My Life And Air Traffic Control

CASA vs GAAP

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:47:00 +0000

The hot topic of just about everyone in aviation's conversations lately is the CASA directive regarding GAAP aerodromes. For those that don't know, there have been a few changes to how things operate at GAAP aerodromes and more dramatic changes scheduled in for April next year.

The first, and probably most significant change is that an Air Traffic Controller may only allow a maximum of six aircraft in the circuit at any one time, including departures and arrivals sequenced to the runway. This "cap" is applicable for fixed wing aircraft only and does not include helicopters. The ATC may also increase this number to a total of seven aircraft at their discretion, with an additional departure. Arrivals shall have priority over departures.

So how has this affected the daily operations of a busy GAAP aerodrome?

From an ATC point of view, the first issue that was raised is the distraction of constantly having to monitor how many aircraft on frequency.

At the point of full capacity it can be quite an effort. Noting that helicopters are not included, it is not uncommon to have 10+ aircraft on frequency with a stream of arrivals and with departures waiting at the holding point. The controller must monitor when a departing aircraft crosses the CTR boundary, freeing up space for another aircraft to be given a clearance.

It is also important that ATC monitor the inbound reporting points for potential arrivals. Clearing too many aircraft for take-off can result in arrivals exceeding the "cap" and those aircraft being required to hold outside controlled airspace and wait for a clearance.

The other factor these changes have had a huge affect on in the tower is staffing. Previously, during times of reduced traffic, Air Traffic Controllers would combine the ADC frequencies and operate with reduced staffing to facilitate breaks from the console (it is a requirement that a controller does not work in an operational position for longer than 3 hours at a time). The one controller would allow up to four aircraft in the training circuit on one frequency, and arrivals and departures on the other. This is no longer acceptable.

From a pilots point of view, the new procedures mean increased holding outside controlled airspace during times of heavy traffic, and restrictions of operations like training circuits. Some might argue that restricting the circuit to six aircraft is a good thing, as it is a better training environment. But doesn't the increased holding of aircraft outside controlled airspace defeat the purpose of what they are trying to achieve in the first place? Safer general aviation?

There is no doubt that the control zone is a safer place to fly now. But I don't think that was the problem. The problem lies OUTSIDE controlled airspace.

So how can CASA solve the problem of General Aviation? Let me tell you now, Class D isn't the answer. Talk about complicating things. Let's look at licencing.

My opinion is GAAP works. I can squeeze more than a dozen aircraft into that tiny control zone. Give me 12 competent pilots and I'll guarantee no issues. But as soon as you put one moron amongst them, the system doesn't work. Even with our new cap of six aircraft it can be difficult.

The fact is, there are just too many incompetent pilots flying around GAAP aerodromes. It is quite obvious from the tower that some don't read the documents, don't read their NOTAMS. It's a disgrace.

My Life And ATC's Rules To Licencing

Don't give a pilots licence to someone who shouldn't have one
Take the licence away if they can't operate safely
Don't give a pilots licence to someone who shouldn't have one!

So lets clean up this licencing mess and the rest will take care of itself. And while you're at it CASA, have a quick listen to some of the tapes from all the ESIR's we are submitting of incidents resulting from pilots not understanding English. I'm sick to death of that too.

Media Release - Christmas Industrial Action Ruled Out

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:31:00 +0000

Australian air traffic controllers are today working out of contract after their three-year certified agreement expired yesterday, without a fresh agreement in place despite months of negotiations.

However, meetings of air traffic controllers in all states have today decided not to exercise their right to notify a bargaining period in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Air traffic controllers will continue to work significant amounts of overtime over the Christmas-New Year period as a result of staff shortages.

A meeting between Civil Air and Airservices Australia negotiators is scheduled for tomorrow in Melbourne.

Civil Air Executive Secretary Peter McGuane says the employer Airservices Australia has failed again, but the travelling public has suffered enough in 2008.

"The high incidence of uncontrolled airspace in 2008 has reduced Australian skies to third-world standards.

"Major airlines refuse to fly through uncontrolled air space, either delaying flights or wasting time and fuel to fly around affected sectors.

"At times this has caused chaos, with major centres like Sydney and Melbourne closed for hours because there are no air traffic controllers available to work.

"Airservices has failed to recruit enough new staff to replace those retiring or being lured overseas by lucrative contracts, and could not even provide adequate training facilities for those it did recruit.

"Airservices makes a profit of more than $100 million, but internal reorganisations and staff shortages mean it simply cannot cover the rosters to keep Australian skies safely monitored.

"While air traffic controllers are frustrated that their employer could not complete negotiations by a date set three years ago, they don't want to cause any stress for passengers over the Christmas-New Year holiday period."

Life Without ATC

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:26:00 +0000

The Real Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 +0000

The allegations have been flying recently in the latest of the Air Traffic Control crisis in Australia.

Airservices Australia management have claimed that airspace closures are due to a "renegade" bunch of Air Traffic Controllers deliberately masterminding Australian airspace closures by way of unjustified sick leave. This allegation comes after the company only recently circulated information internally, indicating that sick leave has remained substantially unchanged across the past three years but the overtime take up to cover staff absences and systematic shortfalls has decreased.

With certain company figureheads dragging it's employees outstanding reputation through the mud, it is no surprise that those same employees are reluctant to help prop up the company that is stabbing them in the back while controller numbers fall.

Who is to blame?

Airservices Australia only recently claimed that there were 972 operational controllers in Australia. This number being only a handful short of the full capacity required.

An internal survey and audit conducted by Civil Air reveals a different story with only 753 full time equivalent controllers covering traffic roster lines.

So where did the other 220 or so go?? And if this is the case, how much harder are your Air Traffic Controllers working to keep you safe?

