells'certified:thesewould allow passengers to usetheir mobilephonesin flight. Insteadof registeringwith groundbased antennas,the aircraftwould haveits own systemwhich relaysthe signalto the ground.

Thiswould avoidthe multiple cell issueand couldalso limit the interferencecaused,as the cell phonewould needvery limitedpowerto transmit.Since9/11,there is alsothe realisationthat passengers canplay a vital role in notifyingauthoritiesof anyterroristactions.

Chancesare howeverthat you'll needa new certifiedphone.Thiswould of coursemake mobilephonecompanieshappy,as you'll need to buy a new phone,as well as the airlines, sinceyou'll probablypaythemfor providing the service...

Otherairlineshowevermaycontinueto ban electronics:ratherthan riskingyour life using yourown walkman,you'll haveto buy 'safe' entertainmentfrom them. In-flightmultimedia systems,includingmusic,games,video,e-mail etc,for whichyou would payof course,would be the only allowablepastimeduringyour 14 hoursflight to Where-ever-istan.

Lastly,modernelectronicgadgetsare not only a problemfor aircraft:a lot of ATCcentres havebannedthemfrom Operationsrooms:not only couldthey interferewith telephoneand frequencychannels,but they coulddisturb screens,computernetworksetc.Not to mentionthe distractionthey probablyposeto the controllersworking...

33

Charlie's Column

CHARLIE'SCOLUMN STRANGEFLIGHTS Forabout200 USOthe Israeliscan now try the experience of becomingmembersof the 5 mile high club.A privatepilot namedTamirHarpaz offersthis serviceon boardhisown small,twin engineaircraft.Theseatsare removedand replacedby a bed.Theonlydrawbackis that the aircraftis so smallthat only a curtain separatesthe cabinfrom the cockpit, but the pilot offersa basketcontainingwine, chocolatesand condoms.

Theflights start fromTel-Avivand canlast up to 45 minutes.Controllersareaskednot to giveabruptchangesof altitudesas this might affectthe outcomeof the flights.

Thisis not a joke but newscomingfrom an Israelidaily newspaper.

safe,orderlyand efficientflow of air traffic.

Let'sstop here;I am sureyou get the message; Soif you want to sayfor instance that; "a Controllerpassesan estimateand controltraffic on airways", usingthis Europeancommission documentationit becomes:"An actorengagesin Information management in orderto performnon-nominal traffic synchronization alonghighways."

Goodluckwith the SES,with this "high level" approach,it is what I call re-inventing the wheelwhile killing thousandsof treesin the process.

totality of the majorUSairlinesare near bankrupt,and needcashdesperately, why not follow the NASAidea?Whataboutshootinga golf ball from the backaisleof a B747,straight throughthe cockpitwindow,whichwill be keptopenuntil 14.000ft for the occasion?For safetyreasonsthe crewwould be askedto wearhelmets.

SPACESTATIONAND GOLF A few monthsago a gold platedsix-iron,three gold-platedgolf ballsand a specialtee were deliveredto the Internationalspacestation.

OVERHEARDWHILE READINGA COCKPIT VOICERECORDER: CAPT1: Thecontrollersaidturn right after the intersectionthenfollow B6 " F/0 2: We are on B6,or is this R4?

CAPT1: Givemethe map,whereis north here?

And,ladies,yesyou are right,voiceson the CVRwere both male.

Theideais that laterthis yeara cosmonaut to hit the ball from the spacestationwhile in orbit.Theball is expectedto travel3 Billion kilometersat a speedof 25.000kilometersper hourbeforere-enteringearthand burningup in the atmosphere.

Butthe ISSprojectmanager is not too happyas hefearsthat if the cosmonautdoesnot sendthe ball straight (doinga "slice" for the insiders)it couldhit somedelicateinstrumentationor end up in the hugesolararrays.Butthe NASAwant this stuntto go on, as it is sponsoredand paid for by a largeCanadiangolf equipment manufacturer, and they needthe moneyto keepthe ISSprogramalive.

Thisis definitelya goodidea.Sincethe near

Nowfor a bit of genderequalityin the process.

Anotherthing overheardon the R/Ton the groundfrequency: Oneof thosebrandnew C-17militarycargo aircraftcomesin to a majorcivil airportand after landing: C-17:(Femalevoice)Reach1234with you on taxiwayB. Groundcontroller:Roger,taxi straightahead, parkon S34.

C-17:Confirm534 is at the end to the right?

Groundcontroller:YesMa'am...

10 minuteslater: C-17 (malevoice)Reach1234is now on S34.

Unidentifiedvoice:Still hadto get a manto park it, hey?

EUROPEANCOMMISSION DOCUMENTATION TheEuropeanSingleSkyinitiativeis startingto producedocumentsat a ratewhich is frightening,especiallyif you lovetrees.It is widely believedthat the Eurocontrolagency with its EATCHIP andATM2000+program wereresponsible for the deforestationof a greatpart of Europein the last 20 years,but if tradition continues,the SESwill beatthem.

Anywaywhile lookingat a documentcalled MediumTermconceptof operations,I could not understandhalf of what waswritten,until I founda smallbooklet:GLOSSARY,

definitionsand meanings Whilelookingat the list I foundthe following (I am not makingthis up, I swear!)

ACTOR:an actoris anythingwith behavior.It mightbe a person,organizationor computer system.

HIGHWAY:Pre-determined routesthat incorporatespecificprofilesestablishedto formalizeand managesystematicflight profilesandprocedures which are regularly adoptedin partsof denseairspaceandbetweenmajorcity pairs.

INFORMATIONMANAGEMENT: Thetimely distributionof relevantup-to-dateand validateddata to thosewho havethe necessary authorizationto accessit.

NOMINAL:Routinesituationwhereno unexpectedor unplannedeventstook place.

NON-NOMINAL:unexpected situationsthat ariseor areforecastto arisein the shortterm.

TRAFFICSYNCHRONISATION: refersto the tacticalestablishment and maintenance of a

34

THE CONTROLLER

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