IFATCA The Controller - 4th Quarter 1989

ISSN 001 ~8073

JOURNAL

OF AIR

TRAFFIC

4/89

CONTROL

II

IN THIS ISSUE : TECHNICAL PANEL AT IFATCA ' 89 THE LAW : PILOT AND AIR TRAFFI C CO NTROLLERS MAN -MACHIN E IN TE RPLA Y IN ATC I FAT CA EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

GENEVA , SWITZERLAND

4th QUARTER 1989

VOLUME

28

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IFATCA JOURNAL OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

THE CONTROLLER Geneva, Switzerland, December, 1989

Publisher

Volume 28 · No. 4

IO this iSSUe

International Federation of AirTrafficControllers· Associations.

P.O.Box196.CH-1215 Geneva 15Airport.Switzerland

IFATCA '89 Technical Panel

Officers of IFATCA

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E.F.Sermijn.President andChiefExecutive Officer. Clear Air Turbulence U.Windt. Executive Vice-President Administration. ---------------------------------T. Gustavsson.

ExecutiveVice-President Finance. w. Rooseman.

Executive Vice-President Professional.New Generation of Direction Finders D.C.8.Stuart,Executive Vice-President Technical. ---------------------------------P.o·ooherty.Executive Secretary The Law: Pilot and Air Traffic Controller

page

2

page

8 72

page

page 74

Editor

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H. Harri Henschler 1998 Glenmore Avenue.

Sherwood Park.

Alberta.Canada.

TBAOX8 Telephone (403)467-6826

Traffic Airports 1988 _____ at Major _:____________________________

page 20 _

Man-Machine

page

nd

Interplay in ATC

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Editorial H. Harri Henschler

As in previous years. this issue of 'The Controller· reports on the Technical Panel conducted at the Annual Conference. As in previous years. the Technical Panel was. again. an outstanding success. As in previous years. detailed discussions took place Contributors areexpressing theirpersonal pointsof between the manufacturers of air trafviewandopinions. whichmaynotnecessarily coincide withthoseoftheInternational Federation ofAirTraffic fic control equipment and the users.

Controllers' Associations (IFATCA).

This reassuring list of activities and IFATCA doesnotassume responsibility forstatements achievements at the annual event has madeandopinions expressed. it doesonlyacceptre- come to be the desired and expected sponsibility forpublishing thesecontributions.

Contributions arewelcome asarecomments andcriti- result of the close cooperation becism.Nopayment canbemadeformanuscripts sub- tween the Federation. its Member Asr mittedfor publication in "TheController".

TheEdrto sociations and its Corporate Memreserves the rightto makeanyeditorialchanges m manuscripts. which he believeswill improvethe bers. material withoutalteringtheintended meaning.

There is. however. an even more Writtenpermission by the Editoris necessary lo r satisfying development which should reprinting anypartof thisJournal. not go unnoticed. More and more frequently. the manufacturers and supAdvertisers in this issue pliers of air traffic control equipment Selenia. Swissair. Thomson-CSF. request the purchasing ATC authority Westinghouse to involve active air traffic controllers in the decision making process.

Photos Such requests may well be based Hughes. Frankfurt Airport. Rohde & on Recommendation 14 of the Report Schwarz. hhh

Subscription Rate:SFrs.20.- perannum (4 issues). pluspostage andpackage : Surfacemail: Europeand Mediterranean countries SFrs.4.80.othercountries SFrs.5.80.

Airmail: Europe and Mediterranean countries SFrs.6.20.othercountries SFrs.10.60.

Special subscription rateforAirTrafficControllers.

THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

on the Meeting of Experts on Problems Concerning Air Traffic Controllers. convened by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1979.

This Recommendation reads. in part. ·ATCOs. . .. through (their) representative organizations. should also be consulted in the early stages on the design of new ATC premises and the type of new ATC equipment.· However. whether this development is brought about by the ILO Recommendation or by the manufacturers· realization that involving the users. the air traffic controllers. right from the beginning of the process will ensure fewer. and only constructive. complaints after the equipment is delivered and installed. it is indeed a most welcome change in attitude.

What remains to be done is to achieve the same change in attitude of those air traffic control agencies which have. so far. disregarded the ILO Recommendations or. irrationally. appear to view the inclusion of operational controllers in the decision making process as a threat to their authority.

The Technical Panel at IFATCA '89, Frankfurt As in previous years, the 1989 Technical Panel proved again to be a very popular event, requiring that the largest of the conference committee meeting rooms be made available for it . On the morning of Wednesday, 10 May, the then Executiv e Vice-President, Technical, R. W Randall, acting as chairman of the gathering, introduced the headtable to the audience and called on the first speaker. He was Harry Cole of Marconi radar, author of the book 'Understanding Radar', and he addressed the question of ensuring technical support for any equipment's life time . Harry said under the heading :

Supporting Your Systems - Help Yourselves At the Nairobi I FATCA Conference, the KATCA Conference Paper drew sharp attention to the trouble caused when suppliers neglect to support the systems and equipment that they supply.

This pape r p ut s forward some suggestions regarding ways in which you - the ultimate user of the t ool s of air traffic control - can help ensure the support for any eq uip men t's life-time .

This can and should be, very many years . My own compa ny is still successful ly support ing syst ems supplied in 1958.

The Needs Let us go back to basics. Your needs. as far as t he too ls of the ATC trade are concerne d ca n be simp ly expressed . They are: · I want the system to work properly every time I need it .· One very good way towards this is to ensure t hat any new syste m 's specification inc ludes an adequate time figure for system availability. For examp le. an availab ility of 99.9% means that if the system was designed for giv ing a 24-ho ur serv ice, it would be there - with a p rob ability of one c hance in a thousand t hat it wou ld not be t here .

There are a number of important ATC systems specified by ICAO which do not include suc h requirements. t hat is system availabi lity. It is up to yourse lves , at the time of specifyi ng your new system, to see that it is inc luded .

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There are other vital factors .

Prominent among these are: The provision of the requisite technical services and equipment to effect fast repair in the event of failure. in the very long term. In turn this means the provision of: • Trained and competent techn1c1ans.

• Spares (i .e. units , components/ materials) - on site .

• Facilities for the technicians to use such spares and materials. (i .e. instruments/ test , engines/ tools, etc .).

In an ideal world , which all aspire to , all of these can be supplied by enshrining them in the original con-

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tract between the supplier and your procurement executive . It is up to you to see that any specification includes their supply. Try, please try , to insist that your technical advisers explain to you the way they have thought through the numerous ways a system can go wrong, and how they have provided for rectification . That is, how do you get your required availability?

In technical terms this revolves around two salient points : How long a time can we expect the elements of a system to work before they fail? This finds expression as Mean Time Between Failure

(MTBF).

How long a time before any failure can be put to rights?

The Mean Time To Repair(MTIR).

Both have to be expressed in pro babilistic terms because - life is like that. Although it does not figure large in statistical theory , your trouser fly zip is more likely to fail at the ambassa dor 's party than at home!

These days , much equipment and many components have extremely

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Headt ab le at 1989 Technical Panel THE CONTROLLER / DECEMBER 1989

long MTBF - So long that sometimes it is considered not cost-effective to hold a spare.

So - what happens when the unexpected happens? The 'zip ' effect.

Take as example : an antenna's turning gear with a life-time of 20 years suffe rs a massive accidental failure .

Unless provision has been made for its replacement you must rely upon the goodwill of the supp lier . otherwise the system wi ll be out of service for the long time it takes to make special purc hase of identified failed parts.

But. this goodwill can be turned into contractual obligation by a suitable support contract.

Most suppliers can. and do. enter into such contracts . My own com pany. among others . has a special divison devoted to this. They can provide : Training for technicians/ instructors.

Guarantee of protection against obsolescence of components.

Resident maintenance engineers .

Repair of units sent to the supplier .

Call-out services of company specialists. etc.

All is available.

How Can You Help in All This? Some Suggestions.

• When any new requirement of yours is being turned into a procurement. make sure that your own operational requirement includes specific statements about Long Term System Integrity (LTSI).

• Make your own assessment of your technical services ability to provide this long term systems integrity. If it falls short. then find a way to insist that the ultimat e contract includes

The next speaker to address the gathering was Anthony J. Frezza of Westinghouse who spoke on the subject of the:

Airspace Management

System 2000

It gives me great pleasure to be here at IFACTA to represent the Westinghou se Electric Corporation and our international air traffic control department . My name is Tony Frezza and I am the Program Manager for Air Traffic Control Systems for the European and African Region s. As part of the European Region we have just completed our proposal for the radar modernization and upgrade program . and have just delivered it to the BFS here in Germany.

We st inghou se is one of the major supp liers of fixed station and tactical Airsp ace Management Systems. Our radar systems. from the TPS-43 through the family of TPS-70s have been the cornerstone of a leader ship role in airspace management . focusing on the air defense aspects of the

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and not necessarily from the original supplie r.

I take a leaf from a paper by Theodore Levitt in the 'Harvard Busines s Review· of October 1983 . It is called ·After the Sale is Over . . .. · He says we should al l try to ensure that the partnership between the supplier and yourselves is a true marriage and not just a ·one-night-stand '!

Finally a quotation from my old mate William Shakespeare . which is very pertinent. It is in his pla y 'Julius Caesar·.

'The fault . dear Brutus. lies not in our stars . but in ourselves . t hat we are underlings .·

enough back-up from the supplier to make good the short-fall . If you feel a support contract is needed. find a way to get one. It does not necessarily have to come from the same capital expenditure budget used to purchase the equipment.

• Talk to your colleagues here and now who have experience in getting close to influencing technical specifications for systems - I know that many have already succeeded .

• Keep a check on your system's performance - try to get it measured. regularly. against its original specification. If it falls short. support to put it right again can be purchased

systems. Th is has been a basis for moving forward in air traff ic control . beyond our traditional role as the radar supplier . Through the management of programs in Morocco . Jordan. Sa udi Arabia. Mexico . and the Caribbea n Basin , to name a few . we have built systems for international use.

From this base of systems integration and control software . along with the ATC radar s. we have been focusing on total ATC systems.

AMS 2000 My top ic today is directed at the status of the Airspac e Management System (AMS) 2000. AMS 2000 is a West inghouse product . developed under company funds by the Systems Division to provide an integ rated . cos t effective system for terminal or en-

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route systems. depending on the specific implementation of the building blocks. The modular design of the system is aimed at a broad use of ¡Airspace Management Systems¡.

The AMS 2000 is typically configured with the Westinghouse sensors as developed for the FAA. A configuration can. however. include 20 and/ or 30 radars. On some enroute or integrated configurations. the military long range tactical radar. the TPS70. or other existing radars can be integrated into the system.

The system is designed as a total system. implemented by Westinghouse as a turnkey system.

The AMS 2000 data processing and display system provides the mechanized handling of the radar data information and the display of the processed information. Modern radars. such as the ASR-9 are now all digital and with a level of performance which allows the system to use the processed data effectively. There is optional reconstructed analog data for display to enhance maintenance and monitoring functions at the radar. The data processing and display components are formed into a system from off-the-shelf DEC equipment and is fully redundant. A 19-inch raster scan display is in the current system. but a 25-inch raster scan display is also offered. The modular architecture allows an immediate operational capability with flexibility to modify to each unique application and to grow as new technologies are introduced. without a complete system change. The automation system allows controllers to concentrate on the functions of airspace management and dynan:,ically controlling aircraft without having to perform manually tedious tasks.

Westinghouse systems are comm~rcially available processors and displays in order to provide ~~e most costeffective. flexible capability.

The processing system has been implemented at the Westinghouse Test and Integration Facility in Baltimore and will be demonstrated at the Paris Air Show. the ASR-9 radar will also be part of the exhibit.

The typical elements of the system are the ASR-9 and MSSR; the data processing and display with the software; internal communications and external communications such as AFTN - the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network. Other external agencies and protocols can be accommodated through software modifications.

ASR-9 A key ingredient of the AMS 2000 system is the terminal radar. the ASR4

9. This sensor has the most advanced technologies of any fielded radar for air traffic control. It has been built to provide user friendly capabilities, to ease the work of the controller, and make him or her more efficient in emergency situations.

Detection. weather processing and a high availability provide a modern sensor for today and tomorrow.

There are 108 ASR-9s in production. with a delivery of 3 per month underway. The first unit has been at the FAA Huntsville. Alabama. facility for over a year. under exhaustive testing. Additional optional units, as well as added overseas sales. will expand this production for many years to come.

the ability to grow and add new technologies to tailor the system to a specific requirement.

The architecture is modular, provides distributed processing and is based on standard products. primarily from DEC. The display is all digital and is off the shelf. It provides high resolution and color graphics. The communications display is also all digital with touch entry and customized for each requirement. The software is modified to provide custom implementation.

Controller Console/Workstation The design of the ATC workstation assists the controller in his or her job.

Selection of equipment, placement of the equipment to minimize fatigue, Controller Benefits and peripheral equipment to add The radar and the system have capability, have been incorporated been designed with the controller in into the workstation. The experience mind. as well as with the help of many gained from designing workstations former controllers on our staff. There for many airspace management sysare numerous features which are tems has been incorporated into the design. beneficial.

One of the major benefits is the inWe have incorporated the thoughts creased availability which translates to and experiences of experienced concontinuous operations for the con- trollers in the design and implementroller. The application of redundancy tation. gives an availability that exceeds any The workstation is a modular unit previous radar of this type, whether It either a 20-inch or 30-inch panel be air traffic control or air defense ap- which can be composed into different plications. air traffic control work positions. with Another highlight of the features of or without overheads for each panel. the ASR-9 is its ability to detect tar- By joining two or more workstations. gets in weather. and to categorize the the most common configuration of a weather. thus providing information to radar controller and an assistant's the controller and safety to the air- work position. the sector suite is craft. created.

Operators benefit when there is Workstations can be configured for high availability and the maintenance terminal. enroute, or a combination personnel benefit when there is mini- which is now being considered for fumum down time for repair. These ture implementation. They can be in features are not just design goals but control rooms or in the towers. The have been realized and demonstrated system can grow to include up to 32 in operational use. workstations.

The system provides a variety of Westinghouse MSSR/Mode S menu-driven decision aids to help the The Westinghouse MSSR. com- controller. bined with the ASR or the enroute radar. is a product from the extensive Dual Communication Processor The data communications proefforts to develop the MSSR/ Mode S cessor is a dualized Micro VAX II basSystem.

There are 13 7 units under order ed system which has been configured and programmed to perform the front with options for continued production. end communications processing tasks. to interface with the radars Data Processing and Display other operational centers and othe~ Systems The data processing and display systems such as AFTN.

system provides the mechanized handling of the radar data information and the display of the processed information. The data processing, software and display components form an integrated system. The modular architecture allows an immediate operational capability with

Dual Host Computer System The host data processor is based on the dual processor Vaxserver 3602 computer system which consists of two VAX 3600 computers. interconnected by Ethernet and dual ported disk and tape drives. This is for a miniTHE CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

mal configuration and can be expanded from a small system of 300 tracks up to a large system of 4000 tracks . In normal operations. one VAX computer will be performing the real time data processing functions for radar data processing and flight data processing. while the second. redundant computer. performs the non-real time functions for data entry and data reduction. If one of the two processors should fail. the other will automatically assume the full load .

Radar Data Processing Radar data processing provides the functional capability to process target detection reports received from the radars for the purpose of creating an air situation display for the radar con troller positions .

The software is mature. more than 15 years of development . It features

multiple radar tracking algorithms and software for 3D as well as 2D radars .

The system is configured to allow system and software growth .

System Software Development Center (SSDC) Westinghouse has invested in many test facilities . We have extensive test ranges for our radar product s and have a full systems and software development center.

This facility is used for air defense and air traffic control systems to stage and test the full system prior to customer delivery. It is also used to implement new systems from our research and development activities.

The AMS 2000 Data Processing and Display workstation was developed at the SSDC and will be part of our exhibit at the Paris Airshow .

There followed a presentation by P. M. Forth, ATC Systems Project Manager of Plessey, who offered a summary of Plessey's history in air traffic control and its new Manchester system technology: As I explained in my presentation . the many years of experience gained

by Plessey Radar in ATC systems has been captured in reuseable software over a decade and turned into a concept called ¡controller'.

This has enabled Plessey to contract with the UK CAA for the supply of the Manchester Airport and Sub Centre Radar Data Processing Display System in a period of just 12 months .

A few words about some of the important points in our history in ATC.

Service until its replacement with the new 2000 Line Monochrome Display System for the summer of 1990 .

Vienna It has been said that the Vienna system incorporates many of the most advanced ATM features in the world , including true multi-radar tracking (not mosaicing) and a close coupling between radar data processing and flight data processing.

Vienna was checked out by Eurocontrol on behalf of the Aus trian Authorities and went operational in 1987 .

Jersey, Channel Islands Plessey are providing , in the second phase of their contracts to both the Jersey Governme nt and the Guernsey Government , a dual flight data base which will link the very busy Channel Islands air traffic control area with both France and the UK. The system employs three ' OLDI ' links - on line data interchange - to connect Jersey with: London LATCC Brest Cente r Guernsey Airpo rt The links are needed because of the high level of activity in the area. For example . last year Jersey handled some 100,000 movements on their single runway.

