IFATCA The Controller - March 2006

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Editorial

Forewordfrom the Executive Boardof IFATCA

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by DougChurchill,Executive Vice-PresidentProfessional

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or air traffic controllersthe world over, the recommendation of new English languageproficiencyrequirements as proposedby ICAO,is one of the most importantissuesfacingus today,and for the foreseeablefuture.It hasseriousramifications for a largenumberof our members, particularlythosein the controllerpopulation who do not haveEnglishas their "first" language.Overthe yearsair traffic control communications involvingthe internationally recognizedlanguageof the air, English,have beenidentifiedas playinga significantrole in numerousaircraftincidentsand accidents.It is estimatedthat 70% of verbalcommunication exchangesin Englisharebetweenthosewho usethe languageas a secondor eventhird language.It is for this veryreasonthat ICAO decidedin 1998to reviewlanguage requirements with the goal of strengthening provisionsrelatingto the useof Englishfor radiotelephony communications.

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Subsequently, new Standardsand Recommended Practices(SARPs) concerning languagerequirementswereadopted,thereby officiallyrecognizingthe fundamentalneedfor plain languageproficiencyin all communications.

Responsibility for ensuring that controllersmeetthe new ICAO requirementsby the Marchsth, 2008deadline is the responsibilityof the ServiceProvider(s), and the Regulator.

Althoughtiming hasnot yet reacheda 'critical' stage,at this point in time IFATCA is veryconcernedby an apparentlack of definitiveplansto addressEnglishlanguage proficiencyrequirementsin manyStates.

It is difficult to predicthow muchtime individualcontrollerswill requireto reach measurableimprovementin languageskills, thereforewe cannotafford last-minute

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In many cases we have no idea as to how [CAAs] plan to contribute to the training process, or if they are preparing for 2008 at all! shortcutsin our languagelearning.We need the benefitof time,and a matureeffort from our employers.

Whythen is there suchan apparentlackof awareness, educationand preparedness amongStates,governmentsand controllers?

We don't know the answerbut we do know there is scantinformationas to what action(s) Providersand/orCAAshavetakenso far. In manycaseswe haveno ideaas to how they plan to contributeto the training process,or if they are preparingfor 2008at all! Theseare someof the concernsIFATCA expressedin an openletter to ServiceProvidersin the Fallof 2005.Weaskedthat our concernsbe treatedin a professionalandtimely manner,and offered the helpof our MemberAssociationsin contributingto their Provider'sEnglish languageproficiency-training program.

Regrettably, feedbackhasbeendisappointing.

AlthoughIFATCA and othershavetakensome keysteps,thereis morework to be doneand preciouslittle time in whichto do it. Accurate analysisof our needsas controllersis crucialto developingan English·languagestandardfor ATCcommunications, and the greatestchance of successis for Statesand Operatorsto acknowledgeand live up to, their respective responsibilities and moveforwardin this process.

Also,it is incumbentuponStatesto ensurethat there is a high levelof

compatibilityamongstnationalprogramsto ensureall controllersare providedthe same high-qualitylevelof training.Timeis of the essence!Howwill this be possibleif Statesdo not take somecontrol?It is time for eachof us to realizewe musttake controllerEnglish languageproficiencytraining seriously.

DougChurchill ExecutiveVice-President Professional IFATCA

WANTTO ADVERTISE INTHE CONTROLLER? Contact Tatianaat office@ifatca.org Closing date for advertisement for next issue: 2 May 2006

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Editorial

PhilippeDomogala,Editor

DO YOU SPEAK "ENGLISH"? his issueis a specialon Englishlanguage proficiency.Of coursethe 2008deadline is pushingall of us into discussing this issue,but the languageissueis as old as the R/Twhich beganin Aviationin 1908."The languageto be usedis the languageof the Stateoverflown" principle,debatedand agreedin 1908,confirmedin 1918with the first internationalaviationconference, and left in the 1944ChicagoICAOconventionis still theretoday.Thisprovisionmeantthan manystates,someof themthe largestin the world, believedfor a verylong time that Englishphraseology wasenoughto get by, and that their nationallanguagewould cover for the rest.

Now,manyaccidentsand incidentslater, finally ICAOrecognizedthat thereis more than just phraseology and that the ability to understandeachother in caseof an unusual situationor emergency was essential.

Butwhat it meansfor Controllersworldwide who do not haveEnglishas their mother tongueis worth thinkingabout.Weknow therearefearsin somestates( e.g.Russia) that this deadlinecouldbe usedto reducethe numberof controllersthey have.Preparingfor this deadlineandmakingsureno-oneis left behindin casesof non-compliance shouldbe oneof the prioritiesof eachController Association.

Mostof the articlesin this issueare turning aroundlanguageissuesto helppreparefor this 2008ICAOdeadline.

Thesecondpart of the magazinecovers IFATCA regionalmeetings(Africa-Middle East andAsia-Pacific)as well as the extraordinary developments in Dubai.

What is happeningis Dubaiis extraordinary, becauseof the currenteconomicgrowth there, and the incredibleinfrastructureplansit has.

Those,are perhapsan indicationof wherethe

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Making sure no-one is left behind in case of non-compliance should be one of the priorities of each Controller Association. traffic flowswill be in the nextdecades.

Goingto Dubaitodayis a bit like enteringa sciencefiction moviewherethe set is visible but the story,or the scenario,is not yet there.

Thequestionis:will it be a Hollywoodmovie, wherethe heroalwayswins and the princess marriesthe goodguy,or will it be a German movie,whereeverybodycriesin the end?Or in otherwords,will EmiratesAirlinesbe the largestairlinein the Regionandwill Dubai becomea secondSingapore?