Sydney Terminal Control Unit has suffered a 20% decrease in staffing numbers since 2002. In the same period of time productivity has increased by over 57%. With figures like this, it is no wonder Australian Air Traffic Controllers are moving to overseas locations and into larger salaries.

Media Release - A response to Airservices Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:43:00 +0000

Press Release - July 29 2008

A response to Airservices Australia

Recent allegations by Airservices CEO Greg Russell that controllers are deliberately closing airspace are baseless and insulting to the professional Air Traffic Controllers of Australia.

Air Traffic Control is the business of providing safe passage of aircraft throughout the airspace administered on behalf of the Australian people. Civil Air and its members take this responsibility extremely seriously and despite years of staffing reductions, corporate and operational restructures, Australian ATCs have continued to provide a service that on world standards is second to none. Recent analysis shows Australian controllers to be amongst the most productive in the world.

The increasing rate of closures and service reductions is symptomatic of a system slowing failing despite the efforts of those that actually provide the services. Controllers and support staff are constantly required to bridge gaps in coverage by way of overtime or handling multiple pieces of airspace alone where risk modelling has already determined a need for 2 or more controllers to manage the workload.

The onset of the current ATC malaise corresponds closely with the latest management restructure in which over 100 operational ATC Supervisors were appointed as front line managers commencing March 2007. Significantly, these supervisors were previously part of the coverage of ATC rosters, day in day out helping with the workload of providing an ATC service. Since the restructure the vast majority of these new managers have been limited to purely supervisory tasks, no longer licensed to provide air traffic control at the workface. The direct impact of this has been a reduction of available ATCs to cover roster shortfalls.

In parallel with the management restructure Airservices, the government owned business responsible for delivery of ATC, commenced a restructure of airspace and the controllers that operate it. This requires virtually every controller in major centres to retrain for new airspace and procedures. Quite apart from the obvious additional workload associated with the actual training the effect is to vastly reduce the flexibility of rosters as controllers drop qualifications in one area to train for those in another.

Airservices currently quotes a staffing shortfall of 17 controllers plus another 14 in critical operational support positions. They have also publicly admitted to long term systemic reliance on overtime to keep the system afloat. There is no provision for staff absence (sick leave or other) except by way of utilising overtime. Airservices has identified a requirement to carry staff at 110% of minimum operational requirement simply to remain viable. This places the shortfall at approximately 100 staff.

Despite figures quoted it appears that the average sick leave per full time employee in the public sector is between 8 and 9 days per annum (as at 2006). The figure for ATCs is approximately 11.5 as quoted internally by Airservices. This is for a workforce that provides shift working coverage 24 hours a day 365 days a year and is subject to stringent medical requirements and fitness for duty standards far above the public norm. ATC sick leave figures equate closely with those in other similar shift working environments such as nursing and policing. A controller who is not up to the legal standard is a potential danger to everyone and must stand themselves down from duty or face strict penalties defined in Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.

Air traffic controllers are provided with sick leave as required. This was provided by the employer as an exercise to reduce a corporate liability for accrued sick leave and was not a position that Airservices was tricked into. Indeed they initiated it. Controllers must provide a certificate for any sick leave exceeding 1 day and will require a full medical examination if absent for longer terms. Airservices' own figures show that shifts requiring coverage (for all reasons including sickness) are roughly stable and that, per controller, the take up of overtime is slightly increased.

Controllers do not want to be part of a failing system. They are proud of the service they provide and their ability to do it. That some are forced to seek employment overseas or retire early simply because they can no longer cope with a system that fails to support them and blames them for its shortcomings is symptomatic of how bad things have become. There simply are not enough controllers to keep the system running.

Robert Mason
President, Civil Air
July 27, 2008

Media enquiries should be directed to:
Robert Mason, President 0403 153 400; or
Peter McGuane, Executive Secretary 0412 538 336

One for Airservices Australia Management

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:34:00 +0000

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts: "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man below says: "Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees N. latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees W. longitude."

"You must be an ATC," says the balloonist.

"I am," replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost.

"The man below says, "You must be a manager."

"I am," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you are going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now it is somehow my fault."

More Air Traffic Controllers Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:04:00 +0000

The Sydney Morning Herald released an article over the weekend, highlighting the shortage of Air Traffic Controllers in Australia. This is just one of a hand full of articles as well as an interview on ABC radio from Dick Smith, who I am surprised to say went in to bat for ATC.

A proposal put to Airservices Australia to attract and retain more air traffic controllers to airports has been met with derision, the union representing controllers says.

The claims come after airspace to the northwest of Canberra was unwatched for a total of two hours on Sunday night, causing extra work for pilots and affecting 17 flights between Melbourne and Sydney.

The Civil Air Operations Officers' Association of Australia, known as Civil Air, says controllers are increasingly frustrated by a shortage of staff.

"They're continually being asked to perform additional duty above and beyond their normal hours," Civil Air Executive Secretary Peter McGuane told AAP.

"Basically, they're working a 35 hour week and are being constantly asked to come back for, in some circumstances, multiple shifts to replace other colleagues who may be taken ill.

"Obviously that has a debilitating effect over time in terms of their fatigue levels and their constant requests to come back to work to cover unplanned absences."

Authorities were only really becoming aware of the problem as a result of inadequate workforce planning several years ago, he said.

"There simply aren't enough controllers to guarantee provision of continuous services because the system relies on constant performance of overtime and additional duty," he said.

"So in circumstances where people are unable to perform that emergency duty, the airspace has to revert to information broadcast procedures.

"The management of Airservices (then) refused to recognise this problem and failed to put in place measures to address both the age profile and the early retirement of people and now, additionally and increasingly, the fact that there are very lucrative conditions being offered overseas."

