focus on cameroon z americas // Focus on safety Photo by NATCA
FOCUS ON SAFETY z by Brandi Teel, Public affairs specialist for NATCA Communicating For Safety (CFS) is one of the premier aviation safety conferences in the world. This three-day conference is hosted annually in the United States by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). CFS brings together industry and government leaders from nearly every discipline in aviation. It is the only conference to focus specifically on the air traffic needs of the aviation community and the airspace system. CFS began in 1999 with just 40 attendees. It has grown to become an internationally attended conference, attracting more than 1,500 aviation industry representatives to discuss and improve safety. The program now includes three days of speakers, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and other activities. There is a exhibit hall where more than 70 exhibitors shared information with attendees. NATCA welcomed more than 1,500 attendees to the 2019 CFS conference. The theme of CFS 2019 was “Every Day Is a Training Day.” The conference featured impressive keynote speakers, including NATCA President Paul Rinaldi, NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert, Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) President Captain Joe DePete, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Steve Dickson, and Airlines for America (A4A) President and CEO Nick Calio. Panels covered topics including the Impact of Weather on the Operation, Pilot/Controller Communications, Surface Safety, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Commercial Space, and International Collaboration.
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Every Day Is a Training Day
NATCA President Paul Rinaldi welcomed attendees and talked about CFS being the place where NATCA takes a stand for safety, because aviation safety is the cornerstone for everything our members do as aviation safety professionals. “The commitment we have to aviation safety is second to none,” said Rinaldi. “We are not trained just to get it right; we are trained to never get it wrong,” he said. Rinaldi said that in the past, “[air traffic controllers] looked at training as a negative.” Years back, when controllers in the U.S.A. had an error, they were pulled off the boards and given remedial training. It was a way to shame someone in front of their colleagues, he said. In the past, training was used as a weapon. But all that changed in 2009, when
NATCA and the U.S. FAA worked together to shift the ATC work environment to a safety culture, starting with the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP). ATSAP helps resolve safety issues, while simultaneously protecting employees from punitive or disciplinary actions, as a result of reporting errors that could impact safety, provided those errors are not the result of gross negligence or illegal activity. But Rinaldi added, now everyone is held accountable to a higher level of standards, and the culture and perception of training still needs to shift. He concluded by challenging the audience to change the aviation culture and embrace training, develop training, and take ownership of training. “I have high hopes that every one of us that plugs in, starts the future today to train like a professional."
THE CONTROLLER
