THE
CONTROLLER September 2009
Journal of Air Traffic Control
INTER-
TION OF AIR TRAFF ERA IC C FED
LLERS’ ASSNS. TRO ON
Also in this issue: 4 ATR72 Accident in Palermo 4 Paris Le Bourget Air Show 2009 4 NATCA-FAA Relations
NATIO NAL
4 FOCUS ON TRAINING
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Contents
THE
CONTROLLER
September 2009 3rd quarter 2009 Volume 48 ISSN 0010-8073
THE
CONTROLLER September 2009
Journal of Air Traffic Control
4 FOCUS ON TRAINING
Photo:
Brisbane Airport Control Tower Cockpit Sukhoi 100
Photo credits: Also in this issue: 4 ATR72 Accident in Palermo 4 Paris Le Bourget Air Show 2009 4 NATCA-FAA Relations
Airservices Australia Sukhoi
PUBLISHER IFATCA, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations. EXECUTIVE BOARD OF IFATCA Marc Baumgartner President and Chief Executive Officer Alexis Brathwaite Deputy President Alex Figuereo Executive Vice-President Americas Henry Nkondokaya Executive Vice-President Africa/ Middle East Raymond Tse Executive Vice-President Asia/Pacific Patrik Peters Executive Vice-President Europe Dale Wright Executive Vice-President Finance Scott Shallies Executive Vice-President Professional Andrew Beadle Executive Vice-President Technical Jack van Delft Secretary/Conference Executive EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Philippe Domogala Editorial address: Westerwaldstrasse 9 D 56337 ARZBACH, Germany Tel: +492603 8682 email: ed@ifatca.org
In this issue: Foreword by Patrik Peters .……..……………….….…………........... Editorial by Philippe Domogala ……………………….…………......... ATC International Day of the Air Traffic Controller …............................ Training Entry Point North by Philippe Domogala .…..............………..... News and briefs Remote towers update: Australia intends to implement! .…................................. News from the Greek Air Traffic Controllers‘ Associaton ..…....………................... Australia ATC training at home: the future by Ainslie Rowland ...................... Russia ATC education and training in Russia by Eduard Kolodnyi ....….........….........….........…................................... Europe Ecole Nationale de L‘ Aviation Civile by Daniel Casanova ..................... Training for Air Traffic Controllers in Germany by Kevin Salter ...………….……..…......................................... USA Air Traffic Control Training in the United States by Clyde Ledgerwood Jr .....….........….........….........…................................ Aviation English Compliance with ICAO English Standards by Graham Elliott .. FABEC looks for more efficient training by Philip Marien ................................... ATR When Justice and Media are Creating the Ideal Culprits …..….................. Interview with Tuninter ATR72 pilots by Philippe Domogala ..................... Le Bourget Paris air show – 100 years by Philippe Domogala ......................... Asia News Controller Aviation English Training in Asia by Phil Parker ............ Books Review AENA Discover series ……….……......................................... Electronic strips by Philippe Domogala ..................................................... Europe News Changing ATC facility by Bernhard Romanik ..................... NATCA Controllers in USA: Hope and optimism by Doug Church ........ Africa News Service delivery in West Africa by Mick Atiemo ............. Special Feature Space junk by Philip Marien ................................... Charlie‘s Corner ……….……....……………..........….........…........
4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 18 21 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 34
Residence: 24 Rue Hector Berlioz F 17100 LES GONDS, France DEPUTY EDITOR AND WEB SITE Philip Marien (EGATS) CORPORATE AFFAIRS Kevin Salter (Germany/UK) REGIONAL EDITORS Africa-Middle East: Mick Atiemo (Ghana) Americas: Doug Church (USA) Phil Parker (Hong Kong) Patrik Peters (Europe) COPY EDITORS Paul Robinson, Helena Sjöström, Stephen Broadbent, Brent Cash and Alexis Brathwaite PRINTING-LAYOUT LITHO ART GmbH & Co. Druckvorlagen KG Friesenheimer Straße 6a D 68169 MANNHEIM, Germany Tel: +49 3 22 59 10 email: info@lithoart-ma.de
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) only when so indicated. Other views will be those of individual members or contributors concerned and will not necessarily be those of IFATCA, except where indicated. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct, IFATCA makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the nature or accuracy of the information. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or used in any form or by any means, without the specific prior written permission of IFATCA.
VISIT THE IFATCA WEB SITES:
www.ifatca.org and www.the-controller.net
Foreword
Foreword from the Executive Board Training – whenever we can get some …
r ic Pat
k Peters (credit: D
P)
Patrik Peters, ^ by Executive Vice-President Europe
Dear controllers around the globe, I am sure you still remember your training days: looking forward to become a fully licensed air traffic controller, finally leaving the nerve-wrecking training time, where your career is put on a knife’s blade, behind you. You anticipated working together with your professional colleagues in a more relaxed atmosphere, concentrating solely on the provision of the services you were trained for – air traffic control!
are faced with a declining number of trainees in many regions of the world, not being able to cope with the global demand on air traffic control staff. Today staff shortage in the European Region amounts to ca. 5% and figures in our other IFATCA regions do not look more comforting.
And where do you find yourself now? Training continues – you are, thanks to a more sophisticated safety culture, following refresher training and CBT sessions to maintain a high level of professionalism. You are attending courses to enhance your managerial, team building and team resource supporting skills. You are trained to operate new highly advanced data processing and flight plan processing systems. New technologies that become an integral part of your day to day work require your constant attention.
Service providers in Europe agreed on a “common core content” of training to facilitate harmonization. These requirements for basic training have seen their inclusion into the European Community directives on ATCO licensing, allowing the aviation community to provide the necessary capacity for growth.
We have seen the importance of continued training as we wish to maintain our high professional goals in a constantly changing, challenging and growing industry. Training requires continuity, agreed standard and resources – both in financial terms and manpower. And it is the continuity, the standards and resources which are at shortfall. IFATCA has always stressed these points to service providers, states and other professional entities. And yet we
This is now being challenged: EASA wishes the ATCO license to become an implementing rule which could, to achieve states’ acceptance, weaken the existing current requirements. Additionally, Functional Airspace Blocks initiatives in Europe will apply market forces to training by creating their own standards to offer short term benefits. These benefits would include a reduction of costs and duration of basic training, ultimately resulting in a deviation from the common core content. One of the benefits of the ATCO licensing in Europe was improved controller mobility. This could be jeopardized by FAB initiatives wishing to protect the efficiency of their economy of scales, but perhaps we
Training in general appears to be undermined by short term thinking.
are painting a too dark picture and Entry Point North (Scandinavian ATC Academy) and FABEC are just going through some rough labor pains? Looking into the future, training also has to reflect the increasing level of automation. There is no space for regional and commercially driven training. Future airspace design associated with a high level of crossborder integration and automation calls for harmonized ab-initio controller training and continuation training standards. Training in general appears to be undermined by short term thinking. Over the last twenty years we repeatedly witnessed ups and downs of staff intakes and shortages. Rather than building on a solid and continuous training rate, a commonly agreed set of requirements and a solid pool of resources, what actually takes place more resembles a fire-fighting exercise. Controllers have had to learn to undergo training throughout their career to maintain and improve their high level of professionalism. Will this learning process also spread to “higher” levels of the aviation community? ^
evpeur@ifatca.org
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Editorial
Editorial Is our training adequate? Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editior This seems a reasonable question to ask if one looks at the reality of the ATC world today, where the overall controller shortage and the need to reduce costs have driven the current mantra “Let’s reduce training time!” Until 15-20 years ago, it was normal for the training of any position with responsibility to possess some general knowledge. Controllers were taught aviation history, advanced meteorology, navigation, and even air law to name but a few. Some were even taught to fly as part of their ATC training. Generally basic theory training could take up to a year. Reducing training time The “let’s reduce training time“ mantra means that today controller training can be reduced to a few months, and only addresses strictly what is needed to perform the job to a basic level. New training techniques such as Computer-Based Training (CBT) and Simulators have replaced most of the (sometimes long and boring) classroom lectures. Automation has replaced many tasks eliminating the need for the controller to “think” about what is behind the current situation, making us more reliant on automation to perform some tasks. As the famous engineer’s saying goes, “You do not need to know how a washing machine works to be able to wash your
Photo Credit: DP
laundry.“ So controller basic aviation training is slowly being replaced by automation training (i.e. how to feed information into computers, and obtain tasks out of them). The same seems also to be valid for pilot training where, especially on fly-by-wire aircraft, the emphasis is far stronger on how to operate the various on-board computers than on actual flying techniques (how to fly aerodynamically an aircraft in unusual conditions). In ATC units where very advanced automation is introduced (like the new FDPS in Maastricht for instance) the same tendency is observed. The primary training is now more directed on how to operate the various computer systems, and basic controlling techniques are slowly becoming secondary. Training and accidents Training issues have been mentioned in the final report of the GOL/Legacy collision in Brazil as some of the major causes of this accident. These issues pertained to both the pilots (flight planning, international procedures knowledge, phraseology, etc) and the controllers (rushed basic training, lack of courses, lack of training records, phraseology, English language, etc). Looking at some of the very recent aircraft accidents one can see a pattern – in most of these, the information released so far
We perhaps need to look again at the way we train controllers, and ensure that it is not restricted to operating ATM computers in a record time. indicates that pilots seem to have been caught, or at least confused, by automation. In three of these (the Turkish airlines B737 in Amsterdam, the XL Airways A320 in Perpignan, and the Air France A330 in the South Atlantic) the failure of a small single point sensor induced false information to be fed to advanced automation computers – the radar altimeter in the B737, the angle of attack sensor on the A320, and the airspeed indicator pitot on the A330. It would seem that the training received by the (very) experienced crews on those aircraft did not allow them to recover the errors. Could we see a similar trend in ATC in the future, where the failure of a single sub system (let’s take a flight plan tracker as an example) could cause, in a very busy environment, multiple conflicts that the controller would be unable to solve? We perhaps need to look again at the way we train controllers, and ensure that it is not restricted to operating ATM computers in a record time. This issue covers many aspects of training. ed@ifatca.org ^ Enjoy this issue,
Philippe
4 Philippe training in an aircraft simulator
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4 ATC 20 October 2009
International Day of the Air Traffic Controller In 1961, on 20 October, air traffic controllers from 13 countries came together to form the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations. After 48 years that fledging organization is now a respected and influential voice in the global aviation community with 137 member associations. In that same year, 1961, Russia claimed a momentous first in the ‘space race’ when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space. Within eight years America made history with Apollo 11 and the moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Then, both of these events were headline news around the world; today, another Space Shuttle or a Russian mission to the International Space Station frequently goes unreported or unoticed by the general public. How can the public’s interest in such incredibly advanced and technologically complex events wane so quickly? One reason is that space travel has become so frequent and for the most part so safe – even the few tragic accidents are seen as the accepted risk of our space adventure.