Airservices Australia had since increased the trainee uptake, which the union had welcomed, he said.

"But that's going to take some time to produce a finished product because it takes anywhere between 18 months and two years to have controllers fully weighted and able to perform their operational functions.

"We've put a proposal to the employer in order to attract and retain air traffic controllers both at the intake level and those that are currently in the workforce and in large part that's met with derision.

"So the government needs to intervene and direct Airservices that they should undertake genuine negotiations with Civil Air to solve this attraction and retention problem."

Media Release - Air Traffic Control Collective Agreement Negotiations

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:21:00 +0000

Civil Air President Robert Mason released this statement in response to news headlines over the long weekend.

"Civil Air’s vision statement represents a long term view of the direction in which Air Traffic Control and associated support services’ terms and conditions need to move in order to address the immediate and growing crisis in staffing within Australia. This problem is not isolated to our country. IFATCA, the International Federation of Air Traffic Control Associations, believes the shortage to be in the order of 3000 ATCs worldwide. Within Australia, Airservices (the Australian government body responsible for provision of ATC) has publicly admitted significant staff shortages. Civil Air believes Australia to be 10% understaffed at present.

Significant issues face Airservices Australia as it struggles to keep ATC services in operation. The global market has moved and skilled controllers are moving overseas to more lucrative positions. The controller population, like that of Australia, is aging. Unlike many other professions, controllers have a “use by” date that rarely exceeds 55 as they find it more and more difficult to meet stringent medical standards. In many locations average ages nudge towards 50 and some even further. A new employee off the street takes 5 or more years after completion of basic training to reach the peak of their skills and initial rating takes in the order of 2 years to attain. Thus a drain of skilled workers with 20+ years experience either by retirement, medical invalidity or employment overseas is not easily overcome.

Civil Air has spent a considerable amount of time and effort canvassing its members in preparation for the current round of negotiations. Conditions and salary scales within the document represent market value for ATC internationally and the supervisor scales closely relate to salaries offered to employees by Airservices mid-2007 as part of a supervision restructure. Government expectation of productivity gains continue to be met as fewer controllers manage more and more traffic. International scrutiny of controller productivity rated Australian ATC as one of the most efficient in the world. Australian ATC moves more aircraft per controller than any other location (including FAA and Eurocontrol).

The vision document does not represent a secret wish list. To the contrary it was presented in its entirety to Airservices’ chief negotiator on the first day that Airservices’ made itself available to meet, Monday, May 12th. To date no specific response has been received from Airservices regarding the document and preparation of a formal claim by Civil Air continues. We look forward to continued negotiation and hopefully an acceptable outcome for all parties prior to expiry of the current agreement at the end of this year.

Robert Mason
President, Civil Air

June 7, 2008

The Great Australian Sickie

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:00:00 +0000

A recent post on Certified Shafting contained text from the transcipt of the Senate Estimates Committee hearing held on 28th May 2008.

For the international readers "Mr Russell" is the current CEO for Airservices Australia, and the transcript discusses issues with Australian Air Traffic Controllers unlimited sick leave and our apparent abuse of this system.

I was amazed to read the Senator's comments. Clearly stating that Airservices Australia's problem lies with our unlimited sick leave. In other words, implying that it should be restricted.

Examples of other companies that allow their employees unlimited sick leave are Coca Cola Amatil and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. Coca Cola goes as far as offering a $1500 cash bonus to it's employees who don't take any sick leave for the financial year. Even those who take up to two days are rewarded. On a smaller scale, but nevertheless still rewarded.

It is a touchy subject, sick leave. A balance between reducing the amount of "absenteeism" and allowing controllers who are unfit for duty to be off from operational roles. But still, maybe Airservices Australia need to un-stitch their pockets and offer some incentive to it's employees rather than unzipping their fly if you know what I mean. By this, I don't mean trade off our sick leave entitlements for dollars. I just mean in general. Look after your employees, absenteeism will look after itself.

Staff Shortage Hits Home

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:23:00 +0000

Well what can I say. It's been a while since my last post. We've also been running a six man roster with five people for god knows how long.

So far we have been handling it pretty well with only one closure due to the staff shortage and that was on a weekend. Some people might argue my location doesn't need the tower manned on a weekend anyway. In the end we had to close as the only FPC controller available had reached his ten working days in a row which is the maximum.

The overtime has been pretty good. As a journeyman I don't get my fair share of it, but I have managed to clock up nearly seven hours this pay period in ED. To make the roster work with only five people, we have removed one of the shifts and run one short, with the day shift doing overtime as required.

It seems to be the trend lately with tower closures becoming common occurrence. I can't see it getting any better anytime soon. There are controllers all over the country (including myself) waiting for a transfer. That whole process has come to a screaming halt. They have to "rob Peter to pay Paul" if they want to move anyone. Some might say poor management on ASA's behalf to let it get to this point.

ABC news reported that aircraft flying between Sydney and Brisbane flew without air traffic control earlier this month because staff in Brisbane called in sick.

It meant that flights were not monitored between Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay from 5:00pm (AEST) to 11:00pm (AEST) and pilots were forced to communicate with each other by radio to avoid accidents.

Entrepreneur Dick Smith (of all people) says low pay rates are forcing air traffic controllers out of jobs. I don't quite know about that, but all those in favour for a pay rise raise your hands.

"It's just unacceptable, we have a situation where the tower at Launceston has been basically closed down because of not enough staff and there have been safety incidents there," he said.

"Avalon airport, which has over a million passengers a year, doesn't have any air traffic control in the tower at all." Now there's a funny thought. Melbourne tower just had to advertise to fill eight positions! How the **** do they think they will man Avalon any time soon? When asked by a controller recently ASA chose not to comment on the Avalon situation.