Guernse y some 50 .000 movements on their single runwa y, whilst Jersey Center also

Eurocontrol Plessey formed a consortium with Thomson CSF and AEG Telefunken to address Eurocontrol projects. ' Eurosystem ' was formed for software development.

The system was based on IBM 370/ 155 with TFK display computers and T-CSF displays . Plessey handled the radar data processing. correlation. divergence checking. and conflict detection. even in those days .

The system was successfully in service in the 1973 era.

The Karldap development followed in similar vein .

UK/ LATCC/ Heathrow/ Manchester Sub Center Plessey was deeply involved in the radar data and display processing for the London air traffic control system. as well as the Heathrow approach control system which is only now being replaced.

The same applies to the first Man chester System which will remain in THE CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

Opening of the Technical Exhibit . right to left : Dr. Lischka. President of the Federal Admin istration of Air Navigation Services (BFS). Michael Cowlard of Plessey, Ron Mahendran , previous Corporate Members Coordinator .

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handles over 10,000 overflights and some 10, OOOmovements to and from France. The Channel Islands provide both extensive offshore banking and tourist facilities.

An imp ortant aspect is the exte nsion of experience in distributed (LAN) architecture . The second phase data base system will be operational this year.

Manch ester (NODE-NATS Operational Display Equipment) The system employs the latest

technology with extremely powerful 3 2 bit processors. needed to cope w ith the very high traffic found in UK airspace . Most interesting is the use for the first time in an operational scenario. of 2 ,000 line. 20-inch square, raster scan displays. The system allows for the use of colour . although the UK CAA have chosen initially to use monochrome . However, two Sony color indicator modules will be used to evaluate the use of color in the operational ATC environment at Manche ste r.

Finally. on behalf of Hughes Aircraft Compan y, there was an introduction of that company 's latest full co /or, high resolution, real time workstation, the

AMD-44 The AMD-44 design uses an open VME standard arch itect ure , thus t he machine is ab le to be easi ly expandable as user system demands increase . Additional processo rs, memory or peripherals are simply plugged into the standard VME bus . In order to provide a real time data display capability , Hughes has deve loped a high performance custom graphics software package cal led TREX (Tactical Real Time Extens ion s to X-Windows).

The AMD-44 combines the f ull power of mult iple 32 bit 68030 microprocessors , TREX graphics software, custom VLSI. and a rea l t im e windowing environment with standard languages and operating systems. The result is a state of the art workstation ideally suited for today's and tomorrow's ATC system demands. Further . a full colour 2K X 2K or 4 M pixel (20 inch by 20 inch) raster screen prov ides t he operator wi t h exce llent visua l reso lution and ample space to d isplay an extensive array of textual informa tion as well as all normal radar data.

A team led by Mr . E. 0 . Knowles , Assistant Division Manager at Hughes Ground Systems Group in Fullerton .

6

California. demonstrated Hughes developed state of the art graphics technology. man-machine interface (MMI) techniques and human factors approaches. Mr. Knowles reported that

Hughes has spent over 80 man years in developing these technologies .

Demonstrations were conducted at the console by Mr . Larry Fortier who is the current Chairman of the Air Traffic Controllers Association (ATCA) in the U.S. The demonstration showed the Hughes 't ouch ' capability which is accomplished using a grid of infrared beams across the face of the display screen. With this capability. an operator can simply touch a spot on the display screen where he/ she wants to move the cursor . and it immediately jumps to the spot touched .

Mr . Fortier demonstrated how this feature can prov ide significant assistance to the controllers. Controller/ operator input to the machine is also possible by use of a track ball (rolling ball). a keyboard and an electro-luminescent (EL) panel .

AMD-44 THE CONTROLLER / DECEMBER 1989

In addition. the Hughes team demonstrated the use of 'windowing' techniques for displaying data such as flight strips. secondary air situation. time of day. command entry. conflict alert and resolution. and controller note pad. These windows of information may be easily positioned to any operator preferred location on the surface of the display screen by simple input commands using any one of the four available input devices.

In July. Hughes was selected by the Bundesanstalt for Flugsicherung (BFS) in West Germany to provide the AM D-44 Workstation for the controller working position replacement program being undertaken at Karlsruhe.

In addition. Hughes has proposed their AM D-44 Workstation for the Canadian air traffic control system replacement program expected to be awarded in late 1989.

Radio Systems AB of Sweden which. it is hoped. will be included in a future issue of 'The Controller'. This presentation centered on air traffic control simulators. incorporating many new features. in the Federal Republic of Germany.

As during previous Technical Panels. the time which could be made available for a question-and-answer session was barely sufficient to allow the many issues raised to be satisfactorily explained. Many a discussion between members of the audience and participants in the Panel continued well into the hours following the Panel. For the operational controller and the industry alike. the 1989 Technical Panel again provided a welcome vehicle to exchange ideas. explain air traffic control needs and equipment availability. and to contribute. ultimately. to the development The 1989 Technical Panel also in- of systems which will serve the needs cluded a presentation by Ericsson of the users and of aviation.

Air Traffic Control Study to Complete ESPRIT Project

An eight million UK pounds European research project. with Ferranti Computer Systems as technical manager, has attracted ESPRIT (European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) funding. The project known as EQUATOR (Environment for Qualitative Temporal Reasoning) is aimed at increasing the formality which can be applied to the development of large scale, real-time knowledge based systems in applications such as industrial process control and national air traffic control.

It will be undertaken over a period of five years, bringing together some of Europe's top companies and academics. In the initial three years the project partners will formulate methods and software tools based on event calculus. advanced logic programming, and time dependent reasoning (TOR). in relation to a number of case studies. It will conclude. in the final two years. with the development of two large-scale demonstrators: one in urban traffic control THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER1989

and the other aimed at increasing the efficiency and safety of a national air traffic control system.

TOR is a method for integrating complex and continuously changing time and event combinations. which when applied to real aviation and industrial requirements. will give a quicker, more effective. consistent and, for some applications. safer deployment of systems into the late 1990s and beyond.

The EQUATOR project relates to knowledge-based approaches to industrial and commercial applications for which an efficient and coherent approach to time dependent reasoning is required. These applications are typically based on systems which are subject to modelling of the kind routinely used in the physical and engineering sciences. and to which the concepts of 'processes¡ and ¡events' are central.

A theoretical basis for the temporal semantics of events and processes in such systems can be produced by a well-chosen synthesis and extension

of results from temporal logics and qualitative reasoning and process theory.

The computational properties and complexity of temporal representation are becoming understood through recent implementations of temporal databases and other temporal reasoning systems.

Present implementations are not yet suitable for widespread industrial use for three main reasons: i) They are not efficient enough for large-scale applications; ii) They tend to be restricted to particular reasoning tasks or modes such as planning. consistency maintenance, etc .. whereas many applications require the interaction of a number of such tasks; iii) They fail to address at a practical level, the problem of translating domain knowledge into the formalisms they depend on.

The aim of EQUATOR is to construct a knowledge based system (KBS) development environment of time dependent reasoning (TOR) tools and techniques which will be suitable for full scale industrial applications.

The EQUATOR environment will be built around a general purpose representation language for events and temporal relations.

This language will be computable. but will not be required to be computationally efficient. A number of generic reasoning tools will be designed with their own appropriate formalisms.

These tools will be largely modelled on existing temporal reasoning techniques and will be implemented with regard to their run-time efficiency and to their tunability for precision and granularity of representation. Integration will be achieved by means of carefully defined mappings between the various tools' formalisms and the general purpose language.

The collaborators will include the French centre of aviation studies.

CENA- the Centre d' etude de la navigation aerienne. on the application of these advanced techniques to national air traffic flow management in the final two years of the project.

Up they go!

The AEA (Association of European Airlines) passenger figures for 1988 show that London (17.6 m pax). Paris (10.5 m pax) and Frankfurt (6.6 m pax) led the field in Europe. The highest yearly increase. however. was Dublin (+18.8%).

7

Clear Air Turbulence Editor's note: The information be_lo_w is extracted from a US FAA Advisory Circular. I~must ~e remembered that ~t1smeant for the northern portion of the globe, and m particular for North Amenca. Nevertheless, this information may well be applicable, or at least of interest, in other parts of the world.

Background

In 1966. the US National Committee for Clear Air Turbulence officially defined CAT as 'all turbulence in the free atmosphere of interest in aerospace operations that is not in or adjacent to visible convective activity (this includes turbulence found in cirrus clouds not in or adjacent to visible convective activity).' Over time, less formal definitions of CAT have evolved. Aviation Weather Services defines CAT as 'high level turbulence (normally above 15.000 feet AGL) not associated with cumuliform cloudiness. including thunderstorms.· The Airman· s Information Manual expands on the basic CAT definition as 'turbulence encountered in air where no clouds are present. This term is commonly applied to high-level turbulence associated with windshear. Thus. clear air turbulence or CAT has been defined in several ways. but the most comprehensive definition is: 'turbulence encountered outside of convective clouds.' This includes turbulence in cirrus clouds, within and in the vicinity of standing lenticular clouds and, in some cases, in clear air in the vicinity of thunderstorms. Generally, though. CAT definitions exclude turbulence caused by thunderstorms, low-altitude temperature inversions, thermals, or local terrain features.

CATwas recognized as a problem with the advent of multi-engine jet aircraft in the 1950s. CAT is especially troublesome because it is often encountered unexpectedly and frequently without visual clues to warn pilots of the hazard.

Discussion

One of the principal areas where CAT is found is in the vicinity of the jetstream or jetstreams. A jetstream is a river of high-altitude wind with a speed of 50 knots, or greater, following the planetary atmospheric wave pattern. There are, in fact, three jetstreams: the polar front jetstream, the s~btropical jetstream, and the polar night Jetstr_eam.The polar front jetstream as its name implies, is asso8

ciated with the polar front or the division between the cold polar and warm tropical air masses. The mean latitude of the jetstream core varies from 25 ° north latitude during the winter months to 42 ° north latitude during the summer months.

1. The polar front jetstream is the center of the planetary wave pattern and as such meanders over a large portion of the hemisphere throughout the year, particularly during the winter months when it is most intense.

Although the polar front jetstream varies in altitude, the core is most commonly found around 30,000 feet and it is generally best depicted on the 300 millibar constant pressure map.

2. The subtropical jetstream is a very persistent circumpolar jetstream found on the northern periphery of the tropical latitudes between 20° and 30° north latitude. It normally forms three waves around the globe with crests over the eastern coasts of Asia and North America and the Near East.

Like the polar front jetstream, the subtropical jetstream is most active during the winter months and often intrudes well into the southeastern United States. It is generally higher than the polar front jetstream with the core between 35.000 and 45.000 feet.

3. The polar night jetstream is found in the stratosphere in the vicinity of the Arctic Circle during the winter months and does not have a significant effect on air travel over the United States and southern Canada.

CAT associated with a jetstream is most commonly found in the vicinity of the tropopause and upper fronts. The tropopause is actually an upper front separating the troposphere from the stratosphere. Analyses of the tropopause are issued by the National Weather Service on a scheduled basis. In the absence of other information. the tropopause will generally have a temperature of between -55°C and -65°C. In some cases. it will be at the top of a cirrus cloud layer. Clouds are very seldom found above the tropopause in the dry stratosphere. except in the summer-

time when occasionally large thunderstorms will poke through the tropopause and spread anvil clouds in the stratosphere. CAT is most frequently found on the poleward side of the jetstream (the left side facing downwind). It is additionally common in the vicinity of a jetstream maxima (an area of stronger winds that moves along the jetstream).

There are several patterns of upperlevel winds that are associated with CAT. One of these is a deep. upper trough. The CAT is found most frequently at and just upwind of the base of the trough, particularly just downwind of an area of strong temperature advection. Another area of the trough in which to suspect CAT is along the centerline of a trough where there is a strong horizontal windshear between the northerly and southerly flows. CAT is also found in the back side of a trough in the vicinity of a wind maxima as the maxima passes through.

One noteworthy generator of CAT is the confluence of two jetstreams.

On occasion. the polar front jetstream will dip south and pass under the subtropical jetstream. The area of windshear between the two jetstreams in the area of confluence and immediately downstream is frequently turbulent.

CAT is very difficult to predict accurately. due in part to the fact that CAT is spotty in both dimensions and time. Common dimensions of a turbulent area associated with a jetstream are on the order of 100 to 300 miles long. elongated in the direction of the wind, 50 to 100 miles wide. and 2.000 to 5.000 feet deep. These areas may persist from 30 minutes to a day. In spite of the difficulty forecasting CAT, there are rules that have been developed to indicate those areas where CAT formation is likely.

The threshold windspeed in the jetstream for CAT is generally considered to be 110 knots. Windspeed in jetstreams can be much stronger than 110 knots and the probability of encountering CAT increases with the windspeed and the windshear it generates. It is not the windspeed itself that causes CAT: it is the windshear or difference in windspeed from one point to another that causes the wave motion or overturning in the atmosphere that is turbulence to an aircraft. Windshear occurs in all directions, but for convenience it is measured along vertical and horizontal axes, thus becoming horizontal and vertical windshear. Moderate CAT is considered likely when the vertical windshear is 5 knots per 1,000 feet. or greater, and/ or the horizontal windshear is 20 knots per 150 THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

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naut ical miles, or greater . Severe CAT is cons idered likely when the vertical wi ndshear is 6 knots per 1,000 feet and / or t he horizontal windshear is 40 knots per 150 miles or greater .

Until pract ical airborne detectors are developed , pilots are urged to use th e Rules of Thumb to Assist in Avoiding or Minimizing Encounters With Clear Ai r Turbulence . The majority of the se gu idel ines were developed init ially by t he International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Sixth Air-Navi gati on Conference of April/ May 1969 , but have been expanded based on recommendations from the Departm ent of Defense , the National Transportat ion Safety Board . and the Federal Aviat ion Adm inistrat ion .

Recommendat ion : All pilots and oth er personne l concerned with flight plannin g should carefully consider the hazards associated w ith flight through areas wh ere pilot reports or aviation w eath er forecasts indicate the presence of CAT including moun t ain wa ve turbule nce . The Rules of Thumb are int end ed to assist pilots in avoiding pot entially hazardous CAT during flight.

sure) side of the jetstream axis. but in unusual cases may occur on the equatorial side .

5 . Turbulence is also related to vertical shear . From the tropopause height / vertical windshear chart. determine the vertical shear in knots-perthousand feet . If it is greater than 5 knots per 1,000 feet. turbulence is likely .

6 . Curving jetstreams are more apt to have turbulent edges than straight ones . especially jetstreams which curve around a deep pressure trough .

7 . Wind-shift areas associated with pressure troughs and ridges are frequently turbulent . The magnitude of the windshear is the important factor.

8 . If jetstream turbulence is encountered with direct ta ilwinds or headwinds . a change of flight level or course should be initiated since these turbulent areas are elongated with the wind and are shallow and narrow .

9. If jetstream turbulence is encoun tered in a crosswind . it is not so important to change course or flight level since the rough areas are narrow across the wind .

Rule s of thum b t o assist in avoiding or minim izing encounters with clear air turbul ence (CAT) Note: The fo llo wing Rules of Thumb apply p rima rily to the west erl y j etstreams.

1. Jetstreams stro nger t han 110 knots (at the core) are apt to have areas of significant turb ulence near them in the sloping tropopause above the core. in the j etstrea m fr ont below the core, and on the low-press ure side of the core.

2. Windshear and its acco mp anying CAT in jetstrea ms is mor e intense above and to t he lee of moun tain ranges. CAT shou ld be ant ic ipated whenever the flightpath trave rses a strong jetstream in the vicinity of mo untain ous terra in.

3. Both vert ica l and ho rizonta l windshear are. of cou rse. great ly intensified in mo unta in wave con ditions. Therefo re. when the flightpat h traverses a mo unta in wave type of flow. it is desirable to fly at t urbulencepenetrat ion speed and avoid flight over areas where the terrain drops abruptly. even though there may be no lenticu lar c louds to identify the condition.

4. On cha rts for standard isobaric surfaces. such as 300 millibars . if 20knot isotachs are spaced closer together than 150 nautical m iles (2½ degrees latit ude). there is sufficient horizonta l shear for CAT. This area is normally on t he poleward (low-pres10

New I FALPA President The Internati onal Federation of Air Line Pilots · Associati ons elected a new President at its Annu al Conference in Helsinki. Bart Bakker took over from anot her long-time frie nd of IFATCA , Reg Smith of Canada. and it is safe to pred ict that the excellent relat ions hip and coope ration betwee n the two Federatio ns wi ll cont inue and grow.

L.H.D. (Bart) Bakker was born in Band ung. Indonesia, on M ay 3.

1939 . He started flight tr aining w it h

10 . If turbulence is encountered in an abrupt wind shift associated with a sharp pressure trough line , establi sh a course across the trough rather than parallel to it .