the dedication and skills of the support teams that ensured the success of each of these brave explorers. The names of Gagarin, Armstrong, Aldrin and Bleriot are famed throughout the history of modern civilisation, but the members of the Baikonur Cosmodrome team, the Mission Control group at Houston and the aircraft engineers in Calais remain nameless. Air traffic controllers provide twenty-four hour support to an aviation system that moves more than two billion passengers annually; these passengers will know the name of their airline; they may even remember the name of the pilot of their flight from the brief but reassuring ‘this is your captain speaking’ message; but they will never know the names of the air traffic controllers who are committed to ensuring that they arrive safely home. An air traffic controller’s voice will never have the profound effect that Neil Armstrong’s simple message ‘That’s one small step for
4 Celebrating the day of the controller in Iran. Photo credit: iran atca
[a] man, one giant leap for mankind’ did. However, every air traffic controller around the world can be proud that on this International Day of the Air Traffic Controller, and on every day of the year, our voices are heard “talking to planes” so that each passenger gets on and off an aircraft with never a worried thought in between. The continuing success of the Federation is but a symbol of the team-work that is air traffic control. Celebrating on 20 October each year is but a recognition that air traffic controllers are a vital worldwide support team critical to the success of the aviation industry. We are all very proud to be part of this team and of the role we play in making aviation safe and efficient. ^
4 Controllers in South Africa Photo credit: atns
The same can be said about aviation generally. In 1909 the world celebrated the first international flight when Louis Bleriot successfully crossed the English Channel by flying from Calais, France to Dover, England. Now 100 years later, thousands of international flights are safely completed every day. What is the common thread linking all of these events? It is
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4 Training Europe
Entry Point North Interview with Anne Kathrine Jensen, Managing Director Entry Point North (Nordic ATS Academy)
Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor
4 Anne Kathrine Jensen Photo credit: DP
Entry Point North (EPN) is the Nordic ATS Academy, set up by Avinor, Naviair and LFV in 2006 and located in Malmo airport (Sweden). Anne Kathrine is the first Managing Director. She is a former controller in Copenhagen ACC and also holds an MBA. She also participated in IFATCA conferences in the past. Philippe: How is EPN doing today? AKJ: We are doing extremely well! When we started EPN, the prediction was train 36 new students a year, but suddenly Avinor (Norway) decided they needed 100 new controllers, LFV (Sweden) increased their requirements too, and today we find ourselves with 220 students from 3 countries attending initial training at the academy. To perform the training we have invested in a brand new simulator platform from MICRONAV providing the student a real life experience. The high numbers of students means we are recruiting many new instructors with ATCO experience. To establish an international environment the recruitment also looks outside our typical Scandinavian “box�: we have recently recruited instructors from the UK, Iceland and New Zealand for instance. Ph: What is your success rate? AKJ: You have to differentiate between success rate assessing/ leaving the training at the academy, which is 90%, to the success rate after On the job training (OJT) at the facilities. The total success rate upon completion of OJT and to fully qualified status is 75%.
Ph: Many controllers are now leaving their ATC careers at a relatively young age. Can training be adapted to reduce this tendency? AKJ: Difficult to say. The young people today are very different from the previous generations. Many enter the ATC profession at a later age. For instance, a typical trainee controller today is 24-25 years old, and has maybe studied something else before deciding to become a controller. Many of the trainees have a diploma in another completely different field. Mobility is also something they are considering when deciding to begin the training. So they will most probably not want to spend their whole career in the same place at the same job. We indeed have to adapt to this together with the Service Providers. Ph: What are your training strategies for the coming 10 years? AKJ: The goal of EPN is to attract students from all over Europe. To meet this goal we must ensure that we can offer the students a best-in-class experience. EPN is actively working towards a harmonized training program. We work closely with Eurocontrol to establish a standard that applies to the safety standards The training is a very important part of air navigation service provision which is why we want to play a leading role in this work. Ph: Are you planning to change some things as a direct consequence of the current financial crisis? AKJ: We have seen some hesitation from the ANSPs as a result of the decline in traffic. However, as many controllers retire relatively early there is a continuous demand for new controllers to replace the ones leaving. The last major crisis in the industry was 9/11. Many ANSPs put a hold on training and they are still recovering from the shortage of controllers. According to Eurocontrol the shortage of controllers in Europe is around 10% (estimated 1500). The current decline could help to level out the actual shortage of controllers but we still see an increased demand for controllers. As we have proved that we
4 Entry point north sign Photo credit: DP
Training is a very important part of air navigation service provision. actually can reduce the cost of training per student we see an opportunity to help the ANSPs to lower their costs by outsourcing the training to academies to the likes of EPN. Ph: Do you envisage developing or introducing new training methods beyond the old classroom lectures? AKJ: The introduction of new simulators gives us an opportunity to improve the existing training methods. We are continuously striving to improve the training methods and by recruiting staff with operative ATC experience from different countries. By using the best experience we believe that we can increase the quality of the training resulting in a higher success rate. Today, the ATS academies face a shortage of instructors as well as there are high costs associated with the training, this is a challenge we strive to solve by introducing improved training techniques and enhancing the use of CBT. ^
ed@ifatca.org
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4 News and briefs
News and briefs: Remote Towers Update: Australia Intends to Implement! Civil air informs us that the CEO of Airservices Australia has committed to the SAAB remote tower concept for Australia. It’s likely that the system will first be deployed in Karratha, Western Australia. This airport has seen an astronomical traffic growth on the back of a mining boom. Although a traditional tower exists, by the time it is recommissioned and staffing issues sorted (almost no accommodation available in the town), there is a real concern the traffic peak may have moved on. The remote tower concept requires relatively little in local infrastructure and the staff can remain in their own centre. As reported in our last issue, many issues remain to be resolved, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped manufacturers selling the system! ^ rob.mason@civilair.asn.au
News from the Greek Air Traffic Controllers' Association Leon TOURNAVITIS, ^ by Greece ATCA Vice President On the occasion of the forthcoming 26th IFATCA ERM in Greece, I would like to make evident to all IFATCA family the situation in Greece. I hope that in the near future when Greek controllers will find themselves far from the modernization already implemented in Europe for years, they shall rely on IFATCA's support and awareness. There is immediate need for the Greek ANSP to gain its own administrative and financial independence. The present bureaucratic structure of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority does not permit any flexibility in decision making process in order to meet the SES legislative requirements. There are significant delays identified already by the EU regarding compliance to the EU regulations due to this old fashion structure. Although for many years the Greek controllers Association (GATCA) strives for changes in the ATC field it seems that there is no political will for real change.The situation as such does not leave much hope for improvements in the ATS field making us unable to meet the users’ demands and to achieve the goal of high quality services to the public. We hope that with your support things will become better soon. ^ leontios@tellas.gr
take control of your training VV ApproachTM is a self-contained training course that teaches the art of Radar Vectoring and the sequencing of high-speed aircraft onto a runway. The recently released Home Learning Edition enables you to test your aptitude for the most complex job in Air Traffic Control in the comfort of your own home, developing sound skills before entering the high-pressure live training environment. An investment in VV Approach is an investment in a career. For details visit our website
www.visualvectoring.com or call +61 7 3899 1173
Visual Vectoring Pty Ltd, Australia
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ATC Training at Home: the Future? Ainslie Rowland, ^ by Visual Vectoring Pty Ltd, Australia The past The manner in which training for Air Traffic control is delivered has not changed since the 1930s. Every controller who has ever done the job has been taught the necessary skills by others – in person. The trainer and the trainee are placed in a situation where aircraft traffic can be managed, either live or in simulation, and a process of ‘osmosis’ takes place; the skills of the trainer very gradually flow to the trainee. Certainly, the introduction of simulators in the 1970s made the process easier, but it did not change the manual delivery method. And, simulators made the process far more expensive, mainly because in simulation both participants are revenue-negative.
Disadvantages of current system Ignoring the massive cost of training by personal contact, the current method has major disadvantages for the trainee, due to the Human Factors associated with training. These factors include any issue that could adversely affect the efficacy with which one person can teach another, or with which one person can learn from another. Such issues exist in all training, but in ATC they become dominant, because of the pressures on the trainee, both from the fact that they are learning a safetycritical job and that their career depends on their being able to learn the required skills. The interpersonal compatibility between trainer and trainee is one of the most significant factors that determine the outcome. A trainee entering ATC, is immediately under pressure, even before the first aircraft is handled. He/she knows that training time is limited, due to its enormous cost. If the necessary skills cannot be obtained in the specified time their aspirations for a career evaporate; there is a ‘brick wall’ at the end of all ATC training. If a trainee reaches that wall without attaining the required standard they can generally forget any ideas of moving into ATC. This training stress is unique to ATC. In any other similar profession (flying, for example), the trainee knows that, if he/she does not pass the first licence test, further lessons can be taken – there is no ‘brick wall’.
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Training can be done anywhere and at any time the trainee desires, even at home, under no learning pressure. Continuity Another factor that affects ATC training is that each trainee is taught by more than one instructor. Every controller does the job, and therefore teaches it, slightly differently. Trainee pilots generally have the same instructor every lesson, one with whom compatibility has been established; trainee controllers generally do not. ATC training blunders on from year to year. Training efficiency never really improves, in spite of all the technological advances over the decades. Enormous amounts of money are expended just to keep up the necessary supply of controllers whilst never-diminishing numbers of (usually young) people have their aspirations dashed, possibly due not to a lack of ability on their part but rather a training methodology that is back in the ‘Dark Ages’.
The solution How is the problem to be solved? Many have tried but none have succeeded, all because the primary cause has never been addressed. Until the manual training delivery method is changed the problem will remain, and ATC training will continue to be the burden on the Aviation Industry that it is.
ing rate, and unlimited practice at handling realistic traffic must be available if successful outcomes are to be achieved. These are what our Radar Approach training course VV Approach provides. For the first time real, high-level, practical training is available, and at low cost. Training can be done anywhere and at any time the trainee desires, even at home, under no learning pressure. The vital change has arrived, and ATC training in the future will be very different to what it has been in the past. It will not be long before full ICAO modules, both theory and practical, are done without the need for a formal training environment. ^
ainslie.rowland@ visualvectoring.com
The only solution is to change to computerbased delivery of basic practical training, something that has been done, in part at least, in virtually every other field of human endeavour. Training needs to be standardised, done at the trainee’s individual learn-
Photo credit: photoeuphoria/dreamstime
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4 Training Russia
ATC Education and Training in Russia Eduard Kolodnyi, ATC instructor, ^ by Rostov-on-Don Training Center, Russia aircraft operations, air navigation, navigation aids, communications, and so on. Simulation is also used extensively under the guidance of qualified ATC instructors to ensure maximum training efficiency, high skill levels and exposures to emergency conditions.
4 Training in Russia Photo credits: EK
Whether or not becoming a controller in Russia is a good idea, I don’t know. But if you want a challenging, but very interesting job – welcome. The "State ATM Corporation of Russia" is the exclusive employer of all air traffic controllers in the country. If you want to be hired by this corporation, you have to pass two important phases.
Basic training First hurdle is a three- or fiveyear degree program in air traffic control at college or university. The program is designed to provide the students with essential knowledge of ATC and includes, among others, aviation law, flight rules, meteorology, ATC procedures,
First hurdle is a three- or five-year degree program in air traffic control at college or university.
Students should be aware, that completing the program requirements does not guarantee employment with "State ATM Corporation of Russia". All the above-mentioned relate to general public applicants only, without any prior experience in aviation. If you have experience as a military controller or pilot you have a good chance to get into a special short training course. It takes about six months to complete this course and start on-the-job training. "State ATM Corporation of Russia" guarantees employment to graduates of this course. At the moment, the demand for new and qualified air traffic controllers is extremely high. As a result, there is one more special program for people with a technical college or institute education. After a test, these applicants go through an intensive training program for twelve months. "State ATM Corporation of Russia" also guarantees employment, provided they: • are Russian citizen; • have at least a secondary school diploma or equivalent; • pass a medical examination; • pass tests and examinations; • have a good knowledge of English; • pass a security background check.
On-the-job training Following the basic training, future controllers then relocate to an airport or air traffic control centres. Before they become certified, they will undergo on-the-job training. This training consists of a combination of classroom, simulation, and on-the-job training at the trainee’s assigned sector. The latter hap-
pens under the supervision of an experienced controller. It lasts from one to six months, depending on the operational environment. Once qualified on the first sector, further training opportunities are available to increase your control area. Each subsequent sector or position takes less time, generally about a month. A controller who fails to complete the on-thejob training can either get a prolongation of this training or may be dismissed.