Regarding the ABC report, Air Services Australia says the use of radio communication between planes when control towers are closed is an internationally accepted practice.

That may be true, however slightly irrelevant, and the fact still stands that if something isn't done to fix these problems soon we are all going to be a tired and angry bunch of mofo's like our controller buddies in the US.

Tiger Airlines And The Bankstown Rumours

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:17:00 +0000

The rumour mill has been hard at work lately, with the possibility of Tiger Airlines operating out of Bankstown airport sparking some interest in the media.

Tiger Airways have recently placed an order for two Airbus A319s. A shorter version of the A320 used by airlines such as Jetstar.

Bankstown Airport has confirmed it is "possible" that some low-cost domestic airline services could start operating from its site towards the end of next year.

It really depends on your interpretation of "possible" as to how far you might want to look into it. Bankstown airport, which is located in Sydney's west, has been been the centre of such topics for some time. From an Air Traffic Control point of view, it's not just a simple "cut and run" to the nearest "other" aerodrome. There would have to be dramatic changes to current procedures and many other things to consider such as on airport fire fighting capabilities. And let's not forget the residents of the nearby area. Noise abatement is a huge issue in today's aviation industry.

Airport spokeswoman Meredith Laverty says "Just because Tiger have placed this order for A319s it does not mean they're flying in and out of Bankstown"

"The airport is not capable of handling that aircraft at the moment" she said

"We need to undertake a program of lengthening and strengthening our runways and taxiways and, importantly, a program of government approvals and community consultation."

It is confirmed that the airport currently has no agreements with any carriers (including Tiger Airways).

FAA Has Yet Another Near Miss: Trainee To Blame

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Yet another near miss from the FAA. The ABC News reports below.

"Two airplanes carrying more than 120 passengers narrowly averted a collision after an air traffic control trainee told a Delta Air Lines pilot to turn into the path of an oncoming plane, officials said.

One pilot flew up and the other went down, and the planes never came closer than about 400 feet in altitude and 3 miles in lateral, or horizontal, separation, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said Thursday.

Standard separation is 1,000 feet vertical and 5 miles lateral, Cory said.

A cockpit collision avoidance system alerted the pilots to the danger, in the skies east of Pittsburgh.

Delta Flight 1654 was en route from Cincinnati to LaGuardia Airport in New York Tuesday morning and was carrying 57 passengers. The other plane, PSA Flight 2273, was flying from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Charlotte, N.C. It had 70 people on board.

The controller only had about a year on the job, said Melissa Ott, National Air Traffic Controllers spokeswoman at the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center in Oberlin.

"We watched the recording of the incident three times and each time I said, 'Oh my God,'" Ott said. "It was the closest call I have ever seen in my 18 years of air traffic control."

Cory called the encounter an operational error. She said a second controller was working with the trainee at the time.

"This ended with the aircraft taking the appropriate action," Cory said. "The controllers will be retrained."

A Delta spokeswoman said the passengers "were never in danger."

PSA is a subsidiary of Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways Group, Inc. Delta Air Lines Inc. is based in Atlanta."

RAAF C-17 Globemaster III

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:50:00 +0000

Now I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again...photos of aircraft just don't seem to have the same effect compared with actually being there. I'm still going to post these pictures of a RAAF C-17 Globemaster III that paid us a visit this week.

The Royal Australian Air Force recieved their first C-17 Globemaster back in December 2006. It is a heavy transport aircraft with a carrying capacity 3 times that of a C-130 Hercules.

The C-17 this day joined for a left initial and left pitch followed by a few overshoots. We were quite impressed to see the pilot throw this thing around when an early pitch was requested to sequence the heavy.

Enjoy

Air Traffic Control Staffing Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:22:00 +0000

Air traffic controllers and pilots have again hit out at Airservices Australia's inability to man towers as a shortage of air traffic controllers continues to bite.

The staff shortage struck again this week when Airservices was forced to close down its tower at Launceston all day on Tuesday because of a lack of staff.

The closure comes after similar problems in recent months in Canberra, Melbourne and Perth, as well as in regional areas ranging from Cairns to central Australia and western NSW. Airservices insists the closures are not a safety problem and says it has a strategy in place that should see short-term problems fixed by the end of the year.

But unions representing pilots and air traffic controllers have yet to be convinced. Australian and International Pilots Association general manager director Peter Somerville said the shortages should not be happening in a country like Australia. "Airspace closures should not be happening in a first world country, so obviously Airservices has a major problem," Mr Somerville said.

Air traffic control union Civil Air said the shortage was reaching a crisis point. While it was not in meltdown yet, it was not far off it, said Civil Air executive secretary Peter McGuane.

"It's pretty bad," he said. "There's an acknowledged shortfall by Airservices somewhere between 22 and an additional 16, depending on how you define them. "We think it's a bit more than that and it's got the potential to go a bit higher."

The problem prompted air traffic control union Civil Air to write a scathing letter to Airservices last year that claimed it was leaving airspace uncontrolled on "an almost daily basis". Civil Air also accused Airservices of attempting to hide the problem from regulatory and safety organisations, a claim the air traffic controller has denied.

The situation again came to a head in Perth last month when Qantas cancelled flights to Perth after the air navigation organisation was unable to man the tower for three hours.

Airservices blamed the lapse on sickness and said pilots had to self-monitor the air space during this time.

However, Qantas chief pilot Captain Chris Manning said that the airline had deemed it unsafe to operate in the area because downgrading of controlled air space would affect "critical ascent and descent profiles".

Civil Air's Mr McGuane said the problem was because of poor planning by Airservices and a high demand for controllers around the world. He said Airservices was already unable to replace air traffic controllers who fell sick, and the situation could get worse if more were attracted overseas.