11. If turbulence is expected because of penetration of a sloping tropopause . watch the temperature gauge . The point of colde st temperature along the flightpath will be the tropopau se penetrat ion . Turbul ence will be most pronounced in the temperature-change zone on the strato spheric (upper) side of the sloping tropopau se.

12 . If possible . wh en crossing the jet. climb with a rising temperature and descend with a dropping temperature .

13 . Weather satellite picture s are useful in identifying jet streams associated with cirru s c loud band s. CAT is normally expected in the vicinity of jetstream s. Satellit e imag ery showing ·wave -like' or ' herringbone ' cloud patterns are often assoc iated w ith mountain wave turbulence.

Pilots should avail th emselves of briefing s on satellite data whenever possible .

the Royal Neth erlands Air Force in 19 58 , compl eted multi -engine t raining at the Government Flying Sc hool in 1960.

Bart joined KLM in 1960 as second officer on DC- 7 , F / 0 on DC-3 After redundan cy with KLM he join ed Autair (UK) as F / 0 on DC-3 until 19 61 . emigrat ed to (then) Rhod esia and flew with Afri ca ir (Bot sw ana) as F / 0 on DC-3 / DC-4 and with Wenela as ca pt ain DC-3.

In 19 62 he op erated w ith Com air (SA) on Lock heed Lodestar and with Southwes t Ai rlin es (N amibi a) on DC-3 .

In 1964 Bart jo ined Aero Transport i lt aliani as ca pt ain F-2 7 out of Naples. and late r in 1964 he j oine d Lufth ansa as F / 0 CV 440 and B 7 2 7 .

In 1968 he rej oined KLM . flyi ng on DC-9 . DC-8 and at present as cap t ain DC-10 .

In 1975 Bart beca m e a bo ardmember of VNV (Dut c h Pilots · A ssoc iat ion). Tec hni ca l/ Int ernat iona l Affa irs. until 1984.

In 198 4 he was elected as Princ ipal Vi ce- President. Tech nica l. of IFALPA. and in 19 89 elect ed to President of IFALPA. From 1969 t ill 1974 he st udie d mat hemat ics/ physics at Leiden Stat e University. His inte rest s are astron om y and astrophys ics.

TH E CONTROLLER/ DECEM BER 1989

Frankfurt Main Airport

New Record in 1988 Frankfurt Airport Handles More Than 1 Million Metric Tons of Air Cargo

Frankfurt Airport , already Europe ' s busiest for air cargo, set a new record in 1988 - the airport for the first time handled more than 1 million metric tons of air cargo .

The 1,007.109 metric tons (not including transit cargo) represented a

10 .8 percent increa se over air cargo handled in 1987.

More than 10 ,000 fully loaded cargo jumbos would have to gather at the airport at once to demonstrate j ust how much freight that is.

The continuing high increase s in air cargo volume are due mainly to expans ion in high-growth market s in Western and Northern Europe , Asia and North America.

Growth in export cargo is the result of increased demand from leading industrialized countries as well as improvements in West Germany's inte rnational competitive position .

Increases in freight forwarded by cargo aircraft are especially noteworthy- that amount now comprises

about 4 5 percent of all cargo handled.

Freight vol ume on domestic flights (feeder service or transfer cargo) has been stag nat ing for months . Increases there have been solely due to trucking . Freight forwarded to or from Frankfurt by truck comprises about 70 percen t of domestic cargo volume, up fro m 65 percent in 1987. Trucking cargo vol ume, at about 245.000 metric tons. now makes up 22 percent of tota l ca rgo volume handled at Frankfu rt Airport.

The airport is expecting further increases in air cargo traffic in coming years. The re are already plans to considerably expand ca rgo cent er facilit ies.

Volume at FRA

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989 * 1990

1995

2000

Passengers(millions)

20 .2

20 .4

23.3

25.2

26.7

27 .7

32 .2

36.9

Airfreight (1,000 metric tons)

805

860

951

1,048

1,114

1,162

1,407

1,687

Aircraft movements (total in 1,000)

254

265

286

309

324

328

344

359

* Projection as of August 1989 TH E CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

11

Operation

New Generation of r ffic Control Direction nders

Traffic control direction finders are used in civil and military ATC to support approach. to identify targets on radar displays and- in conjunct ion with computers - fo r radiol oc ation by tri angulation. They are used for the identification and location of coastal shipping as well as for the radioloc at ion of land vehicles.

The new generation of Rohde and Sc hwa rz Direction Finders PA 100 / PA 200 is based on 30 years· experience in developin g and manufacturing wide-ape rt ure Doppler direction finders and a large number of systems sold w orldwide w ith a total of over 900 OF channels. Som e of the important features are: •

•

•

Wid e-aperture OF antenna Wide -aperture antennas (rat io of diamete r to wavelength > 1) are relatively inse nsitive to f ield distortion caused by reflections so that they can even be used under unfavorable OF cond itions.

Compensation of freque ncy off set s between transmitter and receiver Using the OF and refer ence channel in the antenna and receive r. the effect of frequency offsets between transmitter and receiver on the IF is eliminated.

The sensitiv ity can then be enhanced by reducing t he bandw idth and reliable bear ings be taken of FM transmitters.

ELT signals (Emerge ncy Locato r Transmitter) and heav ily ove rmodulated signals.

Alternating cw/ ccw sca nning Alternating clockwise/ counterclockwise OF-antenna scanni ng compensates fo r the effect the sig nal de lay in the IF filters has on the OF resu lt and makes it pract ica lly inde pend ent of frequency offsets between tran smit ter and rece iver.

•

•

•

Scanning unit (easily accessible at the antenna mast base) . This controls the antenna scanning and contains RF preamplifiers.

OF unit . This contains a combined control and processing section as well as a dual receiver (OF and reference section for frequency compensation).

The receiver is synthesizer-controlled and uses modules from the VHF/UHF radio equipment series 400. VHF. UHF or combined VHF / UHF receivers are available and therefore also three OF units: PP 100 for 118 to 163 MHz (also available w ith restricted frequency range).

PP 200 for 225 to 400 MHz. PP 120 for 118 to 163 MHz and 225 to 400 MHz. Operator Processor PB 100 . This controls front -pane l entries and displays at the operator pos ition and can be used wit h any of the OF units .

All units can be powered from an AC supply or from a 24-VDC source .

Frequency setting The operator sets the receive frequency on the front panel of Control/ Monitoring Unit PB 100 C either directly in 2 5-kHz steps or recall s it from a non vo latile memory with 100 storage location s by entering a channel number .

The effective recei ve frequency (returnsignalled by OF unit) is always indicated on the front panel. The channel number is also shown if a channel has been selected .

Direction finding A four-digit readout on Display Unit PB 100 D show s the operator the bearing (resolution 0. 5 ° ); an additional operator orientation aid is provided in the form of an LED ring. an LED lighting up to show the operator where the aircraft is coming from (resolution 5 ° ). By turning this aid in 1O 0 steps. north can be set as see n by the operator from his normal working position relative to the runw ay.

The operator can select the reference direction for the indicated bearing (QDR .

ODM. QTE or OUJ). Thi s does not affect the operator orientation aid. whose reference direction (QOR or OTE) is determined in Operator Processor PB 100 . To meet the requirements of the authorities for special application s. the keys for selecting the reference direction can be locked (QDM being then effective for th e digital readout and OCR for the ope rator orientation aid).

The magnetic declination can be internally adju sted in 0.1 ° steps to any positi ve or negative value .

The bearing and operator orient ation aids persist for up to 10 s (internally adjustable) after the end of a carrier. The

Desogn The modul ar design of the traffic cont rol direction finders and integ rated serial remote-contro l interfaces ma ke for highly flexible system conf iguration; compact units with one OF c hannel can be imp lemented as easily as complex V HF-UHF systems w ith a large number of simultaneous OF channe ls.

Each OF system consists of four basic components:

I

OF antennaincluding referenceantenna (required for frequencycompensation) and commutator.

12

VHF Dire ction Finder PA 700 with Antenna AP 116 THE CONTROL LER/ DECEMBER 1989

Director-General ILO Elected

Operator Processor PB 100 with Display Unit PB 700 D and Control/ Monitoring Unit PB 700 C

bearing information remains stored until a new bearing is obtained and indication can be repeated at any time by pressing the REP key. If the REP key is pressed (or an external HOLD switch closed). the memory co ntent is preserved even when a new bearing is available (display flashes in HOLD mode).

Ground-transmitter suppression prevents the memory contents from being overwritten by a ground transmitter .

Bearings of weak signals can be suppressed by adjusting the response threshold of the receiver squelch accordingly .

If there is an uninterrupted transition between signals from two transmitters with different azimuth. the display immediately reads out the new value (in less than 1 s at the sensitivity limit of the direction finder) .

If OF quality is insufficient. due to distorted fields caused by reflections for instance. the last digit of the bearing indication flashes.

If the elevation angle of the incident signal is greater than 70 °. the overhead pass message OHP is indicated below the bearing instead of the reference direction and an alarm signal is heard.

For radar displays. or for processing in triangulation computers. the bearing is output on the operator processor in serial form with resolution of 0. 5 ° and the reference direction ODR or OTE (internally selectable).

The north alignm ent of the direction finder can be adju sted in the OF unit in 0.1 ° steps over 360°. with comb ined VHF/U HF direction finders for each range separately. The OF antennas can be set up in any position both relative to north and to one anothe r.

Audio monitoring

The Contro l/ Monitoring Unit PB 100 C is fitted w ith a loudspeaker and a headTHE CONTROLLER / DECEMBER 1989

phone connector for monitoring the information contents of the signal received. A special filter eliminates from the AF signal the scanning noise induced into the reference antenna by the OF antenna.

The alarm signal sent by the control / monitoring unit in the case of a distress call. overhead pass or faults is superimposed on the normal AF in the loudspeaker/ headphones but independently of the set volume. The alarm signal is intermittent and can be switched off using the CLEAR key.

Operation at distress frequencies

A distress message from an external guard receiver switc hes the direction finder automatically to the distress frequenc y ( 121. 5 or 243 MHz. other frequencies are possible). The receiver squelch is bypassed so that the direction find er operates at full sensitivity. The operator is informed of the distress call by the flashing display and an acoustic alarm . The bearings of even short distress calls remain stored .

(News from Rohde & Schwarz 122)

of the

The International Labour Office . an organization with which I FATCA has long had close ties and excellent co- operation . has elected its eighth Director-General . He is Michel Hansenne. formerly Belgium's Minister for Civil Service.

The appointment for a five-year term began on 27 February . immed iately following the expiry of Mr. F. Blanchard 's term of office. Mr. Blanchard of France , whose I LO career spanned 38 years, was Direc tor-General for the past 15 yea rs.

Mr. Hansenne, aged 48, was elected by the 56-member ILO governing bod y in a secret ballot.

Mr. Hansenne holds a doctorate in law and a degree in economics and finance from the State Universit y of Liege. Belgium . He has been a mem ber of parliament since 1974. He was Minister for French Culture from 1979 to 1981. He became Minister of Employment and Labour in December 1981 and was appointed to the post of Minister for Civil Service in May 1988 .

On the international plane, Mr. Ha nsenn e has led the Belgian delegation to the International Labour Conference si nce 1982. Within the Europe an Community he has chaired the Council of Ministe rs of Labour and Industrial Relation s and twice chaired the Standing Committee on Employment. He has been an active contributor to the work of the Organisation for Economic Cooper ation and Development (O ECD) within its Manpower and Industri a l Rel ations Committee and during the 1984 intsrgovernmental conference on the growth of employment in the context of structural change. He has in addition represented Be lgium at the Council of Europe and the European Labour Minister s Conference.

Corrigenda On page 18 of issue 3 / 89 of 'The Co ntro ller ' , in t he article ' Elected at I FATCA · 89 ', part of a sent enc e w as inadve rte ntly left out . The full sentence . in t he third paragraph , read s: · He w as Vi cto rian State Direc to r of CA O OAA (the Au strali an A ssoc iation) from 19 7 0- 19 7 2 . Vice -President 7 2 -' 76 , President ' 76 - ' 82 , and again ' 86 - ' 88. ' On page 29 of iss ue 3 / 89 . in th e ·passenger-kilomet res co lumn Qantas w as mi stakenly shown as having 66 ,2 2 3 ,000 .000 RPKs Th e co rrect figure Is 26 .2 billion RPKs whi c h move s O uantas to a position between Singapore Airline s and CAAC in th e list.

13

The Law: The Pilot and the Air Traffic Controller Division of Responsibilities Captain Henk Geut, LL. M .

The author is an airline pilot, and has been flying for Martinair Holland since 7966 , recently as captain, DC 70. During his flying career he studied law at the university of Leiden , The Netherlands, and wrote a thesis on the 'Legal Aspects of Aircraft Accident Investigation '. He is a legal consultant , and a member of the Legal Committee of the Dutch Airline Pilots'Association .

This paper was delivered on 8 September 7988 during the Aviation Law and Operations Conference organized by the European Study Conferences Ltd. , 7-9 September 7988 in London (UK.). For the purpose of this article some textual impr ovements and minor corrections are applied and some additional information from the !CAO-field is added.

This article appeared in 'Air Law ,' volume XIII, number 6, 7988 , and is reprinted with permission of the author and of 'Air Law '. Editor.

On 22 January 19 77 . the pilot of a Cessna filed an IFR flight plan by radio . for a trip from Nogales . Arizona . to Fresno . California.

He req uested clearance to fly from Nogales to · Flatts' intersection , to inte rcept Victor 66 airway and then on airways to Fresno at 10.000 feet.

The flight service specia list on duty could not find ' Flatts' intersection on his chart. He then informed the pilot that the route clearance wou ld be Nogales direct to Tucson, and that departure rada r would vector the Cessna direct to the Victor 66 airway so that he would not have to fly via Tucson but on a more direct track. On the assurance that the radar controller would vector t he aircr aft back to its origina l route. the pi lot accepted the suggested route. The minium altitu de at 'Flat ts ' was 9,000 feet. The new route. direct to Tucson. would bring the aircraft over terrain w ith elevat ions in excess of 9 .OOO feet. Witne sses reported low cloud s, and mountain tops obsc ured in the area at the time of t he acc ident . The Cessna was cleared as fi led by the departure con tro ller to mainta in 10,000 feet and to climb VFR until cross ing 9 ,000 feet.

Since t he pilot had not asked fo r a VFR climb . this did not comp ly with the prov isions of the ATC Manual .

Afte r departure. when radio and radar contact were establ ished. the contro ller saw on his radar screen that the aircraft approached high terrain. so he instructed the pilot to fly im 14

mediately a reciprocal heading . He. saw the aircraft start a left turn. But it also descended. One minute later its altitude read ing was below 9,000 feet. The Cessna continued to turn and also descend ; it crashed in high terrain, 21 miles north west of Nogales becau se of disorientation of the pilot during the turn [1 ] .

Division of Responsibilities An air disaster as described is not a regular event. Travelling by air still seem s to be the safest means of t ransportat ion . Howev er. despite the fact t hat within the aviation industry a high degree of safety is reached , it appears every now and then that an accide nt cannot always be prevented.

Wh en during an accident air traffic control was involved . the question will be raised as to who had the responsibility for the operation and safety of the fl ight.

Is it to be the air traffic co ntroller who. with the help of the blessings of modern technology like radar, computers and radio cou ld direct the aircraft's flight path from the ground, or shou ld it be the pilot in comma nd beca use he . as in the old days of the ·great-av iato rs'. is the only one on board who has suffi cie nt expertise to be able to bear the burden of an absolute responsibility for the safe operation of the aircraft.

Without having the intention of giv ing a co mple te overview of statute s. regu lations and case law. in thi s

Henk Geut

paper an attempt to answer thi s question will be made . also with respe ct to pertinent international regulation s.

The Pilot In Command When with respect to th e responsibility of the pilot in command. the Chic ago Convention [2] is co nsulted. several Anne xes, attached to th is Convention with provisions that are relevant to the subject. can be found.

In Anne x 6 the standards and rec ommended practices are laid down which are de aling with the operational aspects of flight preparation and execution [3] . The applicable standard regarding the respon sibility of the pilot in command is found in chapter 4 . which runs as follows: Duties of Pilot in Command "The pilot in co mm and shall be respons ibl e fo r the operation and safety of the aeroplane and for the safe ty of all persons on bo ard du rin g flight time.·

Furthermore, c hapte r 4 of this Annex con tain s a number of rules pertinent to the ope rationa l aspects of flight execution. such as rul es regard ing the preparation of the flight, inflight procedures . flight check sysTHE CONTRO LLER/ DECEMBER 1989

terns. altitude- and operating minima. etc.

In pursuance of Article 3 7 of the Convention. where the Contracting States agree to collaborate in securing the highest practicable degree of uniformity in regulations. most of the Contracting States have arranged legislation on these subjects in conformity with the Annexes to quite a large extent.

Thus. the presumption that the pilot in command is responsible for the operation and the safety cf the aircraft also serves as a postulate in Dutch air navigation law [4]. as it is reflected in the national regulations of most countries [5].

Public Law and Private Law Besides the duties based on public regulations which. inter alia. require the pilot in command to satisfy himself that the flight can be safely accomplished regarding the weather and terrain en route. that sufficient fuel is loaded and the cargo properly stowed and tied down according to the loadsheet information and to operate the aircraft according to the operation manuals. the captain also has a responsibility which is based on his contractual relationship with his employer.