Differences There are some differences between the ATC training in Russia and in other countries: • There are no private ATC educational institutions or companies; • Rather than specialising in tower, approach or en-route air traffic, students get a broad education about all these functions/ positions; • Despite the growing demand for qualified controllers, young air traffic controllers still have to fulfil their military duty after completing their education. Some of them chose a different career after this and don’t return to ATC; • Especially in the big Area Control Centres, there is no requirement to be certified on all control positions; • New controllers don’t start their career as Flight Data Assistants or Specialist, but start real training on their assigned sector or position; • Controllers must pass a full physical examination each two years; • Licenses need to be prolonged every two years. Also bi-annually, controllers follow a month-long English language course with a test at the end; • There’s no possibility to work abroad with our license. ATC education and training in Russia has been through times of troubles. At one time we graduated more then 500 air traffic controllers per year, but that dropped to an all time low of about 50 at one point. Now, as a result of the increased demand, we can see an increase of graduated air traffic controllers in Russia. I hope this is only the beginning. I’d like to take an opportunity and to wish the ATC training industry around the world to have as many intelligent students as possible. ^ kolodnyi@mail.ru
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4 Europe Training
Ecole Nationale de L‘ Aviation Civile (ENAC) The French Civil Aviation University
^
4 Inside the large simulator room
by Daniel Casanova
ENAC was founded in Paris in 1948 and moved to Toulouse in southern France in 1968. It is a public corporation within the French administration. It operates under the supervision of the Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC – the French equivalent of a CAA).
Over 1600 ab-initio students attend courses at ENAC per year. All French air traffic controllers have been taught at ENAC, since 1948.
ENAC’s mission is to provide both ab-initio and continuation training for the civil aviation community. This genuine University of Civil Aviation offers a wide range of activities which are tailored to meet the requirements of the public and private sectors both in France and in other countries. The curriculum includes general training, specialist Master’s degrees, research, instructor training and international activities.
• Aviation Safety • Aircraft Airworthiness • Cooperative Avionics • Air Operations and Air Traffic Management • Airport Management • Air Transport Management • Satellite-based Communication, Navigation and Surveillance • International Air Transport Operations Management
ENAC is member of the “Aeronautics, Space and Embedded Systems” world competitiveness cluster and PEGASUS the partnership for European group of aeronautics and space universities.
Furthermore, ENAC has partnered with several universities for several Master’s degrees: the university of Tianjin, China; the LUISS Business School Roma, Italy; and in France with the University of Toulouse.
AB-Initio training
Continuation training
Some of the basic courses ENAC offers, enable students to pursue a career in the following fields:
Over the years, this has become a major activity at ENAC. The University has developed their recognized know-how in specific fields to ensure that professionals keep up with the latest trends and developments in their field. Subjects here include: air traffic, electronic systems, information technology, aeronautical techniques, safety, languages and social sciences. ENAC welcomes about 6000 continuation trainees per year, of which about 2000 are air traffic controllers.
• ENAC Engineer, which is a multidisciplinary training course aimed, including aircraft and avionics manufacturing, information technology, airline and airports operations and administrative functions within the DGAC. • Air Navigation Control Engineer: professional training for air traffic controllers working in the French administration. • Air Safety Systems Electronic Engineer: professional training for DGAC installation and maintenance of air navigation equipment • Civil Aviation Design and Operation Senior Technician: professional training for DGAC assistant, aerodrome air traffic controllers • Air Transport Pilot • Aircraft Dispatcher • Aeronautical engineer in China
Specialist diplomas ENAC also offers specialist Master’s degrees. Subjects, taught in English, include:
International activities Since 1949, ENAC has recognised a requirement for international cooperation and exchange as part of its mission. For this reason, over 6000 foreign students or trainees (a large part of them air traffic controllers) from 100 different countries have completed all or part of their training at the University.
Over 1600 ab-initio students attend courses at ENAC per year.
ASECNA (African ATC Agency) and with nine countries in Caucasia and Central Asia; Its instructors teach in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Morocco.
Controller training For a controller , training at ENAC has added value because of the diversity of students, the high qualifications of the instructors and the different laboratories. All aeronautical technologies and technicians are present on the campus. ENAC’s know-how in air traffic control is widely recognized and the ATC department has a European agreement. For many years, the ATC department at ENAC has trained air traffic controllers from many different countries, generally in French language for ab-initio trainees and in English for continuation training. Since 2005, ENAC has hosted ab-initio training for Swiss controllers and since 2008, for Egyptian students. In 2009, they will start training people for the Eurocontrol Maastricht centre. ^
daniel.casanova@aviationcivile.gouv.fr Photo credits: enac
Currently, ENAC provides both ab-initio and specialized courses in English. It liaises with
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Training for Air Traffic Controllers in Germany ^ by Kevin Salter Kevin Salter is Head of Air Traffic Management Training at the DFS Academy at Langen. He joined the DFS in 1994 after retiring from the Royal Air Force in Berlin. Kevin is also IFATCA’s Corporate Affairs member and regularly provides `The Controller´ magazine with its CM feature `Spotlight´. As with many ANSPs, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German Air Navigation Services Provider, established a centralised training center to provide the company with air traffic controllers for the future. Since 1988 the DFS Academy of Air Navigation Services has been located at Langen, 13 kms south of Frankfurt International Airport.
The DFS Academy The DFS Academy has approximatly 250 instructional and support staff. The facility is co-located with the DFS Headquarters and the Langen ATCC and provides training for company employees in all areas that where support is required. The management of
We attract our future controlling staff by the use of an Internet based advertising platform, marketing in the media (TV, Cinema, Radio, newspapers, magazines etc).
the training requirement is divided into two main divisions, these are `Air Traffic Management Training´ and `General and Technical Training´. As the DFS is committed to supporting the worldwide training demands from our ATS partners, whenever possible training courses are provided for various other ANSPs such as Croatia, China, Poland, Estonia etc. Of course controller training in the DFS is a joint effort with operations, however, in this article I will concentrate on the institution training (IT) structure we provide for the preparation of DFS student controllers for both the Tower and Radar disiplines by the Air Traffic Management Training division of the Academy. My department has over 150 teachers and instructors from various counties around the world including Germany, UK, USA, Italy, Australia, Hungary, and India. Included in this number are several non-ATC teachers and instructors who specialise in the teaching of Aviation English, Equipment, Aircraft, Navigation and Meteorology.
Selection Process for Future Controllers Before we can start training we require a process to find the suitable candidates. The selection process for those interested in a future career as an air trafic controller is a joint process using DFS Staff and the external support of the Department of Aviation and Space Psychology from the DLR, the Institute of Aerospace Medicine based at Hamburg. We attract our future controlling staff by the
use of an Internet based advertising platform, marketing in the media (TV, Cinema, Radio, newspapers, magazines etc) and regional recruiters at DFS Units. Those who apply then are processed using the following pre-selection filters: • Paper sift • Biographical Questionnaire • re-selection • Main Selection • Medical The selection criteria results in the fact that to be able to select 100 candidates for training as future ATC controllers, the DFS needs to attract the interest of at least 1500 applicants.
Training Structure Once this selection process is completed the candidates are contracted to the company for training in their required disipline. The license structure of the DFS means that the Air Traffic Controller training is sub-divided into three specialisations. These are: • training for Tower Controllers • training for APS Controllers (Approach control – Lower airspace including TCL endorsement) and • training for ACS Controllers (Area Control – Upper airspace) Due to this licence requirement our training is divided into defined modules that are
All photo credits: dfs
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4 Control TWR simulator
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4 Europe Training dependant on the future role of the ab-initio trainee. These modules are the: • BASIC Course • ADI (Aerodrome Instrument) Course (VFR and IFR Tower Controllers) • RAD (Radar for information purposes) Course • RAD-S (Radar for Separation) Course • APS (Approach and Lower Airspace including TCL) Course • ACS (Area – Upper Airspace) Course
English Training As a pre-requisite to commencing ATC training all students start at the Academy with a 2 week Aviation English course at the end of which is an examination to assess their English ICAO level. All trainees must achieve a minimum standard of ICAO Level 4 prior to commencing their ATC training course.
Basic Course After completion of their English course all trainees commence training with the BASIC Course. This course lasts 17 weeks and focuses on the foundation knowledge and tools that are required to become a controller. The course includes 3 theoretical examinations and 1 practical assessment. For a trainee to continue to the next phase of their training they must pass all examinations and show the required appititude in the practical assessment. On completion of the course the trainees move to the next module for their future role.
ADI Course The ADI course is provided to give the standalone VFR / IFR Tower units the student controllers they require. This course last 16 weeks and focuses on the practical skills that a Tower controller needs to work within the company. The course includes 3 theoretical examinations and a practical examination. On completion of the course trainees are issued with a student licence and sent to their unit to commence pre-OJT and OJT training. In this course each trainee receives practical training in an advanced simulator with the associated feedback and assessment. Note: For the DFS trainees, the RAD course is not conducted separately. It is integrated into the ADI course.
RAD-S Course The RAD-S course is provided on completion of the ADI course to any trainee who requires a radar separation endorsement to the student licence. The course lasts 13 weeks and focuses on the radar skills that are used by the tower control for separation of
traffic in their daily DFS duties. In this course each trainee also receives practical training in an advanced simulator with the associated feedback and assessment.
APS Course The APS course provides the advanced knowledge and practical skills that are required for a controller to provide Approach and lower airpace service. The course is divided into 2 phases and lasts 41 weeks. The course includes 5 theoretical examinations, 2 Phase Reports and 3 practical examinations. In this course each trainee receives a minimum of 500 hours of practical radar training in an advanced simulator with the associated feedback and assessment.
ACS Course The ACS course provides the advanced knowledge and practical skills that are required for a controller to provide an ATC area service in the upper airspace. The course is divided into 2 phases and lasts 37 weeks. The course also includes 6 theoretical examinations, 3 Phase Reports and 2 practical examinations. In this course each trainee also receives a minimum of 500 hours of practical radar training in an advanced simulator with the associated feedback and assessment. Note: In the near future the ACS course will be de-centralised to meet the needs of our
4 Tower simulator room Upper Area Control Center at Karlsruhe. This is required as specialised knowledge of the VAFORIT system is paramount and therefore the last 11 weeks of the course will take place at Karlsruhe using their instructors with the required valid sector and equipment endorsements under the supervision of the Academy.
Conclusion The DFS Academy has a proven excellent training record. One important factor in maintaining this record is the dedicated staff who ensure that all efforts are made to provide an interesting, enjoyable and successful training environment. This environment combined with the large amount of practical exercises that support the training modules meant that the Academy achieves an IT pass rate of trainees into OT of over 90%. ^
kevin-john.salter@dfs.de
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4 USA Training
Air Traffic Control Training in the United States ^ by Clyde Ledgerwood Jr Clyde Ledgerwood Jr, a former FAA controller / manager, is now employed at the DFS, German ANSP, Academy at Langen near to Frankfurt International Airport. He is currently working as a specialist advanced ATM training instructor. A prominent economist once said that the greatest single impact on the US economy during the late 20th century was the air traffic controller’s strike of 1981. If the disruption, or inability of the air traffic system to function properly, had such a dramatic impact on one of the world’s major economies, what happens during difficult economic conditions if the air traffic system is unable to function properly because of a lack of qualified controllers? Training is paramount in the maintenance of a quality air traffic system; hence, air traffic training is paramount in the maintenance of a healthy economy. A recent article, July 09, on www.aero-news.net, announced that the FAA plans to hire 15,000 air traffic controllers over the next 10 years. This is indicative of an aging air traffic community and the re-
4 US academy students Photo credit: CL
surgent importance in air traffic training. For the most part, this is reflective of a global air traffic controller shortage. The United States has, historically, been one of the world leaders of air traffic control training; therefore, in this issue we will closely examine how they accomplish this task. The U.S. air traffic system spans much of the world. From the South Pacific islands of Pago Pago and Kwajalein, to remote area of Alaska (mere miles from Russia), to the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico; U.S. air traffic controllers ensure flights reach their destinations in a safe, organized, and expeditious manner.