"A lot of people have applications for positions overseas, and if they're successful in those, we think those numbers could blow out vastly and we would then be in a meltdown situation," Mr McGuane said.

He said the knock-on effect of the recent Perth closure had affected 25 aircraft, including one plane transporting government ministers to the West Australian capital for a cabinet meeting.

"Since then other places have closed intermittently," Mr McGuane said. "Melbourne tower has closed a couple of times, Launceston has been on and off for short periods due to staff shortages."

In addition to the safety issues, airlines are increasingly angry that air traffic control delays are combining with bad weather and other factors to significantly degrade on-time performance. November on-time performance figures of 79.9 per cent for departures and 77.4 per cent for arrivals were well below the long-term average, with December and January figures also expected to be down.

One airline has estimated that delays due to air traffic control problems have risen by almost a third.

Airservices concedes that poor planning prior to the arrival of the current management contributed to the issues, and notes that the problem has been exacerbated by the global shortage of controllers.

Airservices spokesman Terry O'Connor said the air navigation provider needed 894 people on consoles directing traffic and a further 106 for specialist support roles.

Mr O'Connor said Airservices was currently short 22 people on consoles and 14 in the support roles. He said Airservices had put a lot of effort into expanding its Melbourne training facility and had increased the number of courses. But he noted that it took 45 weeks to complete the course and graduates were under supervision for another three or four years.

Airservices was also hiring from overseas, but these recruits also needed additional training. It was trying to entice back Australians working overseas and attempting to attract military controllers.

Mr O'Connor said that provided Airservices was not raided by overseas operators, it expected to have filled the shortage by the end of the year.

"All up, we expect to put 98 people through this year and by the end of this calendar year, barring unforeseen circumstances, from those 22 shortages we expect to have a surplus of five," he said. "But we're maintaining that higher training regime and tempo in 2009 as well because we know we have some people coming up for retirement etc."

Mr O'Connor said the other problem for Airservices was that the shortages applied to certain sectors. He said Airservices had been hit by a bad flu season last year, and had some people who had long-term illnesses.

"If they're not well enough or they're fatigued, we don't want them on a console -- it's safer not to have them," he said.

In the case of Launceston, Mr O'Connor said one of seven staff based there was on long-term medical leave and two others had been suffering from poor health. (Civil Air Note: Launceston has only 5 controllers total)

This had affected rosters and meant that sometimes in the past two months no one had been available to fill in when a colleague was sick.

"What happens effectively then is it goes to class G (airspace) and the same procedures operate as within Port Macquarie, Ballina or Bundaberg, for example," Mr O'Connor said.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23138683-23349,00.html

Yet Another Near Miss Over Springfield. Southwest Airlines Jet Has Close Call

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:12:00 +0000

The federal investigation will begin in January following a long list of close calls involving airliners. The latest near miss involved a Southwest Airlines passenger jet enroute to Chicago.

An air traffic control trainee issued a descent clearance to the Southwest Airlines aircraft in the direction of, and through another aircraft's level. The trainee had only been on the job for three weeks at the time of the incident.

It was at this point the veteran training officer instructed the Southwest pilots to increase their descent profile to avert the business turbo-prop aircraft.

The TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) on board the Southwest Airliner issued an alert that along with the quick actions of the training officer, avoided any collision.

Although the two aircraft did not collide, the event still resulted in a violation of air traffic control separation standards. The two aircraft coming within a proximity 3.1 miles laterally and 300ft vertically at the closest point with a high rate of closure. Almost two mile less than the minimum standard laterally and less than a third of the vertical standard.

It is reported that it could have been a true "T-Bone" incident with the two aircraft being on crossing tracks. The incident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. local on Wednesday approximately 15 miles north of Springfield.

This is believed to be the second serious incident in only three days at the Chicago facility. The sixth in 11 weeks involving aircraft flying dangerously close to each other... My Life And Air Traffic Control does apologise to it's readers for missing the scoop on the previous incidents. This however, is not the first time the Chicago facility has made My Life And Air Traffic Control's honour roll of serious incidents. We last reported a near miss between a Midwest Ailines jet and a United Express aircraft back in November.

My Life And Air Traffic Control is slightly amused by the FAA's comments stating that "The pilots could always see each other. This was not a near-miss,".

At least they are consistent. This comment is almost identical to that made by FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory on the near miss last month.

So how deep does this rabbit hole go? How close do they have to get before the FAA will admit to a near miss?

Data Error Causes Near Miss South-West Of Sydney

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:40:00 +0000

ATSB reports have concluded that a data error resulted in the near miss of a Boeing 737-8FE and and Airbus A330-342X south-west of Sydney on April 4.

The Boeing 737 was on descent to Sydney from Melbourne when the Airbus A330, departing for Hong Kong came within 1.9 nautical mile laterally and 600 feet vertically. 1.1 nautical miles and 400 feet short of the minimum separation standard.

The incident occurred only minutes after the controller came on duty. The report found that the controller was "distracted" while adjusting personal setting on the TAAATS display and an incorrect CFL (Cleared Flight Level) was assigned to the B737. According to the report "That assigned level was being used for separation by another air traffic controller."

The error was discovered prior to a conflict alert on the console being activated and the controller took action to avert any possible collision.

Bad weather had caused a complicated situation at the time, with forced changes in flight paths. This may have also contributed to the resulted break down in separation.

Media reports indicate that "adjusting personal settings on the ASD was not a part of official handover procedures". Implying that the distraction was a result of the controller acting irresponsibly.