Scheduled departure- and arrival times have to be met. Flight economy and passenger service aspects are connected to the duties according to quite a number of company regulations. in this respect [6].

Absolute Responsibility of the Pilot In Command In not operating the aircraft accordingly. the pilot in command can be held liable for sustained damages.

His company could be held vicariously liable or could be sued on the basis of the Warsaw system. if applicable.

When personal injuries or death is involved. it is not impossible that the pilot will have to face criminal prosecution [7]. though in pilots¡ circles it is b~lie':'ed that this is contrary to the public interest. because it does not contr!bute !Oaviation safety.

It 1snot inte_nded.however. to give a comprehensive lecture on the liability of the airline pilot. For the purpose of this paper it is sufficient to note that not only occasionally. the responsibil~ ity of the pilot in command is regarded as absolute and that this legal concept is translated into a strict liability [8].

An example of this can be found in the next case: A captain taxied out his aircraft thinking that according to the loadsheet figures his aircraft would have a total weight of 8.000 lbs by the THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER1989

time he would take off; he was held liable afterwards. however. because during take-off his aircraft weighed more than its maximum allowable weight. A traffic clerk had placed some extra cargo on board without notifying the captain [9]. In the appeal before a New Zealand court. the judge held that since the Civil Aviation Regulations provide that the pilot is responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft as well as of persons and cargo carried - 'it would be impossible to hold. that a breach of these regulations did not import the notion of strict liability.¡ It was also held that the captain could not delegate this duty to any other person such as the traffic clerk. nor could he rely on documents handed to him by a third party. and a captain must. before take-off. check the cargo which has been loaded and ensure that all of it appears on the loadsheet. even if it would concern the loading of a big transport aircraft like a Boeing 737.

A Practical Approach: Concurrent Responsibility The question should be raised if in modern transport aviation a similar approach to the duties of the pilot in command still can be held as practicable.

Perhaps the aviator of ancient times who. with only some assistance from a mechanic or a clerk. prepared his flying machine for a journey to distant places. could be held responsible for all the flight preparation and execution. However. preparing and operating a transport aircraft in modern aviation is accomplished by the effort of quite a number of personnel. most of whom are trained and sometimes have to be licensed. before being authorised to do the job. And though certain actions by handling staff or crew are executed on command of the captain. their functions and duties are. mostly in detail. governed by rules and regulations that are laid down in operation manuals and compa~y regulations. The pilot in command 1s to be regarded in this respect ~s a supervising manager of a team with a duty to operate the aircraft in a safe and economic way. Each member has his functional duties and should have a responsibility accordingly. Furthermore. without delegation of the captain's duties. he would be unable to operate the aircraft according to the rules and regulations as is required.

Delegation of duties implies delegation of responsibility. A delegate cannot be relieved from this just because he is operating under command or authorityofthe pilot in command.

A review of the pilot's responsibility concept is necessary [1O]. It should be given a more practical interpretation.

The responsibility of persons charged with a duty with respect to the operation of an aircraft should be regarded as concurrent. Accordingly the extent to which the pilot in command is to be held liable should be dependent on the facts and circumstances of a particular case.

A similar approach was followed during the criminal proceedings in Frankfurt after a crash of a Boeing 7 4 7 in Nairobi [11].

It was established. after an extensive investigation. that the jumbo crashed because the leading edge flaps were not set in the correct position required for take-off. according to the flight manual procedures.

During the trial against the flight engineer in which the court could not establish with certainty whether he could have seen from his switches and instruments if the flaps were not properly set. he was acquitted.

The correct flap position is indicated by eight green lights (one for each flap segment) on the flight engineer's panel. On the pilot's panel this is repeated by only one green light.

It is interesting to note that only the flight engineer was accused of a possible negligent omission. It was also the captain's responsibility to check the correct flap setting. The prosecutor had concluded. however. that the decisive manipulations were the sole responsibility of the flight engineer and did not even accuse the captain despite the fact that he as well could read the crucial sign on his panel.

Air Traffic Control When turning our attention now to air traffic control. on first sight it seems to be justified to hold the captain absolutely responsible as well for ATC related accidents or incidents. on the grounds of the provisions laid down in Annex 2 which read. inter alia: 'The pilot in command of an aircraft shall have final authority as to the disposition of the aircraft while he is in command' [12).

And also: 'The pilot in command of an aircraft shall. whether manipulating the controls or not. be responsible for the operation of the aircraft in accordance with the rules of the air. except that he may depart from these rules in circumstances that render such departure absolutely necessary in the interest of safety¡ [ 13].

Before putting the facts and circumstances in a particular case to this responsibility test. however. it seems to be fair to analyse the pertinent functions and duties of the air traffic controller with respect to the operation of an aircraft.

15

Duties of the Air Traffic Controller The duties of an air traffic control officer. who has to hold a valid licence authorising him to give a specific type of service. are laid down in the national law of the state over which the air traffic services are to be provided.

In Annex 11 the objectives of the air traffic services are indicated. They are [14]: -

Prevention of collisions between aircraft; prevention of collisions between aircraft on the manoeuvring area and obstructions on that area; expedite and maintain an orderly flow of air traffic; provide advice and information useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flights; notify appropriate organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue. aid and assist such organisations as required.

requested route. altitude and speed for the issuance of an air traffic control clearance [18].

Provision of Air Traffic Control In controlled airspace. air traffic control is provided by clearances given to the pilot on the basis of his flight plan that has been filed before the flight or on the basis of a pilot's request during the flight.

Furthermore. the above mentioned objectives are maintained by applying prescribed separation minima to other aircraft and. where needed. giving certain instructions to the pilot such as radar headings. speed instructions or holding instructions.

Division of Responsibilities In contrast with the controller, the pilot in command in manoeuvring his aircraft has no exact information on the position of other aircraft in relation to his flight. particularly so in IMC conditions. Furthermore. he must op[16]. erate his aircraft according to the flight plan without deviation unless reThe number of states exercising their rights to deviate from the rules quested to. and subsequently approvlaid down in the above mentioned An- ed by air traffic control. In most counnexes is not limited to a very small fig- tries. the pilot has a duty provided by ure. As a consequence of providing air law to comply with clearances and intraffic services in international avi- structions given by air traffic control. ation. different sets of rules have often Only if an emergency arises. may the pilot in command deviate if immedito be applied by the same controller.

Needless to say that. in order to be ately necessary [19]. Then still, alterable to operate the aircraft by the ing the flight plan track or altitude book. the pilot has sometimes to study without consultation with ATC can be dangerous and bring about another various sets of rules and procedures. emergency. Consequently. an air trafbefore he sets out on an international fic control officer has control over the flight. aircraft in flight to quite a great extent.

On doing so he has different op- which seems to be in conflict with the tions to choose from: concept that holds the pilot in com1. He can make a flight under Visual mand absolutely responsible for the safety and operation of the aircraft. :light Rules (VFR). These are flights A clear division of responsibilities is in weather conditions in which he not given by statute or regulation. should be able to maintain a certain If the controller's duties would be prescribed visibility and distance to regarded as advisory only, as is clouds. during the flight. Under VFR the primary responsibility for provided for in some countries. only the safe operation of the aircraft the pilot could be held responsible for rests with the pilot. regardless of an accident or incident even when caused by a wrong clearance or inthe traffic clearance.

2. He can also choose to operate his struction [20]. The other side of the flight under Instrument Flight Rules coin. holding the controller absolutely responsible for the safe operation of (IFR) [17]. When the weather conthe aircraft whenever it is operated ditions during the flight are expec- under his jurisdiction is. to my knowlted to be below specified minima edge. not provided for in any country.

(IMC = instrument meteorological conditions) the flight must be made liability of Air Traffic Control under IFR. Air traffic control agencies, howWhen planning to do so. the pilot in ever. are not excluded from subcommand has to file a flight plan. sequent litigation after an ATC related which must contain the necessary accident. Because in most countries information that is needed by the rel- air traffic control is provided by the State. a governmental body. or an evant air traffic control unit such as the

And apart from the fact that national law differs from country to country. it could be stated that these objectives in general form the basis in defining the legal scope of the controller's duties [15] as laid down in ATC manuals and other regulations

16

agency that is under the control of the government. in most States principles of law regarding State liabi'lity apply [21 ]. So the State can be held liable in negligence for damage caused by an act or omission of ATC. As a consequence, in most States the negligent air traffic controller can be held liable too. When death or injuries are involved, it is not impossible that he will have to face criminal presecution.

Case Law From the resulting case law. it appears that the pilot in command is not always held as the sole responsible. as could be expected on the grounds of the responsibility concept as mentioned before.

Thus. on the grounds that the plane was subject to air traffic controllers¡ directions. a passenger who sued the airline for alleged injuries. sustained when the aircraft made a sudden stop while on the grbund. was denied damages. The court held that it could not be said that the aircraft was under the exclusive control of the airline. or. in fact. of the pilot [22].

Also. the conclusions of the National Transportation Safety Board in the investigation of the accident described at the start of this paper. were. inter alia. that the probable cause of the accident was the controller's issuance of an improper departure clearance, climb restriction and altitude clearance. The controller¡ s lack of knowledge and non compliance with standard ATC procedures placed the aircraft in proximity to high terrain. and the pilot lost control of the aircraft while executing an emergency. controller directed. turn.

It would have been the pilot's duty to familiarise himself with the terrain features in relation to the flight path of the new route and accordingly request an amended clearance.

It was concluded that neither the pilot nor the air traffic control l?er~<?nnel excercised their respons1b11it1es properly but that the greater responsibility had to be borne by ATC personnel.

It was clear in the above-mentioned case that the controllers did not operate according to the duties outlined by the air traffic control manual. which is used as a basis to test the duty of care that is owed by the controller in a particular case.

Take-off When a Fan-Jet Falcon took off from Norwich airport on 2 2 December 1973. the controllers¡ standard of operation was according to the rules THE CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

1 \

i

1

in the manuals and regulations. During take-off. both engines stopped because of the ingestion of a flock of birds and a forced landing was executed. In the subsequent litigation to recover the value of the aircraft hull. it was held that it would have been the controllers· duty to keep a look out from the tower and eventually warn the pilots for a possible bird strike even after the take-off clearance was given and the aircraft had started its take-off roll [23]. It was held justifiable that. in receiving a take-off clearance from the controller during the many duties the pilots have to fulfill in the course of take-off. they could expect that a takeoff could be accomplished safely.

In a similar case. the co"ntrollers· duty to monitor the aircraft's take-off flight path was discussed in connection with a crash of a heavily loaded Lockheed Super Constellation. taking off from Los Angeles Airport. California. during darkness in rainy. cloudy and turbulent weather conditions. The pilot received a clearance which would take his flight path through a gap in between two mountain ridges.

After take-off. however. due to a suspected instrument malfunction. a turn was made which brought the aircraft well off its projected track. and it crashed into mountainous terrain. The trial court ruled that the controllers· negligence in not detecting the track deviation and not warning the pilot in time was the proximate cause of the crash [24].

The decisions in these and similar cases justify the conclusion that maintaining a safe operation of the flight is not only the pilot's responsibility but also the controller· s! He has to warn about hazards or dangerous situations and provide the pilots with information or even instructions to prevent an accident or incident. Thus. the controller who observed a pilot of a light aircraft start his take-off. right after a big jet had departed. despite the fact that he was provided with the ·wake turbulance caution' according to the ATC-manual. should have· warned the pilot of the dangerous situation he would fly into. even after the take-off clearance was given; or he should habe delayed the take-off clearance [25]. .

In the Los Angeles case. mentioned before. it was held that the controller had a duty to ·direct and guide' the aircraft in a manner consistent with safety.

stead of the flight crew. and accord- with sophisticated equipment and ingly the safe operation of the flight provide the controllers with the tools could be held an absolute controller's they need to enable them to cope with responsibility. Thus. the pilot after re- such a heavy responsibility. ceiving clearance to do so. could descend his aircraft without being fam- See and Avoid iliar with the topography of the area Operating a flight under IFR does relevant to the position of his aircraft not relieve the pilot from exercising the en route or without having knowledge highest possible degree of vigilance to of other information or regulations avoid other aircraft. The pilot in compertinent to the safe operation of the mand of the DC-9 in the Nantes case flight. was held 15% responsible. Under For a similar flight execution. and visual weather conditions the flight descending below an altitude where crew is expected to see and avoid adequate terrain clearance could be other aircraft by maintaining a proper maintained. a pilot was held liable. look out [28]. however. because he recklessly comIt has been stated that: 'The only menced descent into mountainous reasonable way controllers can perterrain following blindly the descent form all their duties and for the air trafclearance into unfamiliar surround- fic control systems to run at all efings. ficiently. is for controllers to rely on It was held that: 'the clearance pilots to maintain vigilance and "see simply granted the pilot a measure of and avoid" each other' [29. 30]. discretion. to be exercised in accordThus. in a case which arose from ance with standards of due care and another midair collision. in spite of the applicable regulations.· On the other circumstances that made it very diffihand. the court found that the con- cult to see other aircraft because of troller was negligent in giving a de- the limited visibility and the camouscent clearance without determining flage effect of the background. the the plane's position and without pilot was held responsible for: 'not warning him of possible obstacles. It looking thoroughly and diligently in the was held that the standard of care not area in which the other aircraft was only is derived from the manual but: flying' [31 ]. And in a case following a 'the clearance must be reasonably fatal collision of a DC-9 coming in for designed to ensure the safety of the landing. with a VFR Piper aircraft. it aircraft' [2 6]. was held that the accident was causIt is evident that the controller· s ed by the controller's failure to notice duty is not just an advisory function the Piper on his radar screen and probut that he has also a responsibility vide adequate separation. but also by with respect to the safety and the op- the DC-9 crew's failure to maintain a eration of the aircraft which are under proper look-out even though operating his jurisdiction. This can be concluded under IFR [32]. from the litigation concerning the midStudies have shown. however. that air-collision disaster over Nantes. in many factors are reducing the ability which the responsibility for separating to exercise a high degree of vigilance. aircraft en route was in discussion. A Also. there seems to be a tendency Convair Coronado collided with a DC- among flight crews to relax their vigil9 on 5 March 1973. It was held. inter ance, especially when the flight is alia. that: 'the duty of ATC seems to monitored by ATC. in the assumption being close to absolute to assure the that air traffic control has everything safety of the flight it has taken in its under control [33]. care. by the information which it Furthermore. because of the varcommunicates and by the instructions iety in speed and size of the aircraft or even orders which it gives· [27]. which are travelling the airways nowDespite the special circumstances of adays, if the flight crew is able to get the case (at the time. control was pro- another aircraft in sight at all. the time vided by military personnel who did they have left to react and avoid if not master the English language very conflicting is only a few seconds [34 ]. well. radar equipment at their disposal So the responsibility for avoiding was inadequate. and also the com- aircraft in flight can hardly be based on munication between control canters the ancient concept of see and be did not work properly) air traffic control seen by the human eye. In the former was held responsible for 85%. case it was held. however: 'We believe that this is the standard In this connection. it should be realised that. to quite some extent. imposed by the rules. and it is not for European airways are still controlled the courts to say that the standard is En Route with inadequate radar coverage. or no too exacting.'

And in order to enable the flight This could lead to the conclusion such coverage at all. or with obsolete that the controller in directing the air- equipment. It should be seriously crews to cope in a proper manner with craft could be 'flying· the aircraft. in- considered to equip control centers this responsibility and to enhance THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

17

safety in a deregulated European aviation. in which the present-day growth of air traffic volume is expected to continue. it is desirable that new technology equipment be developed and aircraft will be equipped with an electronic system for collision avoidance.

Approach and Landing During the approach phase of the flight. while the pilot should have familiarized himself with the approach-. landing- and taxi procedures by study of the approach plates and airport charts and operate the aircraft acordingly. it is the controller's duty to warn of imminent dangerous situations. and he is to provide the pilot with pertinent information regarding weather related hazards such as visibility variations. windshear. thunderstorm activity. which the pilot is unable to recognise by himself.

During the litigation following the crash of a Boeing 727 on final approach to John F. Kennedy airport. air traffic control was held liable in negligence for not keeping abreast with the b~d weather situation by requesting pilot weather reports. and not warning the pilots of the B-727 of heavy thunderstorm activity along the final approach path. and also for not warning of windshear activity which was reported by a previous landing pilot [35]. ~ad the crew of the B-727 been provided with this information. they would have been able to assess the situation accordingly and probably could have executed the proper actions to fly the aircraft out of a fatal micro-burst.

In another case. after an approach in a visibility below limits when the pilot of a DC-3 had decided to make a landing and crashed at Moisant Field.

New Orleans. the court held it was the pilot's negligence which caused the crash. despite the fact that the tower had transmitted to the pilot the statement: 'If you can seethe runway or the approach lights affirmative. you can land.· This statement was neither considered to be a landing clearance nor an encouragement to attempt a landing [36].