Training and potatoes Training, especially air traffic control training is much like potatoes. There are many ways to prepare potatoes; Boiled, fried, baked, mashed, au gratin, soup, etc. The desired result is three fold, to be filling, to be Photo credit: demonike/dreamstime satisfying, but, most importantly, to be capable of sustaining life. Concerning air traffic training, there are many venues and approaches to training; however, much like potatoes, the desired result is also three fold; an individual who is capable of providing air traffic control that is, organized, expeditious, but, most importantly, safe.
In order to achieve these lofty goals and maintain the highest standard in the air traffic environment, sound training is fundamental to success.
Mike Moroney Aeronautical Center The Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic academy is located at the Mike Moroney Aeronautical Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Under the oversight of David Haddad, Air Traffic Division Manager, and his talented staff, new ATC hopefuls enter the initial phase of transformation. Background and experience play an important role in the determination of what training syllabus will be followed. Applicants often have previous air traffic experience in the military, or Department of Defense (DOD). Others are graduates of a Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) school. These are colleges and universities, with which, the FAA has partnered. These schools offer two- and four-year non-engineering aviation degrees that focus on basic courses in air traffic control. Other applicantants, without any air traffic experience, are admitted based upon pre-employement testing and screening.
Levels of instruction and associated timeframe Depending upon which option the trainee is assigned, (en route, tower, or terminal radar), the first 5 weeks (25 days) of instruction is dedicated to Air Traffic Basics. During this period, classes will cover subjects such as, aviation weather, airspace structure, air traffic rules, dynamics of flight, separation, and phraseology. Upon completion of this phase of training, additional option specific instruction begins. Predicated on the speciality which the individual will follow, the training will last up to 13 weeks, (66 days). This period is divided into two well defined areas; low-medium fidelity simulation, and high fidelity simulation; both of which entail additional classroom instruction. The success of each phase of training is measured by a series of examinations
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4 USA Training to the laboratory predicated on the type of radar equipment they will encounter in their assigned facility. Each laboratory will accommodate 6 students and 6 instructors. Additional monitor positions are also available. Currently, two STARS Labs and two ACD labs are being utilized. The en route students receive their simulation training in on of the two simulation laboratories available. Again, this high fidelity training has proven to be an effective tool in the development and refinement of basic air traffic skills. Each lab has 10 training positions.
Summary
dispersed throughout the instruction. Each course culminates in a performance verification process. It is at this point where full performance controllers from the field, generally, supervisory personnel, gather to evaluate each student individually. The exercises are designed to measure the student’s ability to apply basic air traffic control procedures under limited traffic conditions in a simulated environment. Successful completion of the requirements of the F.A.A. academy now allow the student to enter the individual training programs at their assigned air traffic field facilities. The instructional tools and teaching methods at the academy are as diverse as possible to achieve a quality product.
Low fidelity non-radar en route lab Low fidelity training is used to illustrate and apply non-radar separation techniques and develop essential skills associated with procedural control. This low technology is designed to use constructed air traffic scenarios as teaching tools.
Tower simulation laboratory In the tower simulation laboratory, low fidelity training is utilized in conjunction with classroom coaching to teach airport surface and local control concepts, principles and techniques. The model airport layout is configured to a table top with a variety of aircraft/vehicle types.
Interactive Instructional Delivery System (IIDS)
The U.S. system of air traffic training is only one among many global institutions; but it has proven to be a good one, if not great one.
The FAA Academy presently has 9 Interactive Instructional Delivery System (IIDS) Labs to provide low to medium fidelity training. Used in both the en route and terminal initial qualification programs, this type of instruction provides interactive simulation exercises and has additional academic application. The simulation scenarios (part tasking) use Academy developed software.
As long as safety remains the focus and goal of the air traffic profession, neither economic constrains, current or future, nor technological advancements, will diminish the global demand for quality air traffic training. Irregardless, of how you eat your potatoes. ^
Tower Simulation System
clyde.ledgewood@dfs.de
During the 37 days training days, the Tower Simulation System is used to provide high fidelity training and can be utilized for site specific locations should the need arise. It has proven to be an effective tool in the simulation arena. Presently, 10 labs are in use and 4 more are scheduled to be operational by the Fall of 2009.
Radar Simulation Terminal radar simulation utilizes two different types of laboratories; the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), and the ARTS Color Display (ACD). Pictured above is one of the STARS simulation laboratories. Students are assigned
Air traffic training is paramount in the maintenance of a healthy economy.
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4 Aviation English Training
A teacher, a few participants, a few books: a recipe for disaster. terials and pronunciation courseware than to develop your own.
Photo credit: A.B.
C: Create Program Design and Content As well as buying training materials and preparing classroom materials your instructors will have to customize program delivery to suit your needs, to allow for local work schedules. Some questions to ask are: Where will you conduct the classes? How many hours daily/weekly? How many participants per class? What specialist equipment do you need? You may seek to use authentic ATC recordings for customized activities that address your local needs.
Compliance with ICAO English Standards: How to Train and Test? guidelines and questions ^ Some by Graham Elliott Graham was Program Manager at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City to establish the FAA training response to address ICAO Doc. 9835 issues. Today he works in Iraq installing English testing & training on contracts with the USAF and Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority. There are no short cuts in language learning. Time, motivation, and mature effort are always required. ICAO Doc 9835, Chapter 4. 6. page xi
There still appears to be a lot of uncertainty on what to do about English training and testing for pilots or controllers to meet the ICAO English directive by March 2011. To guide you, the writers invite requests for clarification of information in this article and requests for development of plans; contact information is at the end. To install efficient English train-
ing and testing we suggest you identify six phases in the process. A: Analyze your Organizational Needs To identify your specific needs, conduct benchmark testing to do two things: 1. measure the size of the issue for budgeting and programming, and 2. use the test results to analyze specific learner needs to be remedied in the training. There are now two dozen Aviation English tests on the market; only three of them that conform to the ICAO recommendations on testing have published data on how the test performs. If you use a poorly designed or unprofessionally prepared assessment you won’t be able to make reliable judgments from results – use the brief ICAO test checklist at www.icao.int/anb/fls/ AUD001/checklist.pdf to help you decide. B: Build the Budgetary and Staff Resources Plan to start with your best English speakers – in this way you’ll return qualified people to your staff rosters faster. To be ready for March 2011, if you do not already have solid English training already in place, use experienced aviation English consultants and training contractors. It is less expensive to buy published aviation English training ma-
D: Deliver the Training Most people believe they start here: a teacher, a few participants, a few books – a recipe for disaster. You will find that well-qualified instructors can make a range of materials work while automatically managing varied learner levels, meeting individual needs, and motivating people to be successful. Poorly prepared instructors, who don’t know how to help people learn English, will destroy even the most carefully planned activities. E: Evaluation Process Your aim is to prepare valid, reliable, efficient, and fair assessment for your employees. Information from this testing provides for course placement, identifies what’s needed in training, and allows you to conduct licensing that meets ICAO English directives. V: Validate your Program To consider how you could do the same job faster and cheaper, measure impact of the program by using course feedback and job performance data. Validation processes look at how you analyze English training needs, your program design and length, suitability of instructors, classroom materials and equipment, testing and licensing processes, and should reduce costs. Two Final Words Don’t bring this costly problem inside your organization. Tell candidates with weak English, “We want to consider you for future work with us. Please come back and see us (in 3 months) and we’ll test your English again.” And lastly; aim high. The ICAO L4 Standard was not established by empirical research – you may find that you assess employees as meeting L4, but English-on-the-job does not allow fully independent operation. ^ Comments to: elliottgr@yahoo.com or thomsonac@yahoo.com
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FABEC Looks for More Efficient Training Philip Marien, ^ by Deputy Editor As reported on in previous issues, one of the results of the European Single European Sky (SES) initiative is the creation of several socalled Functional Airspace Blocks or FABs. One of those, the FAB Europe Central, has the commitment of seven air navigation service providers (ANSPs) in six European States: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The seven ANSPs are Belgocontrol (BE), DFS (DE), DGCA-DSNA(FR), LVNL (NL), skyguide (CH), ANA (LU) and Maastricht UAC (currently providing upper area control for 4 of the 6 states already). As with others FABs, the main goal is to increase ATM performance by creating a flexible, harmonised and seamless network, independent of national boundaries. This should eventually lead to greater safety and improved capacity and cost effectiveness.
Basic training Especially in these times of economic turmoil, every efficiency initiative counts. One of the first concrete projects the FABEC has recently undertaken involves the basic training module for Maastricht UAC student controllers. Since the early 70’s, the first phase of their training took place at Eurocontrols’ own institute in Luxembourg. This phase comprises mostly theoretical subjects, such as rules, regulations and meteorology. Since October 2008 however, Maastricht UAC, skyguide, Belgocontrol, DFS and ENAC (Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile) have made important strides towards greater cooperation for the provision of basic air traffic controller training – a training phase lasting approximately 15 weeks – for future Maastricht UAC controllers.
After the 15 weeks, the students go to Eurocontrol’s own training institute in Luxembourg. There, they continue their training to obtain their area rating. The final stages of their training take place at the Maastricht Upper Area Centre in the Netherlands. Following simulator and on-the-job training, they obtain their sector qualifications in one of the three main sector groups at the centre. On average, a trainee is expected to be fully qualified in 2,5 years.
4 The FABEC area covers a large
part of the core area of Europe Photo credit: FABEC
Especially in these times of economic turmoil, every efficiency initiative counts.
Competence In the domain of controller competence assessment, LVNL and Maastricht UAC also undertook to cooperate more closely. As part of its training process, Maastricht UAC will therefore start to use a methodology developed by LVNL, called CBAS: Competence Based Assessment System.
Task Force is currently looking into how the duration and schedule for all the different training phases can be harmonised across the board, providing further synergies and flexibility.
The system is comprised of a set of tools which allow student air traffic controllers to be assessed and monitored objectively throughout their training. One of the strengths of CBAS is that potential trainee weaknesses are spotted and pinpointed at a very early stage, allowing for additional targeted training. This should increase the trainee’s chances of success and ultimately benefit the overall effectiveness and cost of the training process.
FABEC is looking as well in a much closer cooperation in selecting the future Air Traffic Controllers. Beside the effect of harmonization an improved quality of students at a lower cost for selection is the aim.
Harmonised Finally, the FABEC Training Task Force is currently developing a common basic training course, which will be used in future throughout the region. Since this course will be completely harmonised, it will be possible to embark on any subsequent training phase (e.g. rating training for tower, approach or ACC), regardless of the training station within FABEC. In addition, the FABEC Training
As training is usually the entrance to an ANSP, harmonized training across FABEC will serve well as catalyst for further collaboration in operations. ^ webmaster@the-controller.net
4 MUAC students together with Patrick Coppens, ATC Training Center Manager Belgocontrol Photo credit: Belgocontrol
Instead of going to Luxembourg, a first group of MUAC student controllers started their training at skyguide in Zürich. The second group started in March 2009 at Belgocontrol’s premises in Steenokkerzeel and the third group went to DFS, Langen, in June 2009. Another group is due to join ENAC (see elsewhere in this issue) in Toulouse, France in January 2010.