In the controllers defence My Life And Air Traffic Control would like to point out to it's readers that "The investigation concluded that this data entry error occurred within two minutes of the air traffic controller assuming responsibility for the control position". Any Air Traffic Controllers reading will agree that responsibility is assumed on completion of the handover and not only that, the distraction caused by not adjusting personal settings on the console far outweighs that caused by doing so.

The handover and the distraction in this case are completely unrelated and this is purely a ploy to sell headlines.

FAA In Gross Violation Of Federal Air Regulations Forcing Controller To Work Over 13 Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:54:00 +0000

The NATCA reports this week that an Air Traffic Controller at Syracuse Tower was forced to work 13 hours and 40 minutes in a single shift. An event that is in gross violation of federal air regulations and the FAA's own internal order governing safe working limits. The shift commencing at 2:20 p.m. and ending at 4 a.m.

The shift occurred on December 4 when a controller that was scheduled to work the midnight shift called in sick due to a broken ankle. Due to short staffing, no one was available for overtime and the decision was made by the tower's FAA manager to extend a controller from the afternoon shift until 4 a.m.

This situation is a perfect example of controller fatigue, which is an ongoing issue with the FAA. So much so it has made international headlines. My Life And Air Traffic Control reported only last week on an article from The Age about US investigators warning of a runway crash.

NATCA Eastern Regional Vice President Phil Barbarello said "This is a prime example of how staffing is really hurting us physically," and that "This decision was absolutely ridiculous and extremely unsafe."

And I'm sure no one will disagree with him. My Life And Air Traffic Control contacted the FAA to ask their feelings on the issue. At the time of publishing no comment had been received.

Syracuse Tower will lose another four veteran controllers in January due to retirement, leaving a grand total of 16 fully trained and certified controllers on the roster. This number representing just one-half of the qualified air traffic controllers it had just a few years ago.

Waterbombing Aircraft Crashes Into Lake In The Hunter Valley Killing Pilot

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:08:00 +0000

A waterbombing aircraft has plunged into a lake in the Hunter Valley today killing the pilot, now identified at 75 year old Col Pay. A man well known within the aviation industry with over 50 years flight experience.

Although the report below states that no one was able to comment on what work Mr Pay was carrying out at the time, My Life And Air Traffic Control resources confirm the aircraft was conducting practice manoeuvres in an Air Tractor 802, scooping water in preparation for the fast approaching bush fire season.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

"An agricultural pilot with more than 50 years experience is feared dead after a light aircraft crashed into a lake in the NSW Hunter region.

Without naming the pilot, police said a man aged in his seventies was missing after the plane went down at Lake Liddell, north-west of Singleton, at 9.40am (AEDT).

Scone Aero Club president Neville Partridge said the pilot of the plane was Col Pay, a water bomber pilot and crop-duster from Scone.

He had more than half a century of flying experience, Mr Partridge said.

"Without doubt, he was one of the most experienced pilots," he told AAP.

"He was flying an agricultural-type plane when it happened."

Police divers will undertake a search of the lake.

There was initial confusion over how many people were on board the plane when it crashed, with ambulance services saying earlier that two passengers had survived and managed to swim ashore.

However a spokeswoman for Pay's Air Service later said Mr Pay was the only person in the plane at the time of the crash.

She was unable to say what work Mr Pay was carrying out at the time.

An Air Services Australia (ASA) spokeswoman said the plane, a fire-bomber Air Tractor model AT 8T usually used for water bombing, was licensed to carry two people.

Pay's Air Service carries out fire spotting and bushfire water bombing operations out of Scone and Moree, according to the company website.

Chief executive of the Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia, Phil Hurst, said he understood the aircraft involved in the crash was a two-seater, but he was unsure how many people were aboard."

There is no doubt the death of Col Pay is a tragic loss to the aviation industry.

FAA Makes International Headlines - US Investigators Warn Of Runway Crash

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:47:00 +0000

The ongoing dramas with the FAA and it's tired Air Traffic Controllers has reached international headlines with an Australian article from The Age about US investigators warning of an accident waiting to happen.

Here's what The Age article on runway incursions had to say:

"There is "a high risk of a catastrophic runway collision occurring in the United States" because of faltering federal leadership, malfunctioning technology and overworked air traffic controllers, congressional investigators concluded.

The investigators gave the Federal Aviation Administration credit for reducing runway safety incidents from a peak in 2001 but said "FAA's runway safety efforts subsequently waned" as the number of incidents settled at a lower level.

Then in fiscal year to September 30 2007, the incidents spiked to 370, or 6.05 runway incursions per one million air traffic control operations, almost returning to 2001's 407 incursions and 6.1 rate.

An incursion is any aircraft, vehicle or person that goes where it shouldn't be in space reserved for take-off or landing.

At this time, "no single office is taking charge of assessing the causes of runway safety problems and taking the steps needed to address those problems," the Government Accountability Office, the US Congress' investigative arm, said in the report.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters stepped into that leadership void in August by calling an industry-wide brainstorming conference to produce ideas for quick action.

In October, the FAA reported progress on steps recommended by the August conclave, particularly in speeding improved runway markings and pilot training.

The GAO report approved of those moves but also recommended more leadership from the FAA, improved data collection and a reduction in overtime required of air traffic controllers.
Even though serious incursions, where a collision was narrowly averted, declined to a record low 24 in 2007 from 31 the year before, the report said they have remained high enough since the FAA took its eye off the ball to represent a high risk of catastrophe.

Since 1990, 63 people have died in six US runway collisions. And the FAA's previous definition did not classify some serious runway errors as incursions, including an August 27, 2006, crash in Lexington, Kentucky, of a Comair jet that took off from a too-short runway, killing 49.

This year has seen some dramatic near-misses:

* On August 16, two commercial jets carrying 296 people came within 11 metres of colliding at Los Angeles International.