So. while it can be established that it is not the sole responsibility of the flightcrew to guide the aircraft into a safe landing. the final decision to land. however. is left to the pilot.

Short Summary and ConcitU1sions

It may be concluded that there is an interrelation between the duties of the pilot and the controller. and that both are responsible for the safe operation of the flight.

18

Court decisions in ATC-related cases are not always based on the presumption that the pilot in command is absolutely responsible.

Indeed. he is charged by law with the final authority and is responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft but in fulfilling his duties he is very much dependent upon the services provided by air traffic control.

These are not just advisory only and not limited to merely applying the rules prescribed in the manuals. but require the controller to execute his duties with the highest possible vigilance and standard of care with respect to the safety of the flights that are under his jurisdiction.

Depending on the facts and circumstances in a particular situation. the duty of care that is owed by the pilot or the controller may be different. but their efforts complement each other.

And. as is proposed in the first part of this paper with regard to the responsibility of all personnel charged with a duty with respect to the operation and safety of the aircraft. the responsibility to that extent of the pilotin-command and the air traffic control officer is regarded as a concurrent responsibility. It is advisable to review relevant national rules and legislation as well as provisions laid down in international regulations accordingly.

1. Flight Safety Focus. December 197 7 no.

8. The Flight Safety Committee London.

2. Convention on International Civil Aviation; Chicago 7. 12. 1944.

3. 'Operation of Aircraft' -Annex 6 part I. International Commercial Air Transport.

Fourth edition. July 1983 paragraph 4. 5.1.

4. Besluit d.d. 22 januari 1959 (Stb. 67) houdende vaststelling van een Regeling Toezicht Luchtvaart (RTL).Article 96 of the RTL (Air Navigation Regulations) is a translated copy of Annex 6 paragraph 4.5.

5. U.K. Air Navigation Order (1985) Article 32. U.S.A. Federal Air Regulation /: AR 91. 3 (a). New Zealand Civil Aviation Regulations ( 1953). Article 59.

6. Matte. The International Legal Status of the Aircraft Commander (19 75). p. 34.

7. Rf!g_ulaf?ettling-Ott. 'Criminal liability of air/me pilots: three recent decisions·. Air Law X/11( 1988) pp. 4-17.

8. See a~so:R.I.R. Abeyratne: 'Negligence of the aircraft commander and bad airmanship - new frontiers·. Air Law Vol. XII (1987). pp. 3-10.

Writer proposes a 'prima-facie · liability of the pilot in command.

9. McNeil v. Palmer: Supreme Court of Rotorua. 21 February 1979. Reported by Paul P. Heller in Air Law IV (1979). pp. 163/ 164.

10. It f!PPearsthat within IC~O••recent thinking with respect to the pilots_ responsibility concept also moves m qwte a different direction.

In paper C-WP/86OO (26. 4. 88) related to the United Nations' 'Draft Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances· (as established by the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs during its tenth,

special. session in Vienna on 18-19 February 1988). !CAO Secretariat observed on the definition of 'Illicit traffic' in the draft Convention: 5. '"Illicit traffic'" has been defined. inter alia. as the "transport" of any controlled substance contrary to the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. 1961. of that Convention as amended by the 19 72 Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961. and of the Convention of Psychotropic Substances. 1971. 5.1 The draft convention does not define the term "transport" which would encompass any action of transfer of the illicit substances from one place to another. While the most widespread pattern of drug smuggling involves both air and sea transport. other modes of transport are also used. 5.2 The "illicit traffic", which includes transport. would be a criminal offence. It is essential to improve the draft to make sure that it would not cover any "transport" of drugs or psychotropic substances (e.g. without knowledge or intention) but only unlawful and deliberate acts.

During its deliberations on the Draft Convention on 28 June 1988. the /CAO Council in its 15th meeting on the 124th Session. adopted the above-mentioned reasoning by the Secretariat.

It was agreed that the Secretary General should communicate to the Secretariat of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs the comments of /CAO on the Draft Convention and with respect to the definition of 'Illicit traffic·. in Draft Article 1(h), specifically suggest to improve it. to indicate that it did not cover any transport of drugs or psychotropic substances (e.g. without knowledge or intention). but that only unlawful and deliberate acts would be taken into account.

The Secretary General was requested to arrange for the representation of the Organisation by an observer at the Conference of plenipotentiaries to be convened in November I December 1988 for the adoption of the Convention.

11. Supra note 7. at pp. 819.

12. 'Rules of the Air': Annex 2 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation Eighth Edition - July 1986. paragraph 2.4.

13. Ibidem, paragraph 2.3.1.

14. 'Air Traffic Services· Annex 11 - Eighth Edition -April 1987, paragraph 2.2.2.

15. The Netherlands: Luchtverkeers Reglement (LVR)-198O, Articles 18.2 and4.2 sub. a. b and c. Germany (FRG): Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschriften des Bundesministers fur Verkehrzum Gesetz Ober die Bundesanstalt fur Flugsicherung Art. 6. U.S.A.: FAA order 77110. 65E Air Traffic Control Handbook.

16. Also applicable in this respect: /CAO doc.

4444(RAC/5O1/n)and!CA(!doc.

7030.

17. In fact the pilot has four options: 1. uncontrolled VFR: 2. controlled VFR in which the a~rcraft is subject to air traffic co(ltro_l.for instance when flying in the c_1rcwt<?fan aerodrome which is provided with an aerodrome control service: 3. uncontrolled !FR and 4. controlled /FR. 18. Other flight plan information such as time of departure. fuel endurance and proposed time of arrival. can be used for search and rescue purposes if applicable.

19. Supra note 13. Also: The Netherlands LVR. Article 41 and Article 42. 1.

20. See. f. i.. The Netherlands: Explanatory notes on the LVR. paragraph 6.3. where it stated in part: 'During the execution of a controlled flight the captain. in preventing collisions with other aircraft. is assisted by air traffic control. · THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

21. A. E. Du Perron, 'Liability of Air Traffic Control agencies and airport operators in civil law jurisdictions·. Air Law X ( 1985). p. 206 and also doc. /CAO LC/25 - WP/875 ( 1.11.182). submitted to the 25th Session of the !CAO Legal Committee. cf. Air Law VIII (1983). pp. 1761177.

22. Townsend v. Piedmont. United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. 13.8.1986. 20 Avi 18.072.

23. AIS Fred Olsens Flyselkap v. Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council. Reported by Arnold Kean in Air Law V ( 1980). p. 35.

24. Hennessey et al. v. United States of America et al. District Court Northern District of California. 26.4.1971. 12Avi 17.410.

25.Furumizo v. United States. 245 F. Supp.

981 (D. Hawaii 1965). aff'd381 F. 2d. 965 (9th Cir. 1967). The accident occurred on 19 June 1961 at Honolulu and is quoted by Philip Silverman. 'Vortex Cases: at a turbulent crossroad'. J.A.L.C. 39 (1973). p. 328.

26. Todd v. United States. 384 F-Supp. 1284.

13 Avi 17.260. 1292 (D.Fla. 1974).

2 7. Supra note 21. Due to a strike of tf,e civil controllers ATC was taken over by military personnel. Also Charles Bedart. 'Note sur la decision du tribunal administratif de Nantes (juillet 1980)'. Annals of Air and Space Law VI ( 1981). p. 61 7.

28. See Annex 2. Art. 3.2 and Note: for the Netherlands: LVR Art. 23.

29. Gaddis v. United States. 616 F. Supp.

1163. Eastern District Court of Michigan.

26 July 1985. 19 Avi 17.544. . .

30. It should be mentioned that the ma1onty of published cases and other literature on the subject of air traffic control related litigations are from United States origin, perhaps because the volume of air traffic in the USA outnumbers the same elsewhere.

Another reason could be that the greater part of European aviation concerns ~nternational traffic and claims with an international aspect can be denied on the grounds of State immunity. See also supra note 21.

31. United States v. Miller. 303 F.2d 703 (9th.

Cir. 1962). 7Avi 18.244. QuotedbyDaren T.Johnson in 'Instrument Flight Rules- The Liability of the Pilot'. J.A.L.C. 44 (1978). p. 356.

32.Allegheny Airlines v. United States. 420 F. Supp. 1339(7thCir. 1976). Ouo_tedbySeti K. Hamalian. 'Liability of the United States Government in cases of air traffic controllers negligence·. Annals of Air and Space Law 55 (1986). p. 73.

33. A concept known as: 'Diffusion of Responsibility' see: Nasa Technical Memorandum 81225 1980: 'A Study of Near Midair Collisio~s in U.S. Terminal Airspace.· it is stated in part: 'If Aviation Safety f:leporting Systems-reports are represen_tatIve.many pilots under radar control believe that they will be advised of traffic that represents a potential conflict and behave accordingly.

They tend to relax their visual scan for <;Jther aircraft until warned of its presence.

34. FAA advisory circular 90-48C (3.18.1983): 'Pilots· Role in Collision Avoidance.· 35. McCullough v. United States. 538 F. Supp.

694. 16 Avi 18.385 (ED.NY 1982). See also Ingham v. United States. 373 F.2d.

227. 2nd. Cir. 1967. 10Avi 17.122:avery similar case where ATC was held responsible for the crash of a DC-7 after executing a missed approach due to low visibilit~ on which the flight crew had not received proper information.

36. In re air crash disaster at New OrleansLouisiana on 20 March 1969. U.S. Court of Appeals. 6th Cir.. 14 October 19 76. 14 Avi 17.393.

THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER1989

First Airline Passenger Phone Calls via lnmarsat

The first commercial public satellite telephone calls from an aircraft were connected via the lnmarsat satellite system on February 14. 1989.

'This marks the beginning of a new era in communications for airline passengers and aircraft operations the world over - clear. reliable communications to anywhere from anywhere in the world,' the Director General of lnmarsat, Olof Lundberg. said in London.

These calls were direct-dialled by passengers aboard a speciallyequipped British Airways Boeing 7 4 7 flying from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's JFK Airport.

Using a blade-type phased-array antenna developed by Racal Antennas Ltd .. which is mounted on the aircraft's fuselage. the calls are beamed via lnmarsat's Atlantic Ocean Marecs B 2 satellite, received by a British Telecom International ground station at Goonhilly, in the UK, and then switched through the international telecommunications network to virtually anywhere in the world.

Credit-card actuated wall telephones have been installed in the aircraft cabin, with cordless handsets which passengers can use to make calls from their seats.

The BA 7 4 7 is the first of many aircraft - from several major airlines scheduled to be similarly equipped for satellite voice and data communications in the near future. Boeing is already offering satellite communications equipment as an option on its major passenger aircraft lines.

While lnmarsat a 55-membercountry cooperative. operates an eight satellite system for the provision of global mobile communications. the ground stations which operate with these satellites are owned by organizations in the countries in which they are located.

Several of lnmarsat' s member countries have indicated firm plans to build and bring into operation ground stations to provide aeronawtical services. As well as the United Kingdom (BTI) ground station at Goonhilly.

Norway. Singapore and the United States all expect to have stations in operation in 1989. Australia. France

and Canada are expecting to be operational in 1990. followed by the USSR and Japan.

Some of these have formed into consortia in order to provide full global service. with ground stations operating to lnmarsat's Atlantic. Indian and Pacific Ocean satellites. For instance. the Skyphone consortium consists of BTI. the Norwegian Telecommunications Administration. and Telecom Singapore. Australia, France and Canada are teaming with SITA (Societe lnternationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques), the inter-airline communications cooperative.

Existing aviation radio communications suffer from the line of sight limitations of VHF and the unreliability and variable quality of shortwave radio. Because satellite links transcend these inherent weaknesses, the application of this technology is far reaching. lnmarsat expects that within the next few years, use of satellite communications will become routine throughout the world's airline industry. Other major users are expected to be corporate aircraft operators and general aviation. This will lead to improved operating efficiency and economy.

Air traffic control centres will be able to implement safer, more efficient procedures through the continuous monitoring of aircraft positions. Automatic Dependent Surveillance will enhance safety and permit reductions in the spacing between aircraft.

For aircraft operators. more accurate and timely information will improve maintenance and minimise aircraft downtime. Mechanical problems can be identified early before they develop into serious and costly equipment failures.

Pilots will have access to up-todate route and weather information. and aircraft engine and fuel status in real time.

Passengers will be able to keep in touch at any time during a flight for business and personal correspondence. arranging further travel and accommodation.

19

Traffic at Major World Airports

1988

(Commer cial Air Trans port ) Te rminal

p assenger s

Airc ra ft moveme

nts

Cargo (Metr ic t o ns )

Airport

88/ 87

000 s

000s

% change N ew York - J.F . Kennedy New Y ork - La Guardia N ew Vork - Newark

TOTAL

C hi cago - O'Hare Ch icago - Midway

TOTAL London

- Gatwick

London London

- Heathrow - Stansted

TOTAL Tokyo Tokyo

- N ar it a - Han eda

TOTAL

Los Angeles - lnt'I. LosAng e les - Ontario

TOTAL

Atlanta Dall as - Fort Worth Paris - Ch. d e Gau lle Paris - Orly

TOTAL Denver Sa n Francisco

Washington Washington

- Dulles - National

TOTAL

(a )

Frankfurt Miami Boston Houston - W .P . H obby Houston - lnter cont' I

TOTAL Honolulu Saint -Louis Osaka Toronto Pittsburgh Minneapolis - St. Paul Philad e lphia Hong Kong Detroit Las Vega s Amsterdam Rome Orlando Phoenix Seattle - Tacoma Madrid Stockholm Singapore Charlotte Palma de Mallorca Cop enhagen Bangkok Sydney Zurich San Diego Athenes Seoul Salt Lake City Dusseldorf Milano Mancheste r Munich Mexico C ity Bal t imore Memphis Tam pa K a n sas C ity Vanc ouve r Bombay Moscow- Sheremetyevo

20

(a)

(a) (a )

(b)

(a)

(a)

(c)

31 .166 24. 159 22.496 77.820 58.860 7 .48 7 66 .347 20.863 37.856 1.107 59.827 17.248 32. 206 49.453 44 .399 4. 798 49 .197 45 .900 44.271 18.304 22 .397 40 .701 31.798 31 .01 8 10.624 14.713 25 .337 25 .222 24 .52 5 24 .142 7 .698 15. 110 22 .807 20 .400 20 .170 20. 120 19.334 17 .98 7 17.734 15.583 15.277 15 .110 15 .045 14 .989 14 .945 14 .901 14 .771 14.496 13.66 1 13.337 12.570 11.987 11.767 11.647 11.403 11.255 11.227 10.749 10 .732 10 .41 0 10 .408 10 .374 10 .23 0 10.020 9.956 9.870 9.858 9.820 9.720 9.489 9 .233 9.043 8.935

---

3,2 (0,3) (4,2 ) (0,1) 2,3 27,2 4,6 6,6 7,9 48, 0 8,0 21 ,1 5,1 10,2 (1,1) 4,9 (0,5) (3,7) 6,1 11,3 8,7 9,9 (6,7) 2,9

0 00 s

(0,9)

178 184 363 500 452 220 245 465 282 334 375 167 204 371 216 380

n. a.

n.a.

3.2 3,0 (0,7) 0,7 20 ,6 (22.0 ) 2,7 10,0 4,7

n.a .

n. a.

0,3 12,1 10,7 12.4 4,3 4,4 21,0 6,5 6.4 22,6 2.4 5,0 5.4 15,0 4,0 (6,5 ) 7,8 (12,0) (2,9) 0,5 15,7 0,5 9, 1

292 337 347 976 748 23 2 980 180 327 23 530 10 1 154 255 56 5 107 672 75 1

7,0 1,7 2.4 3,5 1.4 23,6 5,9 5,3 7,7 15,8 7,2 15, 5 3,0 7,6 (5,7) 4 ,0 (4,3) (2,0)

n .a.

35 7 2 14 356 87 3 17 283 187 15 1 218 318 316 129 225 79 267 89 182 76 153 15 1 175 112 74 175 119 122 145 146 102 234 271 175 211 325 65 95

15, 1 7, 6 11,2 (2.9) (0,9 )

10,6 (2, 1) 0,5 2 5,0 (9,2) 3,6 5,3

5,1 (7.4 ) (0,2 ) 17.4 (5,6) 4.4 6,8 5,0

15,3 13,2 11 .4 9,7 8,5 8,2 16,0 10,5 4,0 19,7 5,0 10,6 9.4 15,0 8,6 (10 ,8 ) 5,2 (5,6) 1,8 12,3 7,5 (1.5) 5,3

8 8/8 7

% change 1.180 51 40 8 1.639 7 55 17 77 2 194 645 24 863 85 3 43 1 1.2 84 96 0 252 1.212 400 366 57 6 236 812 189 46 7 94 16 110 1.00 7 689 303 5 143 149 242 59 384

8,3 2, 1 2. 2 (3,0) (1,8 ) (2,2)

----

88/8 7

% change

62 172 149 694 10 1 13 575 202 42 61 2 11 17 9 72 5 12 73 22 154 324 n.a .