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4 ATR
When Justice and Media Create the Ideal Culprits The Facts in Brief: On 6 Aug 2005, an ATR72 from Tunisian airline “Tuninter” was on a flight from Bari (Italy) to Djerba(Tunisia). After 50 minutes flying time over the sea, it suffered a double engine failure at FL230. Fuel indication was 1800 Kg, and the crew attempted to restart engines following standard emergency procedures. When it became evident that a restart would be impossible, the crew asked to divert to Palermo (Sicily) or any nearby airfield. But there was no other than Palermo. The altitude by then did not permit the aircraft to reach the airfield, and they ditched some 20NM before the airport. Of
the 39 persons on board, 16 died, including 2 crew. The captain and co-pilot survived.
the gauge, and not to an independent sensor in the tanks.
The investigation identified a faulty Fuel Quantity indicator. On ATRs, this gauge is digital (see photo) and although internally different between the smaller ATR42 and larger ATR72, they look physically the same and were interchangeable. But each model has different shaped tanks, hence providing different indications. On a previous maintenance intervention, the smaller quantity ATR42 indicator was fitted in error to the ATR72, and as a result about 2000 Kg more was displayed on the fuel gauge than the actual amount of fuel present in the two tanks.
A media campaign against the pilots and the airline ensued in Italy, but curiously not against the aircraft manufacturer ATR, and this despite calls within the industry to modify the fuel gauges to prevent a recurrence. The Italy Safety Board issued safety bulletins first one month after the accident (ANSV 6 and 7/05) and another on the fuel level gauges in December 2005 (ANSV 13/05) requesting EASA to change the certification of ATRs.
No-one spotted the error until that fateful flight. In addition, the low level fuel warning system (a light and a chime) that should have warned the pilots well ahead that there was a fuel problem did not activate because on ATRs it is linked to the numbers displayed by
4 Both pilots Photo credit: DP
The ideal culprits:
Interview with Tuninter ATR72 Pilots Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor During the IFALPA Accident Analysis and Prevention (AAP) Committee meeting in Casablanca last May I had the opportunity to interview both pilots involved in the crash: Capt. Chafik Gharbi and First Officer Ali Kebaier.
Both pilots (together with technicians and management from Tuninter) were prosecuted by a Judge in Palermo for homicide. No one from ATR was prosecuted. The verdict in March 2009 condemned everyone to long sentences in prison. Each pilot received 15 years jail, reduced to 10 years because a fast trial option was agreed. They are planning an appeal. ^
Philippe: How do you feel after this verdict? Capt Gharbi: We both feel really, really sorry for what happened to our passengers, and to our friends the two crew members, who died in this accident. It is a very difficult emotional thing for us. But we are also victims of this accident, yet we were treated as criminals both in the Press in Italy, and by the Italian judges. The verdict fell on 23rd March 2009 – it was for 10 years jail for each of us, and we feel frustrated and sad after this verdict. Philippe: Do you feel you had a good defense? Capt Gharbi: There were nine people prosecuted from our company, including the mechanics, the Technical Director, and the CEO. So Tuninter provided us with a team of lawyers. We all agreed in advance that the interests of everyone would be safeguarded. I think we got best possible defense, but it did not help much in the end. F/O Kebaier: If I had the possibility, I would have preferred to hire my own lawyer, but the costs were prohibitive. I could never afford this. Capt Gharbi: Yes, good international lawyers are very expensive, and we could not afford that by ourselves. I think however that we got one of the best lawyers via the insurance company.
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We are also victims of this accident, yet we were treated as criminals. Philippe: How did the Judge treat you? Capt Gharbi: I think we were treated like criminals, and many things were unexplainable. For example, just before touching the water, as the manufacturer check list states, I increased pitch to get slower and smooth in the water. And while doing this the stall warning alarm chimed and was heard in the CVR tape. The judge concluded that we were flying in a reckless way! F/O Kebaier: The Tunisian authorities were kept out of the investigation, so was the French BEA by the way, the Italian Judge argued that the crash had happened in their territorial waters and that according to ICAO Annex 13 Italy was the only body able to make the investigation. But the position of the crash was in international waters according many others, especially if one uses WGS84 coordinates, and our government contested Italy’s position on this. Philippe: How were you treated by the media? Capt Gharbi: The Italian media was terrible to us. There were television programs made where the ”experts” were the family of the victims or passengers. No-one ever asked us for an interview or even our opinion. Even when National Geographic made
a reconstruction of the accident, the families of the victims got to speak but we were never asked. It is all biased, and we have the impression that all this was a coordinated set-up. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was leaked to the press in flagrant violation of Annex 13. But they leaked only the last 6 minutes, not the full 30 minutes, because in the other 24 minutes one can see how Italian ATC handled us. Some British media translated the words I used invoking God just before ditching as “Pilot was reading the Koran instead of following procedures” to make us look like ignorant and religious fanatics…
whole system is based on that wrong information. Same for the fuel low warning – it is not independent, but based on the master gauge. So we received no warning at all. When the engines stopped, we still had 1800 Kgs of fuel indicated and no low fuel warning. Therefore we followed the procedure and tried to restart the engines. Had we received a low fuel warning, we would have of course reacted differently.
Philippe: What went wrong according to you? Capt Gharbi: We never knew that we had the wrong fuel gauge or a wrong fuel indication. For us we departed Bari with more than enough fuel. We had refueled there. But in an ATR, when you ask for fuel, the amount is diminished by the amount left inside the tanks. This amount is visible on a small indicator outside beside the central refueling point (both tanks are refueled from a single central point) and the amount shown there is just a repeat of what the master indicator says in the cockpit. It is just a slave. So if the master indicates or says something wrong, the
Philippe: Did you have contacts with ATR after the crash? Capt Gharbi: No, never. We learned they denied all the points about the fuel gauges swap possibilities, arguing that it was the responsibility of the mechanics to verify the part numbers before refitting a new part. On the low level alarm, they said that having a separate sensor in the tanks to determine actual fuel level was not a requirement and not part of European certification. Same
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4 ATR thing for the outside refueling indicator. These were latent errors in the system. There was a similar incident-error on an ATR in Germany a year after us (see box), but fortunately for them the aircraft was in transit and it was the same crew before and after the gauges change, so they could spot the fuel error. F/O Kebaier: Now ATR has quietly modified all its new
We never knew that we had the wrong fuel gauge or a wrong fuel indication.
4 Sevenair ATR 72 Photo credits: ATR
aircraft (the 500 series) which was never in the news like we were. We feel like we were the scapegoats, and that the justice system in Italy made us the ideal culprits. Everyone focused on “pilot’s errors” and the Italian and British media helped in that matter. Capt Gharbi: On the National Geographic TV program everything was very one-sided. Only the families of the victims, the Italian Civil Aviation authorities, and the manufacturer ATR were interviewed. The Tunisian side was totally absent, no-one from our DGAC, the airline, the pilots or the mechanics. Even the “expert” pilot interviewed was an ATR test pilot!
ATR Response: During the Paris Air Show I met with David Vargas, Press Relations with ATR and asked him for their side of the story. He confirmed that both gauges were physically interchangeable, but that under normal operations it is impossible to mix them up as they have different part numbers, and that after removal/ installation, a series of verifications have to be made to check that the correct part is in place and works properly. In the case of Tuninter, the investigation said that both processes (part number verification and verification after installation) were not done by their mechanics. I then asked whether a modification had been made in the meantime to prevent physically a wrong installation. The answer was no, nothing had been changed because there was no need if the mandatory procedures to install them were followed. As to the Low Fuel Warning system, “There has been (since 1997) an independent warning system not related to the fuel gauge readings in the ATR aircraft, and standard in all new ATR models, with possibility of retrofit into previous models. ATR developed this double and independent warning system even before any recommendation of the certification authorities.“ he said. ^
The Incident In Düsseldorf, Germany – 2006 On 18th March 2006 during flight preparations for a flight from Düsseldorf to Dresden, an ATR 72 crew noticed a difference of about 1,800 kg fuel between the remaining fuel quantity after the last flight and the currently indicated one. Because there was no explanation and no refuelling order the crew refused to fly and insisted that the matter was looked into. Maintenance checked the aircraft and determined that a Fuel Quantity Indicator (FQI) of an ATR 42 had been installed during the previously performed maintenance work. This FQI indicated a fuel quantity which was about 1,800 kg higher as the actual one. (source: German BFU). ^
EASA Response: As a result of the Tuninter accident and the German incident, EASA issued a safety recommendation in 2006: Safety Recommendation GERF-2006-014: EASA should arrange that the construction of one of the Fuel Quantity Indicators (FQI) of the ATR 72 or ATR 42 be changed to such an extent that they cannot be interchanged any more. ^
4 The ATR42 (top) and ATR72 fuel quantity indicators
Philippe: What are you both doing now? Capt Gharbi: In the accident I was seriously injured (compression of the vertebral column) and was on sick leave for two years. I am now responsible for training, I am an SFI (Simulator Flight Instructor) and I have not flown again. F/O Kebaier: I am back at work as a co-pilot for Sevenair since 2007. Capt Gharbi: We would also use this opportunity to thank all who supported us since the beginning: Eurocockpit (ECA), IFALPA, USALPA, ANPAC (the Italian Pilots Association), IFATCA, AMPL, BCPT (the Tunisian Pilots Association) and many around the world. ^
IFALPA Backs Demands to Reinstate Captain The Bureau de Coordination des Pilotes Tunisiens (BCPT) launched an awareness campaign in support of Capt. Chafik Gharbi, the commander of the ill-fated Tuninter flight UG1153. The BCPT is calling for Capt. Gharbi to be returned to flight status forthwith in recognition of the outstanding airmanship he, together with his First officer, displayed when they were forced to ditch their ATR72 in the open sea off the coast of Sicily following a double engine failure. The BCPT has repeatedly requested the Tunisian Ministry of Transport to reinstate Capt. Gharbi’s licenses but so far these private entreaties have met with no response. It is this lack of response that has lead to the launch of the public campaign. In addition to its work behind the scenes, IFALPA is also throwing its weight behind the public campaign. Commenting on the case, the Federation said that it “is dismayed by the fact that Capt. Gharbi is unable to practice his profession through no fault of his own”. Noting that the technical investigation into the circumstances leading to the crash revealed that the flight crew reacted to the loss of power in a textbook fashion the Federation cannot understand why there is a delay in reinstating his flight privileges and insists that this miscarriage be corrected forthwith. ^
ed@ifatca.org
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4 Le Bourget
Paris Le Bourget Air Show 2009 100 Years! Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor As Editor of The Controller, I was invited to attend the 100th Paris Air Show in Le Bourget on 18 June. For its 100th anniversary, one would have expected some glamour and festivities, but in fact the economic crisis turned it into a rather lower key than usual event. There is no money available, and that showed. Approximately 140,000 trade visitors attended (some 10% less than the previous event 2 years ago), but considering the effects of the crisis this can be judged a success.
The new aircraft There was only one new civil aircraft present – the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (a regional jet looking much like an Embraer 175) and it did not take part in the flying display (at least when I was there), which was a pity because it looks promising (see box). The two missing stars were the Airbus A400M (the Hercules replacement) and the Boeing 787, both of which should have been there two years ago. Huge development costs for the engines of the A400M, and technical difficulties with composite for the B787, have caused these delays. Boeing was present but did not bring any aircraft, and when questioned about its ambitious
ATM plans and latest B787 avionics replied very embarrassed that no-one was there from either of these projects, and that the financial crisis has changed some priorities. The B787 will fly “when it is ready“. After the show we learned that some more serious structural problems have been identified and that the project is even further delayed. I talked to a few Airbus A380 pilots, who reported that everything is now under control, no major problems with production any longer, and deliveries are back to normal. We as controllers should see more and more of them in the coming months.