* A Delta Boeing 757 touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 11 and had to take off immediately to avoid hitting a United Airbus A320 mistakenly on its runway.

* A Delta Boeing 737 landing at New York's LaGuardia airport on July 5 narrowly missed a commuter jet mistakenly cleared to cross its runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating those, two others in Denver and one in San Francisco.

The GAO seconded the transportation safety board's April recommendation that the FAA reduce mandatory overtime for controllers.

Since the FAA imposed a contract on the controllers union in 2006, experienced controllers have retired much faster than the agency predicted.

The FAA also cut controller staff to respond to traffic pattern changes from airline mergers and bankruptcies. The union says the cuts are too deep and reduce safety; the FAA says US air travel has never been safer.

The GAO said 52 per cent of controllers at the busiest US airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, regularly work six-day weeks.

Overall, between 20 per cent and 52 per cent of controllers at 25 FAA facilities, including seven of the 50 busiest towers, are on such weeks.

Nevertheless, "agency officials indicated that they had no plan to mitigate the effects of air traffic controller fatigue," the GAO said.

The GAO found that radar the FAA installed at 34 of the busiest airports to monitor aircraft on the ground does not work well when needed most - during heavy rain or snow.

FAA's more advanced ground-control radar, operational at only eight airports, issues false alerts of impending collisions - 41 from June 7, 2006, to May 16, 2007, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.

FAA's Office of Runway Safety has not produced a national runway safety plan since 2002, went two years without a permanent director and had a 45 per cent staff cut over the past four years, the GAO found."

So as you can see, the message is getting through to the rest of the world. But is the FAA listening?

Mid-Air Collision Over Gippsland Kills Pilot

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:53:00 +0000

A mid-air collision over Gippsland, Victoria has resulted in the aircraft bursting into flames killing the 65 year old pilot.

The aircraft, believed to be an ultralight crashed at a country airfield in Morwell just after 11am today. Country Fire Authority spokesman George Ellis said the aircraft was destroyed in the crash at the Latrobe Valley airfield as the aircraft came down, bursting into flames on impact.

Local Police said it appeared the cause of the crash was a mid-air collision between the ultralight plane and another light aircraft. The two aircraft colliding when attempting to land at the regional aerodrome

The light Cessna aircraft involved in the collision managed to land safely at the aerodrome, the 15 year old student pilot amazingly uninjured.

It is reported no one could get close to the downed aircraft in an attempt to save the pilot.

ATSB is currently making it's way to the scene for investigations. The Civil Aviation Authority (CASA) has also been notified although they will not be involved in the investigation as no passenger aircraft were involved.

Air Traffic Control Frequently Asked Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:35:00 +0000

I've decided to create a post for all you Googlers out there with all the questions. Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions related to air traffic control.

1. How much do Air Traffic Controllers earn?

This has to be the number one most asked question. How much do we earn? Similar salary questions that come up are how much do air traffic controllers start out with? And what are the ATC pay levels?

I've covered this in previous posts and listed Australian air traffic controller pay scales. For my international readers you can pretty much convert these dollars into your local currency and it's gonna be pretty close to the mark. Generally speaking a fully rated air traffic controller on the top pay scale is going to earn on average 125-150k a year. Here in Australia the pay scales start in the low 60's for a freshly rated controller and are around 145k at the top level in Sydney.

2. A day in the life of an Air Traffic Controller.

This isn't really a question, but it is a query that is entered into Google a lot. People want to know what it's like being a controller.

Well not much different to any other job really. We do shift work. Some air traffic controllers work a twenty four hour rotating roster, like those working in the centres as enroute controllers and capital city towers. Others (like me) don't. I am currently working at an outstation tower. We open at 7am. Close at 8.15pm local. In Australia we work a 36 hour week and at the end of the day, work gets left at work.

Air Traffic Control has been associated with stress, but I believe it is manageable. You do need to be able to work under pressure and make quick and accurate decisions. Air Traffic Control is a very dynamic environment. Things can happen quickly.

I would recommend Air Traffic Control to anyone who likes to constantly challenge themselves, enjoys problem solving and displays confidence. The latter is not necessarily required but it is a common trait shown across the industry.

3. How to become an Air Traffic Controller

For Australian residents you can get all these details from my previous post here. For international readers visit your local Air Traffic Control provider's website and I guarantee you will find an employment opportunities link.

Generally speaking applicants will be required to have completed the Higher School Certificate. In Australia the first step when applying is completing the online aptitude tests. The second step for successful applicants is then attending a testing day where you do similar tests again under examination conditions. Step three is your interview.

Applicants deemed suitable will then be sent to Melbourne to study. Twelve months later you will be in the field training on the job for your first rating. Achieve your first rating and you will then receive your air traffic controllers licence.

These three questions are by far the most common. I will update this post as more questions roll in.

Good Luck

FAA Air Traffic Controller Numbers At 15 Year Low

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:27:00 +0000

It's official, the total number of national Air Traffic Controllers is at a 15 year low according to a report from the NATCA. The year 2007 has seen a record number of Air Traffic Controllers retire resulting in a shortage 33% higher than that projected by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The shortage is not only having an overall effect on staffing, but is also impacting on new recruits, many of whom have no air traffic control experience, and are unable to receive an efficient and effective training program. Currently, there are 3618 trainees in the system. Approximately one third of the trainees are not certified on any position and cannot work alone. Many of the facilities have more trainees on staff, than there are resources to train them. For example Miami Centre has 102 trainees, comprising 34 per cent of total staffing. Sixty Two of these trainees have had no functional training and the backlog resulting in a waiting period of up to 16 months for any real training. Because of these conditions 9 trainees have quit this year.