242 42 92 450 67 42 142 77 47 113 109 50 86 54 95 190 117

10 ,0 4 .4 38,2 15,7 3,2 17, 6 3,5 1,1 11,9 29,3 9,7 3 5,5 8, 7 25,1 5,5 32, 3 10,2 10,0 8, 5 5,4 8,5 6,3 11,8 5,5

10,8 2 1,5 14 ,3 (3,8 ) 6,3 5,9 14, 3 n. a .

22,9 4 1,9 18, 3 13,7 2 1.7 30.4 12 ,0 1, 1

9,3 8,8 13, 1 22,3 (2,0 ) 6,8 15,0 5.2 30,9 7,0 (7,0) 6,5 19 ,3 12,0 11,9 (2,0 ) (5,5) 20,8 1,0 23 ,3 (0,3 ) 7, 1 (0,6)

THE CONTROLLER / DECEMBER 1989

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passengers

Aircraft

movements

Cargo (Metric tons)

Airport

000s

88/87

000s

% change Leningrad Caracas Cincinnati SanJuan Cleveland Jeddah Taipei Barcelona Jakarta Melboume Rio de Janeiro Oslo Rhyad NewOrlaans Helsinki Brussels Buenos Aires Manila lasPalmas NewDelhi Sao Paulo Hamburg Portland SanJose lstambul Santa Cruz de Tenerife Geneva Berlin-Tegel Raleigh-Durham Melaga Kuala Lumpur Indianapolis Karachi Guangzou Nice San Antonio Dayton Kahulul Vienna Marseille Nashville Anchorage Dublin Calgary Dubai Albuquerque Lisbon Hartford SantaAna Johannesbu!I Auckland Glasgow Milwaukee Oakland Algiers Port Colombus Sacramento Stuttgart Austin Dallas-Love Field Buffalo

Source:

(al

(cl (a)

(a) (a) (a) (a)(c) (a)

(cl

(al

(h)

(b)

(a) (a) (a) (a) (c) (b)

(b)

8.696 8.688 8.049 8.007 7.614 7.600 7.593 7.531 7.498 7.465 7.345 7.276 6.850 6.669 6.602 6.469 6.452 6.439 6.338 6.228 6.116 5.975 5.943 5.745 5.692 5.681 5.642 5.603 5.532 5.443 5.189 5.175 5.135 5.050 5.043 5.004 4.839 4.729 4.591 4.556 4.555 4.501 4.412 4.400 4.347 4.301 4.284 4.834 4.554 4.537 4.219 4.091 4.030 4.006 3.794 3.765 3.761 3.705 3.630 3.601 3.597

23,7 10,2 7,8 15,0 0,8 18,5 8,5 16,3 (21,9) 3,3

88/87

85 92 246 141 174 67 43 97 122 92 81 108 56

5,7 5,5 1,6 10,7 5,0 0,9 20,2 4,7 1,9 6,2 n.a.

5,3 7.4 6,4 2,9 7.4 0.4 1,5 10,0 5,3 3,2 23,0 n.a.

0,8 0,1 10.4

7,2 12,9 3,2 3,2 (1,7) 6,3 2,6 1,2

84 99 88 105 52 49 94 90 183 344 65 42 85 81 180 46 58 149 45 57 91 93

(5,2) 5,7

16,7

9,3 1, 1 2,0 10,2 15,3 (4,3) 24,7 1,0 4,8 23,2 n.a.

5,2 6,6 6.4 4,3 15,5 3,6

n.a.

135 67 56 125 74 75 166 42 71

48 126 89 65 22 65 186 113 45 42 104 77 72 161 131

% change 94

16,7 9.4 1,9 22,1 (0,9) 9,1 20,9 3,1

n.a.

15,7

88/87

000s

% change n.a.

25,9 2,2 25.4 3,8 1,7 26,3 27,3

108 167 49 150 373 56 116 156 106 43 89 37 51 210 86 218 36 128 193 35 96 37 58 21 53 13 22 8 113 216 129 55 18 17

(5,2) (90,3)

10,9

(0,9) 6,0 n.a.

14,7 16,7 40,6 8,0 (6,9) 9,6 (7,0) n.a.

8,4 14,1 16,0 (0,6) 21.4 11.4

n.a.

6,5 4,3 (1,7) 22,2 n.a.

1,3 13,2 20.4

22 48 28 13 148 43 103 123 17 65 63

10,5 6,7 10,7 18,1 n.a.

4,9 (8,3) 7,6

n.a.

4,1 3,7 (2,2) 3,3 3,8 11, 1 (5,2) 0,1

119 97 33 48 92 24 5 10 17 9

39.4 25,1 (8,9) 1,8 2,0 2,2

(51.4)

24

AACC/ Aeroports De Paris

NOTES AND

SYMBOLS

The airport traffic statistics above refer to commercial air transport, i.e., international and domestic air transport services, both scheduled and non-scheduled, which are available to the public for the transportation of passengers or freight, for remuneration.

Tell'minaU Passengers: The sum of passengers embarked and disembarked. (Passengers in direct transit are counted once); Aircraft Movements: One arrival and one departure are counted as two movements; Cargo: Loaded and unloaded.

When necessary, each figure has been rounded off. Consequently, in some cases there may be an apparent slight discrepancy between the sum of the constituent items and the total as shown.

(a) (b)

(cl

22

Only 1987 data available Only 1986 data available Data for two airports

Nil Not applicable

n.a. Not available ( ) Decrease

THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

Man Machine Interplay in an ATC Environment - A View from the Sharp End R. K. Simmonds

Editors note: The UK Guild was invited to present a paper at a Discussion Meeting of the Institution of Electrical Engineers on the theme- Designing for a safer future : how engineers should work together in air traffic control systems design . ' Reginald Keith (Reg) Simmonds was responsible for preparing and presenting the Guild paper .

Mr . Simmonds began his career in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, specialising in the operation of airborne electronic systems, in particular antisubmarine systems, airborne early warning, and night fighters. He left the Royal Navy in 1959 , on completion of his Short Service Commission, and qualified as an air traffic control officer . After brief spells at Bournemouth (Hurn)Airport and Jersey, he joined the London Air Traffic Control Centre (LA TCC). He was a member of the Mediator Planning Group which defined the operational requirements for LATCC at West Drayton in 7964.

In 19 73, Reg was seconded to the_International Civil A~iation Organization (/CAO) as Project Manger/ ATS Adviser , Netherlands Antilles. He returned to the CM in 19 78, and after a brief spell at Heathrow, returned to the London ATCC. He is currently a chief sector controller, but retains an interest in technical assistance, and he is the President of the London Region of the Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers (GATCO).

While the GATCO paper addresses problems and experiences in the UK, the observations may be equality valid in many, if not most, other countries.

Introduction The Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers is pleased to have been invi~ed by the Institution of Electrical Engineers to present this paper. The theme '(?esigning for a safer future' is one which is very dear to our hearts and with which we are therefore pleased to be associated . But before addressing the subject we would like to take_ the opportunity of introducing the Guild to those members of the Institution who have not met it before.

The Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers (GATCO) was formed i_n 1954. It is an independent professional bod_ y with membership available. to all_air traffic controllers in the United Kingdom. The Guild membership, currently just over 1500 . comprises controllers employed by the Civil Aviation _Authority, Municipal Authorities . aircraft ma nufa ct urers. electronics compan ies and the military authorities.

THE CONTROLLER / DECEMBER 1989

One of the aims of the Guild is 'To promote honourable practice and maintain in the profession a high standard of efficiency and integrity dedicated to the safety of those who seek their livelihood or pleasure in the air' . The Guild is totally non-political.

Our paper is presented in three parts . In Part 1, we shall examine one or two projects that have been completed in the recent past, to ascertain if there are any lessons that can be learnt from past experience. In Part 2 , we shall look at some current operations requirement s and propose some ideas on how we envisage industry satisfying our needs. And in Part 3, we shall look at how we see the electronics industry making our lives easier and therefore the system safer in the future . At no time do we intend to get technical, and we wish to stress that the paper is spawned out of the experience of the end user . What goes on inside the black boxes remains a

R. K. Simmonds

mystery to most of us, but having established the need for some new equipment , what we are concerned with is: Will it satisfy our operationa l requirements?

Will it meet our safety requirements in terms of reliabil ity?

When can we have it?

Wha t will it cost?

Part 1 - What lessons can be learnt from past experience?

Let us therefore, now look at three projects to see how wel l the industry and our own engineers responded to our needs. The first project we shall examine is the CAA's Radar Replacement Programme which was the subject of _an Inquiry by the Parliamentary Committee for Industry and Trade in 1979/80.

In November 1974 , the CAA issued an ' Outline requirement (OR) for the supply and insta llation of Airport Primary Radars at London Heathrow and Gatw ick Airports ' . In May 1978 , after a change of plan arising from the need to add to the programme some 23

Ministry of Defense radars in eastern England. the CAA issued a specification for a package involving primary and secondary radar. The first formal invitation to tender was sent to UK companies in May 1978. almost four years after the OR was issued. Later in 1978. a single British consortium tendered. but the CAA Board considered the tender too expensive and consequently a second invitation to tender was issued in early 1979 to selected foreign as well as UK companies. In 1980. a contract for SSR was placed with Cossor. a contract for remote control and monitoring equipment was placed with Marconi. and a contract for antenna and turning gear was placed with AEG Telefunken. A contract for the primary radars and signal processors was awarded to Hollandse Signaalapparaten. Installation was completed during 1988 and we are very pleased with the result. What we were not so impressed with was the time scale from OR to installation - 14 years!

The second project we wish to examine is the replacement of the Scottish Oceanic Area Control Centre's (ScOACC) computer. The need to replace the ageing Apollo flight data processing system was stated in an operational requirement in 1967. The original OR was re-issued three times between 1967 and 1973. The specification was agreed in 1975 and put out to tender. The contract was let in 1978 but re-negotiated in 1981. Installation was completed in September 1983. The system was offered for operational handover in 1984. again in 1985 and again in 1986. but postponed on each occasion. During the operational work-up period. the staff expressed their criticism of the integrity of the system and its ability to handle the traffic. Despite warnings from the Guild. the system was introduced operationally in March 1987.

During the early stages of operation we experienced minor systems failure. on average once every two days. During the busy summer period. the system went down for longer periods. The effect on ATC operations is well documented and I do not wish to dwell on this aspect. Suffice it to say that the CAA found the need to call in commercial consultants to analyse the software and it was some twelve months before the reliability of the system could be considered satisfactory. But there are aspects of the system which remain questionable.

The third project we wish to review is in the field of information technology. When looking at a sector suite at the London ATCC. West Drayton. the impression given is undoubtedly hi24

tech. but I fear that this is an illusion. for the most important element in information technology in the civil operations room remains the chinagraph. or grease. pencil. All the information regarding weather. runways in use. frequencies. danger areas and other unusual activity. departures from Heathrow and Gatwick. facility serviceability status and temporary changes to procedures. are all annotated by chinagraph pencil. Some of this information is then distributed by closed-circuit television.

For some time it has been planned to distribute and update the mass of information to which the operational controller needs access by a more effective and efficient means. The operational requirement was first stated in 19 7 8. It was envisaged that the Support Information Retrieval System (SIRS) would be introduced as part of the program to update enroute sectors during the middle 80s. However. the enroute system being developed hit snags. which. together with increasing congestion in the London Terminal Control Area (TMA) and the Government decision to develop Stansted as London's third airport. led to a reassessment of priorities. The result being that the Combined Control Function (CCF) is now to be implemented ahead of improvements to the enroute sectors. which must remain dependent on the chinagraph.

The SIRS specification was put out to tender in 1982 and the contract awarded in 1983. The system was delivered in 1985 and accepted in 1986. The SIRS system was introduced into operational service in the military operations room in 1987. but in the civil operations room we remain dependent on the chinagraph pencil.

What can we learn from these three projects?

Like most other users. we do not seem to have had much success in translating our needs into an operational requirement. and the OR into a precise specification for design engineers.

Having stated our needs. the dec1s1on making process and implementation phase are taking far too long. With the timescales I have described. our new equipment is invariably outdated by the time we get it and the reasons for wanting it have often changed. Thus. changes in the specification are almost inevitable.

Buying by 'mail order' means taking chances. When we buy a design concept on a piece of paper we have no way of telling whether it will work as we expect. How much better it would be to see what we are buying and whether it meets our requirements. If

you buy something · off the peg' and it doesn't fit you have only yourself to blame. Too often in the past we have been led to believe that a piece of equipment will satisfy all our needs. but we have no way of knowing while it is still a concept on a piece of paper.

The customer then becomes involved in the development phase. only to find the magic box he is committed to buying is not all that it has been cracked up to be and is not really what he wanted anyway.

We are not looking for ·state of the art· equipment. what we demand unequivocally is reliability. Safety is the name of the game. and whereas banks and commercial firms may be able to accept computer down time. the impact of this in an ATC environment is traumatic for the controller and dangerous for the travelling public.

Part 2 The Synopsis described Part 2 as A review of current needs It is. more accurately. advice to system designers in meeting our current needs.

The first consideration in improving an ATC system design is for industry to re-appraise its attitude to the ATC system itself. At one time. the capital return on the available ATC contracts was insufficient to justify much specific research. ATC ·made do'. from necessity. with the spin-off from the defence industry. and the ATCO and engineer in the ATC service adapted the systems to make them work for the ATC environment. with varying degrees of success. With even small ATC systems now becoming very sophisticated. and with huge capital sums invested by the user in ATC systems design and development. it is time for the 'poor relation· attitude towards ATC to disappear. ATC must be taken seriously as a specific. specialised customer. with a demand for ATC specific hardware. software. research and development. and system design.

If the companies supplying the ATC industry cannot change their perception of the industry. then increasingly contracts will go to the companies which have faced up to the new reality. even if that means buying abroad. In the example cited earlier. you may recall that evidence to the Select Committee Inquiry which examined the Radar Replacement program; the British companies argued that the original requirement of the CAA was too special to be readily marketable. which made it prudent to include the initial non-recurring costs in the offers submitted to the AuthTHE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

ority. But as the report states 'while it is probably never possible to buy completely off-the-shelf products when putting together a program of sophisticated electronics it seems that Hollandse Signaalapparaten were able to demonstrate an operational equipment installed at Singapore·. and it was this factor which tipped the scales in favor of that company. The CAA Chairman said at the time that the problem was not primarily one of price but that 'in ATC you do have to go as far as you possibly can for the tested and tried. particularly when you are up against this timescale problem·.

The modern ATC system purchaser often has hundreds of millions of pounds to spend. and he has no need to put up with second best in his procurement options. In the next years. the possibility of some integrated European ATC system procurement may bring European markets valued in billions of pounds. Modified busi!1ess systems and military hardware with a new label. or off-the-shelf systems which lack the comprehensive features that the ATC service expects. will not be tolerated during a decade in which we seek to develop an integrated European-wide service.

The second area is for British industry to ensure that they are aware of what ATC already has in ter~s. of system capability. It is no use sitting down. individually or together. to design a replacement for say. the LATCC IBM 9020. based on a five year to completion program. without und~rstanding the number of man years I!1vestment already made by the user in system software. Similarly. it is no good specifying a system you can build that has one tenth of the system features of a system designed in the 60's. 'It's best because it's new· is not an acceptable slogan for ATC. Instead. accept the slogan : It's_best ~ecause it's better' as a guideline. Find out what ATC can do with its system before you imagine the replacement.

You may find that someone had a better imagination than you 20 yea~s earlier. Admittedly your new system 1s probably much easier to support and maintain but if it lacks the comprehensive features that the ATC service requires. and maybe already enjoys. then it will lose to the system that replaces and improves the existing ATC facility. . .

The two previous points bring us naturally to the third item to be considered in the design and developme~t of ATC systems. imagination. Th~r~ 1s no dispute that the use of existing technology has a role to play in ATC system development. What it often lacks is innovation in the use of that THE CONTROLLER/DECEMBER 1989

technology. perhaps as a component in a system for which it was not envisaged. Many software systems designed for manipulating personal computer displays far exceed the capability of ATC display systems data management.

Many computer graphics facilities exceed ATC display capabilities by a mile. Dare we say it. but maybe what ATC needs is someone to look at the user. the market and the tools. and put some fancy combinations together for ATC use.

All the points made so far have been general. what about specific areas of assistance? Item four is to make sure that your project teams understand the task they are working with. and are thoroughly familiar with the technology which they are working. both in their own system. and as much as possible in the system they are replacing. Observation of the controller is not enough. neither is measurement. In the first task you see what the subject does. in the second you are aware of the quality of work done. Neither task has necessarily fitted you to understand the priorities that the user is applying. or has quantified the workload in terms of difficulty. In the end you will need to involve the controller in an ergonomic study of your system. and may well need to compare that system in simulation with the system it replaces.

Such simulation requires time and the use of controllers who are. at the moment. a scarce commodity.

Industry will have to work closely with the ATC service providers as never before. Each task will need con-. siderable analysis. with greater understanding of the needs of the user in detail. Where users need to make choices. systems should help to target that choice with likely options. not just display all available options. Indeed. the application of expert systems to aid controllers in decision making. or more accurately. to help computers in decision making. may be one of the key areas of development in the next decade. But a philosophic point here -don't design out the old technology until you have proved the new. All our experience to date convinces us that ATC systems need a built-in fall back.