News in ATM I visited the standard ATM stands, and there were lots of projects but all on paper as usual. Thales is now part of SESAR JU, and is developing a new ATM console based on the auto industry, but unfortunately I was not able to see it.
Controlling UAVs (Unmanned Aircraft) The French military have now a large UAV (the HARFANG, see photo) a 1.3 ton 17m wingspan aircraft. It is the size of a business jet, and cruises up to FL250 for up to 24 hours at 110
kts. They currently have three based in Afghanistan, and two in France. They are piloted from the ground , and a pilot can handle two UAVs at the same time. The take-off and landing are automatic, and in case of an emergency it will find an airport and land using the ILS signals. I talked to one of the pilots, and was shown the system, which was very impressive from an ATC point of view. There will be many more UAVs in the near future. For instance the French Police are interested in them, and are evaluating the Harfang. For the Pope’s visit to Lourdes in the south of France a few months
For its 100th anniversary, one would have expected some glamour and festivities.
4 A380 during the show THE
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4 Le Bourget
The aim is clearly to have all UAVs flying in all airspace alongside civil traffic at all altitudes.
4
ago, a UAV was (unknown to the general public) used to ensure security above the cities where the Pope was present. At the moment it is used in civil airspace only by segregation (i.e. creating temporary prohibited zones). However they want to use them everywhere without restrictions, and for this they need a tool to avoid civil aircraft which I was advised is their primary problem.
Harfang UAV on display
For this the European Defense Agency has just given EUR 50 million to a consortium to develop a system called MIDCAS for Mid-air Collision Avoidance System (nice name!), to act as the “sense and avoid” system for UAVs. The system must be reliable, cost-effective, and the technical description should be available within 4 years. The aim is clearly to have all UAVS flying in all airspace alongside civil traffic at all altitudes. According to them, Eurocontrol, Eurocae, EASA, and RTCA are currently working on the “sense and avoid” standards.
4
Cockpit Sukhoi 100
Sukhoi Superjet 100 – ATC relevant characteristics. Passengers: 78 to 98. Cruise speed: Mach 0.78.
Max Flight Altitude: FL 400. Wingspan: 91 feet/28 metres.
Western avionics, and in feet (a first in Russia!). Will be certified by EASA at the same time as in Russia. Price: aprroximately 15-20% less than its competitors. Currently two prototypes flying, production has started, with 100 aircraft ordered so far.
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4 Le Bourget
Airbus A380 new features Airbus is incorporating many new systems in its A380, and some of them have direct influence on ATC. We knew about the “brake to vacate” feature (covered two years ago in The Controller) in which the pilots have a display of the airport layout on one of their screens during approach and they can select a runway exit, put the brakes on “Auto”, and the auto-pilot and auto-throttles will ensure that the speed of the aircraft will be below 10 kts prior that exit. Another feature is the runway overrun protection. If at anytime during the approach some detected parameters change (speed, wind, etc), the computer may call “Runway too short“ or “Land anyway“ helping the pilot to make the final decision (pretty easy I would guess).
TCAS RAs flown by auto-pilot. The last feature is far more controversial among pilots – it is the automatic following of TCAS RAs by the auto-pilot. The system, when activated, will display the word “TCAS” on the auto-pilot screen and then, should a TCAS target turn into an RA, the auto pilot will follow the RA. I was told that these “auto-pilot flown RA” are flown in a much smoother way than manoeuvres executed by human pilots and that they are then unnoticeable by the passengers, and this even in a sense reversal RA (e.g. first a climb then a descent). Also in corrective RAs, the speed at which the system reacts is faster than human pilots, and
because promptness to respond to such is critical in the success of the resolution, safety is enhanced when using the auto-pilot function (or so they claim). I intend to learn more about this feature in my forthcoming visit to Airbus planned later this year in Toulouse.
Data streaming (continuous down-linking of aircraft parameters) After the failure so far (at the time of writing this article) to recover the FDR/CVR from the Air France A330, everyone in Paris was speculating about what really went wrong over the South Atlantic that day. This prompted a small Canadian firm (Aero Mechanical Services) to advertise a new technique called data streaming that they were marketing. Data streaming is a new technique where all aircraft parameters and even cockpit recordings can be encoded and compressed in order to be easily downlinked to the aircraft operator base.
Finally AIRBUS celebrated the 40th year anniversary of the first Airbus aircraft, the A300B. This was the first wide body twin engine jet, and was launched in 1969 by the German and French Governments. At the time the large commercial jet business was dominated by the three USA giants, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, and Boeing, and nobody gave much hope for this new European project. But today only Airbus and Boeing remain, a real achievement for the Europeans. ^
ed@ifatca.org
Auto-pilot flown RA” are flown in a much smoother way than manoeuvres executed by human pilots.
The frequency of refreshment can be every five minutes, or faster if requested by the airline or the pilots (in case of a mechanical or technical problem for instance). The system uses the existing Iridium global communication satellite system. All parameters which are currently recorded on the CVR/FDRs (and potentially more) can be encoded in the system. This company enjoyed many queries during the show. All
to pho
its:
cred
dp
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4 Asia News
Controller Aviation English Training in Asia
4 Hong Kong airport
Phil Parker, ^ by Asia Pacific Regional Editor Training controllers is an ongoing requirement for all ATS providers throughout the world. Classroom work, simulation and on-the-job training, all require resources in manpower and equipment which are beyond the capability of some of these ATS providers, even when they are only training a small percentage of their staff at a time. Is it any wonder that there were, and are, problems in meeting the ICAO ‘Aviation English Proficiency’ requirements.
Training requires resources in manpower and equipment which are beyond the capability of some ATS providers. In many cases however, I believe there is not the desperate need to ‘teach’ English, just a requirement to improve the English language ability the controller already has. Let me start off by saying that I am not an expert in English language training. I am, however, a controller with 40 years experience with 22 years of that time in Asia. I have had the privilege of teaching hundreds of controllers during that time in Australia, Hong Kong, Macao and China.
tions, but those of my son and my wife. Now you might say what has this to do with Aviation English. Let me explain. My son taught English in Tokyo for 3 years and my wife currently lives in Tokyo for about 9 to 10 months a year where she is studying the Koto, (Japanese Harp), and trying to learn Japanese. Both have many Japanese friends who can speak English and most of these English-speaking friends have the same problem. Lack of exposure to a native English speaker so that they can improve their comprehension and fluency. They can read and write English well, however, in the main, their English teachers were Japanese, who themselves had problems with fluency. The other problem is that even if taught by a native English speaker and having developed good language skills, unless they have continual exposure to the language, it will deteriorate.
Possible solutions and strategies Hong Kong ATC has always been lucky with regard to English. English is one of its official languages and all ATC operational conversation and coordination must be in English. All the controller training is in English. It always had expatriate native English speaking controllers from all over the world, however most are from Australia or New Zealand. (There are still approximately 40 working here) This gives a natural advantage to all Hong Kong controllers to improve and maintain their English ability. Hong Kong CAD had no problem in being easily able to reach the ICAO Level 4 requirements. In fact 95% were level 6.
For those Asian ATS providers that don’t have the advantages of Hong Kong, I put forward the following ideas: • Have an English only day, once per week at all facilities • Have at least some of the ATC training done totally in English • Training videos in English • Access to aviation books and magazines in English • Consider using experienced native Englishspeaking controllers who have retired or are about to retire, as instructors. (That way you are getting 2 people for the price of one). • Consider using experienced expatriate controllers for aviation related English conversation and comprehension training, either in the training school or as roving employees. They could be attached to a major ATC centre, but travel to other centres and towers around the country. The thing to remember about the above is that it is not necessarily required to teach English to working controllers who, even now, have at least a reasonable ability in the language. Otherwise they would not be doing the job. What is needed is the continuing use of the language to improve their fluency and comprehension, enabling them to reach at least Level 4 or higher and maintain it. ^
philatcinhk@netvigator.net
4 Learning to
play KOTO
All photo credits: Phil Parker
In Asia/Pacific, for most English is not the ‘mother tongue’. With this in mind, I would like to share with you some observations on English language ability in the Asian area. These are based not only my observa-
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4 Books Review
Books Review
Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor
The Spanish organization AENA is continuing publishing books in English on its series “Discover” which are very valuable for the training of various aviation professionals, and controllers in particular. The 2 latest publications in this series are “Airline Companies“ and “Airport Operations”. Both books are well written and heavily illustrated making it easy to read for any student. A must read for all aviation schools and academies, as well as for reference material in ATS facilities libraries. Discover Airline Companies: 144 pages: ISBN: 978-84-92499-14-4 Price: 13,46 EUR + delivery charges Discover Airport Operations: 200 pages: ISBN: 978-84-92499-07-6 Price: 14,42 EUR + delivery charges
To order visit: www.aena.es/publicaciones or contact: librosaena@aena.es
International Federation of Air Traffic Controller’s Associations 20th Africa Middle East Regional Meeting
Ouarzazate , Morocco : 3rd – 5th November 2009 o t : a.mazour@onda.ma or a.matoual@onda.ma For info cc cntac
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4 Electronic Strips
Electronic Strips Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor
4 The electronic strips by Nav Canada
Voice recognition and electronic strips
For more info, visit Sensis at www.sensis.com
Many ATM manufacturers are proposing electronic strips and innovative ways to update them. During the last ATC Global exhibition in Amsterdam I had a chance to look at a few and (briefly) work with them. My impressions: Frequentis (Austria) has developed a very intuitive voice recognition system where clearances to aircraft on the R/T are decoded in
real time and shown on a screen. If validated (by a single input) the electronic strips are automatically updated. I have tried the system myself and it really works quite well. Will this be the future? More info at www.frequentis.com As reported in the last issue of the Controller, Sensis teamed up with Nav Canada to design and deliver an upgrade for 26 control towers in Australia that will provide the so-called “Glass Towers” that also includes electronic strips. Those are more conventional, but the man-machine interface is interesting.
All photo credits: DP
The new Indra- based system currently being developed and tested for the German DFS is called FAVORIT and also includes electronic strips as a carbon copy of the paper ones. Currently used by the Karlsruhe (Rein radar) UAC. All 3 systems are similar but show many differences. So just like the old paper strips, the future electronic strips are not going to be standardized! It is difficult to change a culture … ^
ed@ifatca.org
Ode to Lost Strips Ciao Philippe, My name is Biagio and I am a retired Italian air traffic controller. After so much time I have found in my hands one article/editorial of yours which appeared in "The Controller 2/2007, where you mentioned the loss of the tiny pieces of paper, affectionately known as ‘strips’.
For many years, I worked with those tiny pieces of paper in an ACC without radar. They were our companions for life. We wrote everything on them, so that whoever was beside you could follow the traffic. They showed who was on the frequency and enabled coordination as the traffic progressed from sector to sector. I’m worried to think what good electronic strips would be if a sudden loss of electrical power occurs. Air traffic control is not a video game. You are right, new technology will make these dear
tiny strips obsolete and an important piece of ATC history will be lost. Do you think that someone will ever regret this decision? The ancient Romans said: "Verba volant, scripta manent" "which in English means:" (Spoken) words fly away, written ones remain". Perhaps an important sentence for the next generation
Regards, Biagio.