The number of retirees represented 7.4% of the total air traffic control workforce. A grand total of 856 (16 0f which were mandatory) retirements in the fiscal year 2007. This being the forth straight year the FAA has come up short in their predictions.

The NATCA says it's no surprise, they predicted a surge of Air Traffic Controller retirements in response to the FAA's imposition of work rules and pay cuts on September 3, 2006. It is also reported that Air Traffic Controllers have been without a contract for a period of now well over 430 days. Research of this topic suggests it was only in September 2006, the FAA commenced a drive to cut the number of Air Traffic Controllers nationally by 10 percent below negotiated levels. Now 14 months later controller numbers are at situation critical.

And things are only getting worse. There has been an increase in the use of mandatory overtime, combined radar and tower control positions resulting in exhausted, over stressed and burnt out controllers.

"This is a problem entirely of the FAA making. It didn't have to happen. We do not have a contract and that is taking a very serious toll on the controller workforce and the nation’s aviation system."

NATCA President Patrick Forrey said. "Only once in our nation’s history have we seen conditions in our air traffic control facilities that are as acrimonious, overworked, overstressed, demoralized and angry as we do today and that was in the period leading up to the 1981 PATCO strike. There is only one possible solution to this crisis: We must have a contract. Veteran controllers must have an incentive not to retire early at age 50 or before and to use the six-plus years of service they have left before mandatory retirement to keep the system running today and train tomorrow's controllers without being burned out and driven to total exhaustion".

In addition to the 856 retirements of air traffic controllers there were 201 resignations, 126 removals, 10 deaths and an amazing 365 promotions to FAA supervisory roles (double the FAA predictions). With no contract and the FAA work rules and pay bands in place, taking a supervisory position is the only way a fully certified air traffic controller can earn a pay rise, receive cash bonuses and avoid mandatory overtime.

NOTE: In Australia, combining Radar and Tower air traffic control positions is not only unheard of, but would be considered unsafe to do so by any reasonable standards.

Airservices Australia Voted Worlds Best Air Traffic Services Provider

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 22:51:00 +0000

Airservices Australia has been voted the worlds best provider of Air Traffic Control by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the second time. Airservices Australia previously won the award in 1999. The latest award reinforces the company's reputation as one of the most consistently high-performing businesses in the global aviation industry.

The "Eagle Award" recognises the significant value Airservices Australia is adding to help airlines deliver on-time performance safely, effectively and efficiently.

This award and our unmatched safety record is a credit to the Air Traffic Controllers across Australia.

FAA's Comments on Near Miss In Chicago Last week

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:04:00 +0000

After further investigation of the near miss resulting from Air Traffic Control error over Indiana on Tuesday, between a Midwest Airlines Regional Jet and a United Express aircraft, it appears the FAA are playing the incident down. John Diedrich reports the FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory, stated "We're not calling it a near miss". Although Elizabeth also admitted in the interview that "this event definitely violated our separation standards".

The FAA confirms reports that the two aircraft came as close as 1.3 miles horizontally, and 600 feet vertically with the aircraft's Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) resolving the conflict. The horizontal proximity being almost one fifth of the minimum standard of 5 miles and almost half the vertical standard of 1000 feet.

The fact that the Federal Aviation Administration would make such a comment is not so surprising. They display the same attitude when it comes to their staffing crisis. As reported in my previous post, the FAA believe "staffing levels were adequate" even though Air Traffic Controllers complain of fatigue and over work. A member of the Chicago Controllers Association believes the FAA was not prepared for the high number of retirements of controllers. Three controllers a day retire nationally and three a month locally which has resulted in the shortage.

The "near miss" over Indiana is unfortunately not an isolated case, with three incidents since October 1 in the Chicago facility. Air Traffic controllers in the Chicago region and elsewhere have said "they were weary and more error-prone after having to work repeated six day weeks". Joseph Belinno from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says the chances are "pretty good" that controller error will increase at busy times. "Any time you have people on six day work weeks it always increases".

Near Miss In Chicago Last Week

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:15:00 +0000

I recently read a report of a near miss over northern Indiana between a United Express and Midwest Airlines aircraft. It appears the incident was due to an error by Air Traffic Control.

I'm sure all the Air Traffic Controllers from FAA will be pleased to read that a Federal Aviation "Official" commented that "staffing levels were adequate despite controllers' complaints of fatigue and over work".

This comment is in complete contradiction to the following news clip I found on Youtube titled "FAA: Unsafe staffing: Air Traffic Controller Fatigue." from April 12, 2007. Government regulators say "Tired controllers are putting people in danger".

It reports on an Air Traffic Controller on his second shift in a 24 hour period, was working on only two hours sleep when an aircraft taxied onto the wrong runway last August resulting in a fatal accident killing 49 people. NTSB reports that this Kentucky crash is "hardly the only example of troubling controller fatigue".

I was also shocked to learn that Air Traffic Controllers working for the FAA can work 4, ten hour shifts in three days as long as they have an eight hour period between shifts! NTSB is urging the FAA to change the way Air Traffic Controllers are scheduled to give them longer rest periods between shifts. The FAA apparently welcomed the recommendation with a response of "Controllers need to play a role too".

My question is, if staffing levels are so adequate why are these controllers having to work constant six day weeks?

The incident on Tuesday night occurred when the Air Traffic Controller vectored the Midwest Airlines aircraft east, into the path of the United Express aircraft heading west out of Greensboro, N.C.

The only thing that saved a mid-air collision at FL250 was the aircraft's TCAS systems. The two aircraft coming within a proximity of 1.3 miles horizontally and 600ft vertically.

The required separation standard in this situation for Air Traffic Controllers here in Australia is 5 miles horizontally and at least 1000ft vertically.