Your designers may ridicule us. but we have heard · of course it will work' too may times to ever be convinced. Be assured that the controllers who are to receive your· goodies' will be eternally grateful for a way out when their backs are to the wall. Take a lesson from the unfortunate cancelled LATCC development program that was so sure that electronic systems would replace paper strips that it made no provision for strips. When the system was can-

celled the furniture was useless without major revisions which are only just coming to fruition. One other item to consider is that many new ATC system concepts are based on computers managing traffic, with the controller as system supervisor. There is nothing wrong with that. but there are two considerations which must be born in mind: - A controller's ability to control traffic decays with time away from the control function. Even a few weeks away makes a difference. and an absence over months or years from an operational post is even more significant. If controllers are to be system managers who take over manually only when things go wrong. then you will need extra controllers and very good simulators to maintain their practical skills as controllers.

- If automated systems evolve successfully. eventually they will be intended to cope with traffic levels beyond the skill ofthe human operator. It will therefore be useless to depend any longer on the human backstop.

Alternatively. if you feel the need for the human backstop. you will have to design a system with a human component and an artificial or limited capacity.

Part 3 - Some views on future developments An outcome of the expansion of civil aviation during the second half of the 80' s has been to focus media attention on the ATC scene. for better or for worse. We continue to wrestle with the problems it has thrown up. and I am afraid that it will be well into the 90' s and later. before the improvements to the infrastructure which we are now promised make a significant contribution to our ability to increase the current peak capacity. That is not to say that we cannot increase overall capacity. Indeed, traffic figures for the first month of 1989 continue to show the more than 10% increase we were able to achieve in 1988. But unfortunately most passengers have an irritating desire to travel at the same time. To accommodate the increased demand we have been forced to control the flow and push some of it into the more unsociable hours. but our freedom to continue this approach is limited by the public's demand for limited use of airports at night. We must therefore also seek to increase capacity during the peak periods.

There are three or four key areas which might present opportunities to increase capacity, and they are: -

more airspace; reduced separation of aircraft; 25

an increased use of computers to reduce controller workload; improved communications.

Consider the controller as the greatest asset in automation.

Involve the controller in selecting tasks to automate.

Schedule early and frequently. controller evaluation of candidates for automation.

versely affect the control function. The B74 7 captain said that in future it may be easier to pop back to the cabin to obtain an Oceanic Clearance by teleIn this presentation I do not intend phone, than trying to establish comto address the airspace issue which is munication with the ScOACC on VHF. a whole subject in itself. nor the subHow long will it be before we are ject of separation. therefore straight to blessed with ground/ air communithe computers. The increased use of Software appears to be the cations via satellite on at least some of computers to reduce system and con- greatest hurdle and probably the troller workload per aircraft is seen as greatest cost, but hardware. also re- our long range frequencies. instead of the multi-carrier network. with its ina means of avoiding duplication of ef- mains a headache. Take for instance herent disadvantages. Keith King, fort and increasing the handling ca- the efforts to replace the humble flig~t pacity within a finite volume of air- progress strip with an EDD. T~er~ Is Director of Avionics, IATA. writing in 'The Controller' magazine, in 1987. space. In ATC. a significant amount of also the question of communication sait that 'the aviation community has routine workload could be taken from with the computer. which of necessity put itself in a difficult position by failing the controller (e.g. conflict probe. must be quick and simple. At LATCC to use frequencies allocated to it 15 prediction and resolution; aircraft we are currently evaluating a touch years ago for aircraft satellite comtrack monitoring; coordination; fre- sensitive plasma panel to replace _a munications'. One of the unwritten quency changes) and assigned to the keyboard. which. alt_hough. 1960 s principles governing the retention of computer system. provided that the vintage. is comparatively simple __ to radio frequencies is the 'use it or lose system is fed with all the data used by operate with a high ~egree of relia?1lity it' rule. the controller in his current task. The and accuracy. Obviously, a considerThe future use of data link problem. as we see it is that in order able amount of time and money has technology using SSR Mode will to participate to this extent in the con- been expended on the plasma pa~el offer further potential to reduce R/T trol process. the computer needs far project to have reached the evaluation workload which is increasingly a factor more data than that which is available stage, but any controller"."'ould_tel! you in limiting the number of aircraft perto it in today's system. and the pro- its deficiencies after playing with It for mitted in a sector. It would also imcess of providing that information is two minutes. and there is not one that prove accuracy in the transmission of too time-consuming for the controller; would accept it as a replacement. information and permit the pilot to reit is quicker to perform the task yourThe most exciting development in ceive the information in the language self. Additionally. performing the task the field of computer input technology of his choice. Inevitably, much of the reinforces the mental image of control for the ATC environment is, obviously, information that is currently transmit,actions. The controller must not be- speech recognition. Direct Voice Input ted to an aircraft is of a non-urgent come dependent on the computer for (DVI) technology would solve_many routine nature. Removing this traffic exercising the control function but problems, but a word of caution. In from the voice channel will leave more must retain a mental picture of the ATC we use internationally agreed time for urgent control instructions complex traffic pattern by using the radio phraseology which has been deand more thinking time; we never computer to present the traffic data to veloped over many ye~rs. Stand~rd seem to have enough of the latter and him and to execute his instructions. phraseology is essential for vo!ce I suspect that this is wishful thinking.

The man I computer relationship communications when addressing The fact is that in the past most already seems to be well defined_ in pilots for whom English is a second nations have been tardy in their proaircraft such as the A320 i.e. the pilot language. Please don't design ~ ~ysvision of up-to-date ATC equipment. demands turn and climb - the com- tem which requires the whole avIatIon with ATC being the rather poor relation puter responds with aileron and po"".er world to change its phraseology to of air defence. But with increasing change. This implies that the pilot in- satisfy the DVI. Happily. the CAA numbers of the population wanting to puts the command and the ~ystem speech recognition program appears fly, either on business or on holidays, carries out the necessary routines to to be on the right lines, with a conthere is increasing pressure on achieve that command. In ATC. we siderable interchange of ideas and governments to provide an infrastrucbelieve that the controller must also feedback involving controllers. engiture which can handle the numbers remain the executive in the loop for neers. scientists and industry. safely, orderly and expeditiously. We the foreseeable future. and therefore And so to communications. I was in the Guild sincerely hope that the we ask system designers to sta~ from talking to a British Airways B 74 7 capelectronics industry will help us meet the premise that the controller Is th_e tain recently, and he told me that durthe challenge we face. For our part. focal point and build around his ing 1989 BA will introduce a_syst~m needs. In this context we would com- which will enable the engineering the Guild is always willing to provide operational advice and information mend Dr. Erzberger's Rules: base to monitor. 路on worldwide basis and we thank the Institution of Don't automate complex or poorly via a satellite link. all the parameters Electrical Engineers for this opporavailable to the flight recorder. BA has tunity to express our views. understood tasks: Don't automate tasks that control- also introduced the worldwide telephone link from the passenger cabin. lers enjoy doing and do efficiently.

Don't automate in ways that re- But while these technical advances duce controller路 s or pilot's situation have been introduced. the pilot remained unable to speak to ATC over awareness.

Don't automate in such a way that vast areas of the globe. And let it be systems failures leave the control- known that I am not speaking only of The IFACTA Policy of Training ler or the pilot with an impossible the Third World. at least three sectors Document, 2nd Edition, Febat the London ATCC and one at the problem to solve. ruary 1988, is now available Do automate what complements Scottish ATCC are plagued with comfrom the IFATCA Secretariat. munications difficulties which adthe skills of the controller.

路s路

26

THE CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

1

I FATCA' s Last' Executive Council Meeting H. Harri Henschler

The Federation ' s Executive Board and Regional Vice-Presidents, constituting the Executive Council, met in Lisse , The Netherlands , on 23 and 24 September 1989, preceded and followed by a meeting of the Executive Board .

Based on the decision of the 1989 Annual Conference in Frankfurt to restructure the Federation, beginning with the Special Conference in Acapulco , Mexico, on 22 April 1990, the existing Executive Council will be disbanded and the Executive Board will be enlarged to include Executive VicePresidents from the Africa, Americas , Asia/ Pacific , and Europe Regions .

Thus , the 8th Executive Council Meeting in September 1989 , barring unforeseen circumstances, will have been the last such event. The 1988 Council Meeting had decided to unanimously recommend the plan to restructure IFATCA to the 1989 Annual Conference, it had been accepted there , and the members of the Council met in Lisse fully aware that they were attending their last formal gathering in thi s capacity. .

Day 1 of the meeting began with a welcome to the participant s from the IFATCA President and Chief Exec utive Officer , Erik Sermijn , and was followed by reports on Exec utiv e Board activitie s since the Council Meeting a year previous.

The Exec utive Board had held its Nov emb er 1988 meeting in Adelaide , Australia , in conjunction with the Joint Regional Meeting Asia / Pacific in Sydney and the CAOOAA (Au stra lian Association) Convention . The February 1989 Board Meeting was held in Acapul c o, Me xico , site of the 1990 Annu al Conference , 24-27 April 1990. The Board met prior to and fol lowing the Frankfu rt Annu al Conference.

At the end of M ay 1989 th e Executive Board met in co njunction wit h the CATCA (Canadian Assoc iat ion) biennial co nventi on near Vanco uver, Canada . At that convention, THE CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

Jack Butt did not stand for re-election to the CATCA presidency and the thenVice-President Labor Relations, Carl Fisher , became CATCA President while Dave Lewis was elected VicePresident, Labor Relations .

Erik Sermijn was given the opportunity to address the Convention and he said: 'This is a very special convention.

Indeed it celebrate s the 50th anniversary of Air Traffic Services in Canada and the 30th anniversary of CATCA. 'There are a lot of similarities between Canada and the country I come from, Belgium. Your ATC started in St .

Hubert , we also have an airport called St . Hubert. You have two langu ag es, so do we. ' Howe ver, ther e is one main difference, I needed fiv e hours to fly from Toronto to Vancouver, you would only need 14 minutes to overfly Belg ium , and this at ATC controlled speed.

'But although we are small and you are big, we are bot h members of IFATCA. Why? Beca use IFATCA is the only internation ally recognized voice of air traffic controllers and as such has the foll ow ing main ob j ectives:

promotion of safety and regular ity in international air transport, and ensuring proper recognition of the profession of the air traffic controller.

'As you know , ICAO is the governing bod y on the promulgation of ATC pro ced ures, standards and recommended practices. Canada is a member of thi s international organization. Your Canadian Manual of Op erat ions is based on the ICAO Docu ment 4444 , Rules of the A ir. Fundamental changes to yo ur manual and the implementation of new procedures and techno logies are pro cessed through the ICAO system.

There are only two methods of inputting operat ional concerns into the syste m ; one : your association through I FATCA repre sentation can interface directly with ICAO Study Groups and Wor king Panels or , two: your em ployer, Transport Canada, can present its operation al requirements to the same workin g groups with the concerns of the controller also in mind.

Ther e should be no doubt as to which method best serves your operational needs.

Left to right : N. Vidler. RVP PAC. E. Chu, RVP AS!. M. Salazar. RVP SAM

27

'What are just some of the issues currently under discussion : reduction in VHF controller/ pilot communication; a reduction in the use of primary radar; automation of the controller decision making process: increase of capacity without proper consideration of the role of the air traffic controller; an effort to put a higher priority on air traffic flow management than on the ground based ATC system.

'Your association, CATCA, has had past and present, significant influence in formulating IFATCA policies. Indeed, the importance of the Canadian contribution can be demonstrated by mentioning the following areas of CATCA involveme nt : the presidency for several years; the Executive V ice- President Technical for the past two years; the current editor of our magazine 'The Controller'; several Regional Vice-Presidents ; the Liaison Officers to !CAO; a permanent working committee, called SC VI. 'As you can see, current IFATCA policies have a distinct Canadian flavour .

'Your continuing support for IFATCA, as indicated at this Convention, highlights our mutual need to present the concerns of the operational air traffic controller to the international aviation community in a professional and coordinated manner, and that is IFATCA.' The Executive Council was informed that liaison v1s1ts had been conducted by members of the Executive Board to the USSR , Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Respective members of the Executive Board attended meetings of the Standing Committees throughout the ensuing time period, as well as the EGATS (Eurocontrol Guild) Forum . All Regional Meetings were attended by members of the Board, there were no Regional Meetings in Africa East, Africa West , and the South America regions.

A substantial number of other meetings and gatherings had waranted attendance and participation by IFATCA, among them the Air Travel Symposium in Frankfurt , a meeting with the European Community in Brussels, the 6th World Congress on Aerospace Education in Amman, a seminar on MLS (microwave landing system), a symposium organized by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) in Brussels, and a meeting of the Soc iety of Aeromotive Engineers in Frankfurt .

28

Left to right : H. Esquivel , RVP NCA, K. Kihr, RVP EUC, P. Domagala , RVP EUW, W. Rooseman, EVP, Professional

Relations with Other International Organizations The members of the Executive Council were informed that relations with other organizations were continuing on a very satisfactory level. The International Civil Aviation Organization (!CAO), in particular, has been given a great amount of attention and the ever-increasing evidence of cooperation is a sign of the acceptance of the Federation within international civil aviation circles. The President and members of the Exec utive Board , together with the !CAO Liaison Officers to ICAO , paid a visit to ICAO Montreal in April 1989, met with the Secretary General , Dr. S.S. Sidhu , and used the occasion of the visit to meet with Montreal representatives of the International Air Transport Associ ation (IATA) and of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associ ations (IFALPA). Another liaison visit took place in July 1989 to introduce the newly elected Exec utive VicePresident Technical , at ICAO Montreal .

The Federation has continued its invo lvement in ICAO Study Groups and Committees such as MICA (Manual concerning Interception of Civil Aircraft), ADS (automatic dependent surveillance), FEATS-Concept (future European air traffic management system concept) , FANS (future air navigation systems), ATFM (air traffic flow management), ATMG (airspace and traffic management group) , FLOE (informal flow contro l meetings, Europe east) , FLOW (informal flow control meetings, Europe west), EANPG (European air navigation planning

group) , SICASP (SSR improvements and collision avoidance systems panel) . A major human factors seminar is planned by ICAO for Leningrad , USSR, 3-7 April 1990 at which IFATCAwill be represented and which will discuss , among other subjects, human factors concepts and limitations, human factors application to the training of flight crews, air traffic controllers and maintenance personnel, and methods for supervision and checking of flight crew and air traffic controllers.

IFATCA continues to participate in the Eurocontrol Agency 's RASP (radar application specialist panel) and to cooperate closely with I FALPA through attendance at that federations ' s annual conference in Helsinki, meetings between members of the Execu tive Board and IFALPA' s Principal Officers, attendance at the Asia/ Pacific IFALPA regional meeting, participation in IFALPA's ATS and HUPER (human performance) st udy groups.

The Federation was represented at the World Assembly of the International Airc raft Owners and Pilots Association (IAOPA) in Sydney, Aus tralia, where some regrettable anti-air traffic control sentiments were expressed, but these sentime nts were subsequently explained during a meeting of the I FATCA President and the IAOPA Secretary General as having been the personal opinions of some of the speakers at the Assembly .

Liaison visits were conducted to the International Labor Office (ILO) in Geneva , Switzerland, which provided the opportunity to meet with the new Direc tor-General, Michel Hansenne , of Belgium . Mr. Han senne took over the post from a long -standing friend of THE CONTROL LER/ DECEMBER 1989

IFATCA. Franci s Blanchard of France , and the Executive Council expre ssed its best wishes and appreciation to Mr .

Blanchard. IFATCA was represented at the World Congress of the Inter national Civil Airports Authorities (ICM) in Portugal.

The Exec utive Council was advised of the appointment of new Liaison Officers to IC,Lj.QMontreal . Taking over from Jack Butt as the Liaison Officer .

Legal and Professional , is Carl Fisher, and from Jack Pincent who resigned as Liaison Off icer, Technica l and Operational for health reasons , is J . D. McKinnon, both of Canada . Alfred Meyers of Belgium was appointed to the newly-created post of Liaison Officer to the European Community .

Th e Exec utive Boa rd has accepted the applications of Swedavia AB and of Autodiagnosis . both of Sweden, as Corporate Members and welcomes them to the Federation .

In summary, the IFATCA President stated that relationships with other organizations are at an all-time high and still increasing as witness a joint letter from the Presidents of I FALPA and IFATCA to their Member Associations to foster greater cooperation between pilots and air traff ic controllers at the regio na l and local levels.

Member Associations within his region. A number of MAs had undertaken studies or surveys on such diverse matters as the quality of air traffic control services in south-east As ia, the integration of air traffic where the metric and the flight level systems are used in adjacent airspaces , and the preferred route system over the north Pacific . The International Labor Office (ILO) has just completed a survey of the air traffic control working conditions in the Philippines and it is hoped that this ILO study will contribute to establishing adequate conditions for the controllers there .