4 The electronic strips in the Frequentis system
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4 Europe News Changing ATC facility: retraining
On the Move ... ^ by Bernhard Romanik Being a conversion controller – a very personal look
observation and good feedback from your coaches to build up your abilities.
My training in Vienna ACC (Austria) lasted from 1996 to 1999. That is almost a decade ago. Today I find myself in a classroom again, together with 5 other colleagues facing a pile of letters of agreements and confronted with a big problem: I forgot how to learn…
And after the exams, you take some time for holidays…. a short period of relaxation before you start again: On-Job-Training. The pressure starts all over with new colleagues, who are mostly younger and fitter, doing the job easily you are fighting to get into. You want to become familiar with all colleagues and their different working styles, which vary sometimes from team to team and person to person. You need to get used to a new and completely different system. Being the new guy, you accept a lot of things you would normally have argued about in your former environment. So – how often did I ask myself WHY?? Why did you do it?? Why did you leave your safe workplace and put all that stress on your back; you had a good job… was it that bad back home??
Of course you open a ‘Letter of Agreement’ and you know which chapters it has, but to really learn all new procedures is not so easy being in your mid-thirties. This was my first problem to overcome when I started here at EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (Netherlands) as a conversion controller about a year ago. Our theory lessons were well structured and we had sufficient time to study and find our own way into it. After that we went to the simulator and thought: “OK I can do that, I worked as a controller for years, so what can happen…” Suddenly however, you realize that everything is different except for flight levels and callsigns. All the tricks that you collected over the years don’t work anymore and you really have to take it up from the beginning. (OK, you don’t react as hasty as a 19 year old ab-initio controller when the conflict alert starts flashing on your screen.) And on top of that – you want to perform! You really want to show to your new colleagues, who are now your instructors, that you know how to do the job – you have done it already for years. The confrontation of the guy (or girl) – 10 years younger – sitting next to you, who easily does what you’re struggling to do, is quite a reality check for your ego! That’s pressure coming from inside! You have to fight. It takes a really careful and continuous
Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence… but it helps talking to your old friends and listening to their stories to keep your memory fresh and remember why you left the previous company. It was not only salary, less (compulsory) overtime and more
You really want to show to your new colleagues, who are now your instructors, that you know how to do the job – you have done it already for years. days off, but it was also that IFATCA-virus I am infected with. You know controllers all over the world, know their problems and benefits, you are curious and at a certain point you get the chance and you have to decide. It was not an easy decision especially having family with a child in school, but the new experiences were worth the move… ^
bernhard.romanik@ eurocontrol.int
4 Bernhard Romanik at work in Maastricht Photo credit: BR
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4 NATCA
Controllers in USA: Hope and Optimism Doug Church, Director of Communications ^ by NATCA (USA Controllers association) More than halfway through his first year in office, U.S. President Barack Obama – a major champion of NATCA’s issues in the U.S. Congress since 2006 – has begun to transform the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration. We hope to return to a productive, collaborative relationship that will increase morale and help the United States safely, effectively and efficiently install the much anticipated Next Generation Air Transportation System (“NextGen”). But change, even for a determined, multi-tasking leader like President Obama, often comes slowly to U.S. government agencies, especially the FAA, which has a well-earned reputation for moving at glacier like speed when it comes to modernization and a profoundly stubborn, union-bust-
4 US controllers at work Photo credit: NATCA
ing approach to labor relations over the past few years. FAA has cut NATCA out of any meaningful roles in improving or modernizing the country's national airspace system. In spite of the FAA’s hardline tactics, there is finally positive movement to report regarding the biggest issue of contention, our three-year-old contract battle and quest to restore fair collective bargaining rights. The new administration made it clear that our contract issue was a high priority and the White House was eager to resolve the dispute and move forward with a renewed focus on problem solving and advancing system modernization efforts. The Obama Administration – within the well-known 'First 100 Days' benchmark for evaluating the progress of a new U.S. president – met with NATCA to discuss going back to the contract table. On April 30, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood used a high profile speech before an assembled group of aviation community leaders to announce that he was sending NATCA and the FAA back to the contract
negotiating table. The Secretary announced the talks would be overseen by a team of three mediators, led by former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, who in 1998 signed the last employee ratified contract. Talks began in early May, and resulted in the agreement of over 100 articles, which are now subject to ratification by the NATCA membership. That left just a few articles – albeit crucially important ones – dealing mostly with pay and annual leave to be decided by those same mediators; now acting as arbitrators. The arbitrators heard arguments from both sides on July 6 and had up to 30 days to render a binding decision that would not be subject to NATCA member ratification. Simply writing the words “binding” and “arbitrators” in the same paragraph of this story constitutes a mammoth step forward for NATCA. We are proud to report to the worldwide IFATCA community that our long struggle against a historically and extremely unfair and draconian FAA imposition of pay cuts and work rules is nearing a successful end as we met the mid-July deadline of this issue.
NATCA does believe there is reason to be optimistic that the FAA, […] is going to move toward a collaborative relationship.
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4 NATCA
4 yes we can change?
(Obama campaign poster)
4 President Obama support Photo credit: NATCA
Photo credit: Wikipedia
With the bold step of returning the FAA and NATCA to contract talks, President Obama fulfilled his commitment to the safety and modernization of the air traffic control system and to the dedicated men and women safety professionals who run the system each day. President Obama is showing the leadership that will guide a positive way forward in which aviation safety professionals will be included as valued stakeholders. As the President made clear, a resolution to the contract dispute is critical to successfully installing NextGen, which is needed to spur economic development and increase the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of air travel. The Obama Administration definitely understands how the FAA’s pay rules have forced new trainees to quit, led thousands of our most experienced controllers to retire early to escape the FAA's callous treatment and the lack of an increase to their retirement annuity, and removed any incentive for air traffic controllers to transfer to busier facilities. Today, many large TRACONS and other key facilities are dangerously understaffed and overburdened with inexperienced trainees. NATCA continues to see optimism that a permanent fix to a collective bargaining
process that allowed an Administration to impose what the Bush Administration called an "agreement" is close at hand thanks to efforts by members of the U.S. Congress. In May, the House of Representatives passed legislation that includes language to fix the process and prevent future administrations from taking actions similar to the Bush administration. Similar language is being considered in the U.S. Senate, though no bill to date has yet been passed. NATCA does believe there is reason to be optimistic that the FAA, while excruciatingly slow in doing so, is going to move toward a collaborative relationship on modernization. In fact, one of the contract articles agreed to at the negotiating table specifically requires NATCA's “full participation” in the development and implementation of NextGen. However, until we finalize and implement the new agreement, today’s situation is a far cry from that panacea as the FAA continues forward with plans and technologies without NATCA's participation.
across the country and also plans to close numerous TRACONS, moving those services into larger, centralized TRACONS in major cities. Already this year, the FAA has separated the combined tower/ TRACONs at Orlando and Memphis’ airports, despite vehement objections from NATCA and members of the U.S. Congress. The split at Memphis occurred one week after new FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt took office, which was an ominous sign for NATCA Members hoping the new FAA Administrator would step in and call a halt to the previous Administration’s go-it-alone approach.
First, the FAA is moving swiftly to install a new computer system for the country’s en route facilities, known as ERAM (En Route Automation Modernization). It’s a cornerstone of NextGen and a massive undertaking. But the system has several outstanding bugs and flaws, things controllers could have helped identify and fix had we been invited into the process.
While the FAA slyly continues with its tactics from the previous Administration, the overall attitude for NATCA toward the new Administration is one of hope and optimism. The needed changes to our working conditions and the safety of our system are slow in coming, but there is reason to believe the light is indeed at the end of the tunnel. ^
Second, the FAA is separating radar and tower air traffic services at several airports
dchurch@natcadc.org
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4 Africa News
ANS Service Delivery in West Africa Mick Atiemo, ^ by Africa Regional Editor Air navigation service delivery in most parts of the African continent, and especially in the western part, leaves much to be desired. In fact, most of the industry still needs to overcome some of the basic problems in this continent, from management, through facilitation to human resources. One can ask whether the charges, levied by the service providers, can be justified. Similarly, why do airlines continue to pay these charges for services that are way below standard? Profit has become more important than safety and security. More often than not, priority is given
to issues that do not develop ANS provision and money is wasted on frivolous projects. Facilitation is either unavailable or where available, it is unreliable and lacks integrity due to poor human resource management. While there are more than enough technical experts who can be trained to take up the management of the industry, they have been relegated to the background. Consequently, there is a lack of the required technical knowledge at the top... Some FIRs have a single HF frequency that is unreliable at best or even totally unavailable. Despite this, airlines that use this airspace pay for charges even with no contact and subsequently no service provision. Where there is a means of communicating with the airplanes, an ATCO transmits to communi-
Photo credit: Mick Atiemo
Why do airlines continue to pay these charges for services that are way below standard?
cate on two frequencies for two sectors at the same time. Radars are used as back up or monitoring. As such non- radar separation is used in these air spaces, putting health stress on the air traffic controllers and economic stress on the airline, as bigger, time based separations are required. In the rare cases where radar is available, non-radar operations are considered adequate back up. Radar refresher courses for air traffic controllers are non-existent and yet no one sees this as a safety issue. The human resource policies are also poor. This is evident in the number of air traffic controllers, their level of competence and motivation. Although staff shortage is a worldwide issue, the African scenario is made worse in most cases because of the lack of or inadequate training. Air traffic controllers work in poor conditions, long hours without breaks, lack of refresher courses, low remuneration and deliberate denial of management and career development. Cases have been reported of eighteen hours without fatigue break. Similarly the required rest period between watches is often not respected. These are just a few of the numerous issues that are slowing the development of the industry on the continent in general. In a lot of cases, management has shown little or no appreciation of the differences between an air traffic controllers’ job compared to those of other professionals. There is a service provider whose mission statement simply reads “Safety is You”! All stakeholders needs to combine their efforts to enable the continent to develop the African Air Traffic Management systems to be able to cope with the predicted growth in the foreseeable future. We shouldn’t be looking back to try and find out who’s responsible for the current situation, but should ensure that all the necessary steps are taken to rectify the situation. Let this be a wake-up call! ^
kwapong05@yahoo.com
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4 Special Feature 4 An attempt to map what’s flying in a low earth orbit (up to 2000 km) above our heads. Photo credit: ESA
Space Junk Philip Marien, ^ by Deputy Editor On February 10th 2009, at 16:56UTC, a collision occurred high above the Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia. At an altitude of 789 kilometres above the earth, two satellites collided at a near right angle. It was the first time in over 50 years of human space exploration that two intact satellites hit each other. It’s estimated that the collision left over 1000 pieces of debris in orbit around our planet…
Problematic Orbit around our planet is rapidly becoming very crowded. The European Space Agency estimates there are more than 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm in orbit around our planet. And while there’s quite a bit of “space” in space, Iridium, the company that owned one of the satellites involved in the collision, estimates that they have around 400 near-misses per week for their entire fleet of communication satellites. With about 100 spacecraft, that’s about 4 close calls per unit… By the way, a near-miss in space is defined as two objects passing with less than 5 km. Prior to the actual collision, best estimates showed their satellite and a defunct Russian craft would pass each other with some 580 meters
to spare. While the trajectory or orbit of most (active) spacecraft can be changed, an avoidance manoeuvre can be risky, costs fuel – which is an expensive commodity in space as you can imagine – and can interfere with the normal functioning. For those reasons, manoeuvres are avoided as much as possible… It’s the first time that two intact satellites collided, but satellites, space shuttles and the International Space Station ISS continuously suffer impacts from smaller objects, so-called space debris: objects that somehow ended up in orbit. Objects in lower orbits (up to 2000 km) generally don’t stay up long: their orbit degenerates and they burn up when re-entering our atmosphere. Higher up however, the can stay in orbit for many decades: the oldest known piece of space junk is an American satellite launched in 1958, the Vanguard I. It stopped functioning in 1964, but it’s still happily circling the planet over 51 years after it was launched!
Sources of debris But where does all the stuff come from? There are several sources that are responsi-
More than 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm in orbit around our planet ble for the junkyard that circles our planet: • Launches: To launch a relatively small payload into orbit, a proportionally large amount of equipment is needed. Most of this is not re-usable – the booster rockets of the Space Shuttle are noteworthy exceptions. Other rocket stages usually orbit for a while before they eventually re-enter the atmosphere and (hopefully) burn up. Other by-products include solidly frozen blocks of vented rocket fuel. • Explosions: an estimated 40% of ground-trackable space debris comes from explosions. Over the last years, engineers have taken steps to contain and/or avoid such events as much as possible, but there are new threats: In January 2007, a Chinese anti-satellite weapons test created more
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4 Special Feature
And yes, that includes thoroughly frozen human waste.
4 Debris of Delta Rockets Photo credit: NASA
than 35,000 pieces of debris larger than 1 centimetre, including 2,400 objects larger than a baseball, single-handedly increasing the planet's debris cloud by 25%, according to a NASA spokesperson. In addition to larger pieces, explosions tend to generate lot of tiny piece such as scraps of paint, screws, bolts: while generally not posing a serious threat, debris this size can 'sandblast' sensitive optics and instruments. • Rubbish: Manned spaceflights, especially longer missions, generate rubbish just like you and I. Until recently, this was simply dumped in space and some of it is still out there. And yes, that includes thoroughly frozen human waste. Only recently have they been recycling (e.g. urine on the International Space Station is now filtered into drinking water again) or ferrying the rubbish back to earth. • Accidentally released stuff: several ‘famous’ releases include a glove (lost during the first American space walk by Ed White), a toothbrush (?), a Hasselblad camera (in 1965
by Gemini astronaut Michael Collins), a foot restraint used on Space Shuttle’s robotic arm and – most recently – a bag of specialised tools used during a spacewalk (estimated value $100.000) which astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper let slip while repairing a solar panel joint on the ISS. The latter is currently in a low earth orbit and will eventually burn up when it enters the Earths’ atmosphere. It can be seen with a good telescope (check YouTube for the video!). • Collision debris: at the present rate, in 20 or 30 years, collisions will exceed explosions as a source of new debris. More than half of the 6,000 man-made satellites that have been launched into space are still in orbit, despite only about 800 of these remaining operational: picture about 2000 small car-sized objects travelling at over 30,000 km/hr.
Hazards to spacecraft A 1cm aluminium sphere typically travelling at 10km/sec (36,000 km/hr) has the same kinetic energy as: • a Ford Escort travelling 90km/h • a bowling ball hitting you at 520 km/h • a 30kg safe hitting you at 95km/h Enduring such impacts is hard enough for a satellite, but obviously manned space missions are even more vulnerable: given the hostile environment outside their pressurised cabin, a puncture is the very last thing you’d want to see while you’re up there. Through-
Photo credit: NASA
found in Saudi Arabia and Texas.
out their flying years, Space Shuttles have moved out of the way about a dozen times to avoid an oncoming object. Even a tiny speck of paint measuring just 0.2mm in diameter can leave a crater in shuttle windshield glass nearly half a centimetre wide. About 80 windows have had to be replaced because of such damage. To minimize the exposure of the crew quarters, the Shuttle actually orbits backwards: the engines are facing the direction of travel, so the relative speed of any impact on the crew compartment at the front, is as low as possible. The International Space Station also has had to dodge several large tracked objects. The station is equipped with a set of gyroscopes, which produce the torque needed to keep the station oriented without having to waste propellant. But this isn’t enough to push the ISS into a different orbit: for that, it uses good old-fashioned rockets. Most convenient are the thrusters on the unmanned supply ships (either Russian Progress or European Jules Verne) that regularly dock with the Space Station. They burn their engines for several minutes to push the ISS a few kilometres higher. When no supply ship is attached, they can fall back on the Russian Zvezda service module thrusters. As with satellites, moving the ISS is not a trivial issue and about 1 ½ orbits (2 hrs) are need to execute the manoeuvre. If a treat is detected late, as in March 2009, the crew actually evacuate the Station to their escape capsule, allowing a quick evacuation
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4 Special Feature
4 Footrest accidentally released during spacewalk
4 Impact crater of a paint
spec on space shuttle window Photo credits: NASA
Flight 801 of Lan Airlines (Chile) that reported a near miss incident with flaming objects overhead the Pacific. should the Station be hit by a passing piece of junk.
Hazards on earth According to NASA, on average one nonfunctional spacecraft, launch vehicle orbital stage, or other piece of catalogued debris has fallen back to Earth every day for more than 40 years. The majority of these objects do not survive the intense re-entry environment and burn up before they can do any damage. The minority that do survive in whole or in part fall harmlessly into the oceans or onto sparsely populated regions such as Siberia, the Australian Outback, or the Canadian Tundra. Occasionally, components of spacecraft and launch vehicles are found. Closest call so far is a propellant tank of a Delta II rocket, which landed about 50 m from a house in Georgetown, Texas in 1997. And while the risk is extremely small, even aircraft are also sometimes exposed. A wellknown case is that of Flight 801 of Lan Airlines (Chile) that reported a near miss incident with flaming objects overhead the Pacific on their way from Santiago to Auckland. While it was initially believed to have been parts of an old Russian satellite re-entering the atmosphere, NASA later stated they believed it was a meteor. According to the crew, the objects were within 5 Nm of their aircraft and they clearly heard the sonic booms. Following the collision mentioned earlier, the FAA issued a NOTAM warning pilots of possible debris (see box).
4 Debirs impact of
Hubble Telescope
FAA NOTAM Published 14 FEB 2009. FDC 9/5902 FDC. SPECIAL NOTICE. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. AIRCRAFT ARE ADVISED THAT A POTENTIAL HAZARD MAY OCCUR DUE TO REENTRY OF SATELLITE DEBRIS INTO THE EARTHS ATMOSPHERE. FURTHER NOTAMS WILL BE ISSUED IF MORE INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE. IN THE INTEREST OF FLIGHT SAFETY, IT IS CRITICAL THAT ALL PILOTS/ FLIGHT CREW MEMBERS REPORT ANY OBSERVED FALLING SPACE DEBRIS TO THE APPROPRIATE ATC FACILITY TO INCLUDE POSITION, ALTITUDE.
Tracking From the very start of the space age, the U.S. has kept a detailed catalog of objects launched. The reason for this is less than obvious: the characteristics of a satellite returning to earth and an intercontinental ballistic missile are very similar. By tracking satellites, they could eliminate false positives. Over the years, they’ve expanded their detection systems using a network of radars and optical detectors. The data is collected and processed by the SCC in Cheyenne Mountain Air Station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The network can track objects down to about 10 cm in diameter. Generally, engineers design satellites and manned spacecraft to survive collisions with
objects the size of peas and smaller. That leaves plenty of space junk large enough to cause damage and too small to spot. That means luck remains a large part of space exploration for the moment. The collision in January 2009 has resulted in several new initiatives and studies. The most ambitious of these call for one or more missions to go and clean up the most contaminated orbits. Others call for more responsible spacecraft design, which would allow launching and decommissioning them without leaving junk flying around. Both approaches are not self-evident and it will take years to (re-)design. In addition, there is of course a price tag: especially in the short run, it may well be much cheaper to lose an occasional satellite rather than having to pay to clean up your own – and other nations’ – rubbish. With more and more nations working towards manned space missions, it remains to be seen whether such risks remain acceptable… ^ webmaster@the-controller.net
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Charlie‘s Corner
4 Watch out for bird remains! Photo credit: Sean D'Silva
Training Charlie Struck by Lightning when calling Approach
Newcastle (UK) airport July 2009 – a controller was struck by lightning while she was contacting Approach on the phone from the Tower. The lightning struck through the Tower cab, and hit her arm. Initially she thought that she had done something wrong, and that the Approach Supervisor had sent her a signal, but investigations proved it was lightning. “I was using a touch screen phone to advise the radar room when a bolt hit the tower. My finger was in contact with the screen when it hit, I heard a crackle and I felt a shock in my finger.“ she said in a newspaper interview. “It was a totally surreal experience." The incident caused tingling in her left arm, a headache and made her feel unwell, but she was back at work after a few hours. Morale of the story: Always be careful when you call Approach.
Bride bouquet brings down aircraft
In Italy (and in many other countries) it is customary during a wedding for the bride to throw her flower bouquet to her women friends. Supposedly the one who catches it can expect good luck in marrying the same year. Well in Suvereto near Livorno last July, this lady had a lot of friends (and money) and decided to have the bouquet thrown over the wedding party by a small light aircraft she rented for the occasion. But when doing so, the bouquet got caught in the propeller (must have been a push propeller on the back I guess) and the engine stopped. The aircraft crashed in front of the guests, and the pilot was un-
fortunately badly hurt – so much for good luck. Among the aviation community in Italy this incident created a new motto “when the flowers hit the fan …”.
Translating into English
A young Swedish controller was fresh from school, and issuing one of his first “out of the phraseology book “ instructions: After one of the aircraft under his control left his radar cover, he advised “Clear to leave my frequency, but use caution because now you are invisible.“
Making it simple
A young trainee pilot on his first solo navigation to a busy exterior airfield, talking to an experienced and busy air traffic controller. Controller (speaking very fast): “Cessna ABC, cleared immediate take-off, wind 230 with 12, climb to maintain two thousand, right turn to SE, contact approach on 125.72 with seven zero four one on the squawk.” Pilot: “Errr sorry sir, could you please repeat more slowly and perhaps make it easier for me?” Controller: “Sure! Push the throttles all the way forward NOW, raise the nose and watch out for the wind, climb to 2000ft then get out of the circuit!”
What my strip says
Trainee undergoing on-the-job training: Trainee Controller: “Good morning Airline 1234, radar identified, maintain FL 250 on reaching, traffic two o’clock, 6 miles opposite direction 1000 feet above.” First Pilot: “Not in sight, what is the type of aircraft?” Trainee Controller: “It is a Bravo seven three Sierra.” First Pilot: “What is that?”
Trainee Controller: “I do not know exactly, that is what my strip says.” Second Pilot intervening: “We’re a Boeing 737-300 Maam.” Trainee Controller: “That is not what my strips says…” OJT Coach of Controller intervening: “Air 1234, disregard all after good morning, climb FL320, the 737 is no longer a factor now.”
Bird Spirit
Late July in Goa (India) a Boeing 737 from SpiceJet Airlines (nice name: put some spice in your jet!) had a bird-strike on landing and the large bird blocked the front landing gear. The aircraft could not steer, and had to be towed back to the terminal. The Technicians then proceeded to dislocate the remains of the bird and put it on the tarmac. The spirit of the bird did not liked to be treated this way and arranged a vengeance – the replacement B737 that the airline sent to take care of the stranded passengers taxied too close to the bird body, and it was sucked up in one of the engines – two aircraft down by the same bird!
Bird strike
Talking about bird-strikes, this one come from Italy where labor relations disputes are frequent. Pilot: “Tower did you have any bird-strike reports?” Controller: “Negative sir”. Pilot: “Tower I ask because we see a lot of sea-gulls around.” Controller: “Well they are probably those that have not agreed to the strike.” ^ charlie@the-controller.net
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