I FATCA Regions

Europe Central (EUC) K. Kihr, RVP EUC, advised the Execu tive Council of his regular and on -goi ng contacts with both MAs and non-MA s in the region. Som e problems exist, for instance in the professional area between the employe r and the controllers, or where air traffic controller licenses conforming with ICAO requirement s were not issued to

Africa North (AFN) The Reg ion al Vice-Pre siden t (RVP), Abou El Seoud Y. El Karimy, reported to the meeting on the excellent and strong relationship with all the controllers' associations in his region, and that no seve re problems existed. He said th at Egypt had started the second phase of a program which _will provide radar coverage of all Egypti an airspace and had start ed the insta llation of a new radar simulator . There were some problems both in Sudan and M oroc co, and he was planning a visit to Tunisia as well as to Mauritania . Plans were under way for the ce lebration of the Int ernational Day of the Air Traffic Controller . The RVP. in his role as ca reta ker for the Middle East (MID) region , stated that contacts_ with various bodies in that area continued and would, he hoped, inc rease . He reported on his participation in the World Congress on Aero space Educat ion on behalf of I FATCA and at the informal ATC Coordinating Meeting held at ICAO Cairo offices .

Asia (ASI) E.Y.S. Chu, RVP ASI , reported on continuing good contacts with Mem ber Associ ation s (MAs) as wel l as nonTHE CONTRO LLER/ DECEMBER 1989

Caribbean (CAR) V . Hanenberg , RVP CAR, informed the meeting of his attendance on behalf of the Federation at the 2nd ICAO CAR / SAM (South America) RAN (Regional Air Navigation) Meeting , an Informal ATS/COM Meeting in Belem, Brazil , and an Informal Meeting on Airspace Organization in the Eastern Caribbean . There was satisfactory contact, no problems to be reported, with the MAs in the region, and moderate contact with non-MAs . He expressed the hope that a number of non-MAs will apply for professional member ship in IFATCA at the 1990 Annual Conference .

I l

,

:_

' I

controllers . A number of lia ison visits had been made , and new contacts were sought to be establ ished or previously existing contacts re-established . He briefed the gathering on his planned attendance at future meetings on behalf of IFATCA.

Europe West (EUW) P. Domagala , RVP EUW , stated that there had been an increased number of media requests for infor mation on air traffic control in Europe, based ma inly on the press release issued at IFATCA '89 . There had again been an appro xim ate 10% rise in air traffic figures compared to the previous year , with approximately the same number of controllers as previously , but with an improved distribution of traffic throughout the day .

There were severe staff shortages in a number of EUW coun tr ies and some countries were considering changes to their ATC systems , poss ibly even privatization of the systems .

Relations with other organizations in the region , in particular with the Europea n office of ICAO in Paris, were good .

Pacific (PAC) N . Vidler , RVP PAC, reported that 1989, so far , had been a positive year for IFATCA in the Pacific region. He plans to build on the interest in IFATCA generated at the Regional Meeting in Sydney. Contacts with Memb er and non-Member Association s have been adequate. A number of problems existed in Au stralia , both in the equip ment and labor relations spheres . Tha t association has been very involved in the process of selecting the new radar display system and all existing rad ar sensors throughout the country will be

'

i

,.

Left to right : C. Stuart , EVP, Technical, E. Sermijn , President. P. O'Ooherty , Executive Secretary

29

Left to right: RVP AFN, RVP CAR, S. Mworia. RVP AFE

replaced. a number of new ones added. Fiji reports control staff sho rtages and increased overtime being worked , while a recruiting campaign was being undertaken to alleviate shortages. In New Zealand. a cont ract for the new radar system has been signed. The new system will bring about so me rationalization an d relocation of control staff . Contacts are being maintained with non-MAs in Vanuatu, New Caledonia. and th e Cook Islands.

Relationships with the ICAO Regional Office have not yet reached the desired level.

South America (SAM) M. Salazar. RVP SAM. offered his report, stating that industr ial relations problems exist in Brazil . brought about, to some extent, by differing conditions of civil and m ilitary control staff. and a so lution is being hoped for in the near future.

Bolivi a. after affiliating to IFATCA, had become a dynamic associat ion, excellent contacts are being maintained . In Uruguay, discussions on work ing conditions between the association and the employer have not yet been sat isfactorily conc luded and further news is awaited. The RVP stated that a number of difficu lties in his region. such as communications, travel , monetary problems. etc .. all had a negative impact on the aim of achieving maximum I FATCA membership numbers and reg ional coordination.

North and Central America (NCA) H. Esquivel. RVP NCA. reported on his attendance at the CATCA Conven tion and the fact that control staff shortages coupled with substantial traff ic increases had caused problems in t hat country . Familiarization flights 30

often very difficult, as is travell ing east west and vice ver sa. Even telephone communications are often not easily ava ilable . These facts may well be contributing factors to the lack of contact with some of the Member Associations in the region. A number of MAs are still engaged in an ongoing struggle to gain proper recognition of the profession within their countries .

There had been a court case against air traffic controllers in Zambia which ended favorably for the controllers. but it appears the legal struggle there may not yet be over . Air traffic in the Windhoek flight information region had increased dramatically . requiring an extra effort to establish required coordination procedures and exchange of data. The majority of MAs appear not to be suffering any overwhelming problems.

for controllers of CENAMER (mul t inational ATS organization in Central Africa West (AFW) Amer ica). of Nicaragua , and of Costa P. D. N'Diaye . caretaker RVPAFW Rica have been instituted . A second reported on his efforts to finally estab~ Supervisory Sem inar in Costa Rica has lish lines of contact and communiexperienced an undetermined delay. cations in the region . While there has The Me xica n Member Association is been some progress. much work and concentrating its efforts on the or- effort needs yet to be expended in the ganizing of the 1990 Annual Con- region. There is some prospect of ference . A number of the associations holding a_first Regional Meeting in the in the region are cons idering the not too distant future . but the involve possibility of an ILO study into wor king ment and commitment of the MAs will cond ition s of air tr aff ic controllers in be necessary . Some of the MAs are their countries and economical prob - experiencing problems of variou s lems in th e area prevent some associ- natures . ranging from the economic ations from being as effective as th ey c!rcumstances to a lack of recogwould like to be. n1t1on. The caretaker RVP committed himself to continue to strive towards Africa East (AFE) attaining a well-functioning region S. Mworia . RVP AFE. stated again through the input of the MAs and to that it mu st be remembered that attempt to further advance IFATCA 's co mmuni cat ion of any kind in Africa is aim s and objectives with non -MA s.

Left to right : T Gustavsson. EVP. Finance. U. Windt , EVP. Administration.

RVP AFW. A. El Karimy. RVP AFN. v. Hanenberg. RVP CAR

P. NDi aye. caretaker

THE CONTROLLER/ DECEMBER 1989

Restructuring

of IFATCA

Day 2 of the Executive Council Meeting was spent discussing the changes to the present structure as mandated

by IFATCA '89 and proposed by 'Task Force 1 · on re-writing the I FATCA Manual. Since the present Regional Vice-President offices will disappear with the acceptance by the Special Conference in Acapulco of the relevant Working Papers. care had to be taken by the Council to ensure that none of the existing duties and responsibilities were overlooked and that the present regional structure would be properly replaced by a mechanism which will allow the Exec utive Vice-Presidents for the regions the required latitude to enlist the necessary regional expertise and assistance. either from individuals or committees.

The major items discussed in detail under the general heading of restructuring the Federation were : Convention and Constitution; relevant by-laws; Executive Board. number of officers. eligibility and election. authority and responsibility; assignment of regions;

Subscription

regional meetings; regional support to the respective Executive Vice-President.

The Executive Council was unanimous in its decisions. they will be referred back to 'Task Force 1 · for incorporation in the Working Papers on the matter. to be submitted to the 1990 Annual Conference.

The members of the Executive Council fully appreciated that. based on their recommendation to IFATCA · 89 and the decision by that conference. the existence of the present Council will come to an end. They were fully confident. however. that the restructuring of the Federation. bringing to an end the present structure which had served IFATCA well for the last sixteen years. will bring about a more streamlined. efficient Federation which is sure to serve its members equally well for the foreseeable future.

The IFATCA President put on record the Council's appreciation to the large number of airlines who had offered travel assistance to the members. and he thanked all for their participation. input and unanimous consent. The Council members departed Lisse with the certain conviction of having greatly contributed to setting the Federation on a new and promising course .

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Introducing :

New Corporate Members' Coordinator The Corporate Member s of IFATCA. at the 1989 Annual Conference in Frankfurt . appointed David J. Brocklebank as their Coordinator . David took over the office from Ron Mahendran. who had served in this post for a number of years and was given a vote of appreciation by the Director s at IFATCA '89 .

David was born in 1953; he has held a private pilot's licence since 1970 . From 1973 to 1981 he served as a lieut enant in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy as an area and ap proach radar controller both on land and on the aircraft carrier HMS Ark. From 1981 to 1982. David worked as an instructor at the International Aeradio Ltd. Bailbrook College. Between 1982 and 1984 he was with Plessey Airport s Ltd. as an airport operations specialist. involved in plan ning and development and in a wide variety of international airports projects.

Since 1984 . David has been with Cossor Electronics Ltd. He is now the Regional Marketing Manager for Africa and the Middle East in the ATC Systems Division .

Airmail : Europe and Mediterranean cour,tries SFr 6 .20. other countries SFr 10.60 .

Special subscription rate for air traffic contro llers .

Continued from page 32 town. noisy and gay. The main plaza. which is very small. called the Zocalo as are almost all plazas in Me xico . is jammed with all kinds of stores and st reet vendors. You will find most of the people happy and friendly . A few kilometers from the ce nter of town you will find coconut farms. and small fishing villages lying between the THE CONTROLLER / DECEMBER 1989

ocean and quiet lagoon s where you can taste delicious seafood ·regional style', making you feel that t ime has stopped.

Whether you are a nature lover or a disco fan. sun tan searc her. gourmet. or if you are looking for a quiet rest.

Ac apu lco is the place.

It Pays to Advertise •

1n 'The Controller ' 31

of fishermen , known to only very few people from the rest of the country .

The trip from Mexico City took a week by a rail line to lguala, less than half of the way, and from there the journey had to be made on horseback .

Acapulco Venue of the 29th I FATCA Conference Carlos Olmos M., Chairman , Organizing Committee IFATCA'90

South of Mexico City lies one of the wild est mountain ridges of the Mexican Republic , La Sierra Madre del Sur, whose high peaks abruptly drop tow ards the Pacif ic Ocean . Nature has been exceptionally generous in showering beauty on this area of many th ousands of square kilometers.

Almost exactly to the South , and at a di st ance of 168 nautical miles in a straight line from Me xico City , lies the Bay of Acapulco , surrounded by the city and port of th e same name .

Acapulco is known as one of the world' s premier tourist destinations, not only because of its magnificent climate, sunny almost all year round, but becau se there are indeed very few international resorts where travellers can enjoy warm golden beaches, evergreen mountain range s and clear blue skies, no matter what the season. It is no wonder th en that Acapulco has been given the well deserved name 'The Pearl of the Pacific'.

History in Short The history of Acapulco goes way back to pre-h ispa nic times. Though originally founded by the Tlahuica people, Acapulco was made part of the vast Aztec empire by Ahuizotl , the Uey Tlatoani ruler of Tenochtitan , long before the Spanish conquest. The name Acapulco in Nahuat l or Aztec language means ' Place where t he reeds were dest royed ', though nobody knows nowadays which reed s were destroyed and by whom.

In 1532 Hernan Cortes, the co nqueror of Mexico , used the port to build t he fleet of gal leons to explore the South Seas . The im portance of Acapu lco grew during the next few years, as it became the connection between Me xico and Peru, the most impo rta nt Spanish co lony in South America. As the Spaniards expanded their empire dur ing the 16th century, they found that the best route to transfer goods from the new colony of the Philippines to Spain was to carry them through Mexico. In 1565 the first Spanish vessel sailed east from 32

ACTAM

Manila and eventually arrived in Acapulco . This was the opening of one of the world's most important trade routes. Goods from China and Japan regularly arrived in Acapulco .

Cargo was loaded on mules to be carried across the continent to Veracruz and from there it was shipped to Spain . For more than two centuries, Acapulco saw the coming and going of ships from the Far East with their cargoes of precious fabrics and valuable spices . Cargoes aboard each ship were valued at what today would amount to tens of millions of dollars.

Those involved in trade became fantastically rich . Before long, pirates began lurking in the waters not far from the port . Among the better known was England's Sir Francis Drake . To protect the city, the fort of San Diego was built in 1616 and it remains as the oldest structure in Acapulco .

Aher almost two hundred years of splendor, Acapulco was abandoned as the trade route of first importance , when better ways to tran sport cargo were established and the place was almost forgotten .

During a long period of time Acapulco remained as a small village

Acapulco Rediscovered

~n 12 November 1927, at 6 pm , the f1~stmotor ~ar arrived in Acapulco, opening the first road from Mexico City. The first real hotel opened in 1934 . Acapulco's real possibilities were recognized only after World War 11.Airline service w_as established by Ae_ronaves de Mexico, landing at a strip near the center of town and a new highway was built , increasing s!o_ wly , but steadily, the number of v1s1torsyear by y~ar . It was the jet age and a modern airport, built in 1964 which put Acapulco on the map .

Acapulco Today

Anything can happen in Acapulco, except boredom . It is the place for everybody, no matter how rich his pocket. Excellent hotels ranging from 1 to. 5 stars, _restaurants from typical and inexpensive food to international haute cuisine , quiet beaches and wild waves , all kinds of water sports are possible . Fishing is a big sport. Chances of hooking a 100 pound gamefish of some sort are excellent. Sailfish bonito , pompano , barracuda, yellow~ tail , etc., are not rare in its waters .

The Other Acapulco

One should not expect Acapulco to be like many other tourist places in the world . Two blocks from the beach, and you are in another place. The resort city changes into a tropical port Continued on page 31

THE CONTROL LER/ DECEMBER 1989

Corporate Members of IFATCA AUTODIAGNOS, Stockholm, Sweden Borge Pedersen A/ S, Allerod, Denmark Cardion Electronics, Woodbury, USA CAE Electronics Ltd., Saint-Laurent, Canada Cecsa Systemas Electronicos SA, Madrid, Spain CISET S.p.A., Rome, Italy CON RAC Communications Software GmbH, Rodermark-Waldacker, FRG Cossor Electronics Ltd., Harlow, UK Dictaphone Corporation, Rye, USA Ericsson Radar ElectronicsAB, Stockholm, Sweden Ferranti Computer Systems Ltd., Cwmbran, UK FFV Airport Technology AB, Froson, Sweden Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V., Hengelo, Netherlands EB NETCOM, Nesbru, Norway ISS Videotex A/ S, Charlottenlund, Denmark Jeppesen & Co. GmbH, Frankfurt, FRG Jerry Thompson & Associates Inc., Kensington, USA Marconi Radar Systems Ltd., Chelmsford, UK McDonnell Douglas Electronics, St. Charles, USA Mitre Corporation, Mclean, USA Norcontrol Surveillance SystemsA.S., Shipping Sodbury, UK Plessey Radar Ltd., Chessington, UK Racal Avionics Ltd., London, UK Raytheon Canada Ltd., Waterloo, Canada Schmid Telecommunication, Zurich, Switzerland SCICON Ltd., London, UK Selenia lndustrie Elettroniche, Rome, Italy SEL-Standard Elektrik Lorenz, Stuttgart, FRG Societe d'Etudes et d'Entreprises Electriques, Malakoff, France Sofreavia, Paris, France Software Sciences Ltd., Farnborough, UK SWEDAVIAAB, Norrkoping, Sweden TASA, Telecomunica~oesAeronauticasS.A., RiodeJaneiro, Brazil Telefunken Systemtechnik GmbH, Hamburg, FRG Thomson-CSF, Meudon, France Westinghouse Electric Corp., Baltimore, USA The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations would like to invite all corporations, organizations, and institutions interested in and concerned with the maintenance and promotion of safety in air traffic to join their organization as Corporate Members.

Corporate Members support the aims of the Federation by supplying the Federation with technical information and by means of an annual subscription. The Federation's international journal 'The Controller' is offered as a platform for the discussion of technical and procedural developments in the field of air traffic control.

SELENIA. A LEADER IN ATC SYSTEMS ---~ ...... '¡

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Some forty countries the world over rely on Selenia ATC products . Their confidence is rewarded.

They have acquired equipment of unsurpassed quality and reliability from a Company whose innovative approach provides advanced solution to the ever increasing

problems of Air Traffic Control. And their constant back-up is Selenia's acknowledged global experience and proven technical and logistic support.

Selenia Radar and Systems Division also supplies turn -key airfield electronic

packages tailored to meet the most stringent requirements.

Always a step ahead (site and environmental adaptive radars, distributed intelligence systems and advanced software and display systems) Selenia plays a leading role in the international ATC market.

Selenia technolo gy and products of today already meet tomo rr ow 's ATC requirements

fiI w !Radar and Systems Di11osion Via Tib urtina km 12.400 . 00131 Rome, Italy Telex 613690 SELROM I . Phone (06) 4097 2765

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~ RAGGRUPPAMENW SELENIA ELSAG

IRIfinmeecanica