Readthe articleshereto makeyour own opinion.

USA, the storyof the crashof the Yak42in Thessaloniki, Greece,and what it meant,and still meansfor the air traffic controller involved.Howto usesatellitephotoson Googleearthto spot unusualthings,and some newsaboutour latestcorporatemembersin Kevin'sSpotlight.

Enjoythis issue, andvisit our web site to leaveyour feedbackor comments. www.the-controller.net

Finally,you will alsofind in this issue some Russianaviation storiesin Africa,an interestingvisit to an ATCCentrefrom the

Japanese Controllers involved in Airprox prosecution face jail sentences In my previouseditorial(seeissue4/2005)I wastalkingaboutthe tendencyto sendcontrollers to jail to improveair safety.In a sadfollow up, we just learnedof the decisionof the Japanese prosecutors of theTokyodistrictCourt to requestoneand a half yearsimprisonmentfor one of the two controllersinvolvedin that airprox,and oneyearimprisonmentfor the other.

Thechargesare professionalnegligence.

Thefinal verdictis expectedend of March2006 Theairpoxinvolveda JapanairlinesDC10and a Boeing747 both from Japanairlines(JAL)on 31 Jan2001overthe Pacific. Thefinal report(recentlypublishedby the FlightSafety foundation)statesthat "Thedecisionof the 747 captainto follow ATCinstructionsinsteadof TCASRAwasthe majorcauseof this incident." Thereportalsosaysthat ATCwas not informedby eithercrewthat they had receivedan RA,nor did the DC10informATCthat they weredescending followingan RA.

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English language proficiency

ICAOENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPETENCY - LEVEL 4

HOWTOSTART?

by BobTrott,UKGuildofAirTrafficControllers rom otherarticlesin this issueof the 'Controller',you will havelearned- if you did not alreadyknow - of the backgroundto the requirements alongwith what is actuallyenshrinedin the ICAO Standardsand Practicesdocuments.

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Most of the amendments that were incorporatedinto the competency requirementswerethe resultof a greatdeal of work by the Performance Requirements in CommonEnglishStudy Group(PRICESG), to which IFATCA provideda representative.

I presentedWorking Papersat IFATCA Conferenceson the subjectbetween2001 and 2004as part of my responsibilities within IFATCA. Consequently, those of you who needany further backgroundwill be able to

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It is importantthat Associations do know where to start lookingfor help view thesethroughthe IFATCA web site archives,but I will brieflystatethe situation from a controller viewpoint..

Thereis no doubt that incidentsoverthe years canbe attributed,partiallyat least,to misunderstandings overthe radio telephony(RTF)causedby language problems.TheICAOinitiativewill invariablyhelpto addressthese concerns,but IFATCA, while supportiveof the new requirements, doeshave concernsoverthe implementationof training andtesting

by State Regulatorsand

Air NavigationServiceProviders(ANSP's).

Manyof theseareasof concernhavefeatured in discussions duringthe pastfew conferences, andthe IFATCA President/CEO has,with supportfrom the ExecutiveBoardmadea numberof commentsdirectedat Member Associationssuggestingthey shouldencourage their parentAir TrafficServiceProvidersand/or Regulatorsto preparethemselves(where relevant)for the testingand trainingof nonnativeEnglishspeakers.

As I write this in the middleof January2006,therearea numberof initiativesbeingdevelopedto assistthose countrieswherethere is a needfor such services,but often both MA'sandtheir ANSP's havestatedtheir inabilityto find out about what is available,and determinewhat is suitable.Manycountriesbelievethey havea

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English language proficiency

Tower controllers in Dubai

high levelof need,particularlyin South AmericaandAfrica.What is fundamentalin the concernsof IFATCAis that ICAOneitherhasthe resourcesor the willingnessto approvetesting or training organisations,nor wishesto get involvedin specificharmonisationof these aspectsof the requirements.

Statesare left to their own deviceson approvingorganisations, yet may not havethe expertiseto be able to do this and mayend up in contractswith companiesthat professto be expertsbut have little or no interestother than makingmoney.

Oneof the organisationsIFATCA believesis appropriatelyqualified,havingthe resourcesas well as the 'streetcredibility'to take on the training and testingto the world-wide harmonisationstandardsthat IFATCA believes are necessary to ensurecontrollers(andpilots) havefaith in the 'system',is IATA.Theauthor has beena consultantto IATAon behalfof IFATCA for this project.Manyof the concerns we haveas an organisationare still not being appropriatelyaddressed,but the overall packagedoesappearto be beingboth developedprofessionallyand by expertsin teachingEnglishlanguage.I cannot recommendany particulartraining package,as I am not yet in a positionto evengive an opinionon the availableoptionsuntil they are completeand havebeenmarketed,but as far

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as I am awareall the organisationsinvolved internationallyhavethe potentialto gain financiallyfrom the processof ensuringthe ICAOrequirementsare met. However,it is importantthat MA'sdo know whereto start lookingfor helpwhen this is needed,and are able to suggestto their ANSP'sthat appropriatefacilitiesmaywell be available.

In additionto IATA,I am awareof work being undertakenby,and/orfacilitiesbeing provided through Eurocontrolin Brussels,Royal MelbourneInstituteof Technologyin Australia,GlobalAviation LanguageLtd, MayflowerCollege,Anglo-Continental, Management& LanguageSpecialists(MLS) and RudloeCollegeall in the UK, Executive& Professional TertiaryInstitute(EPTI)in Eire along with ATCTrainingCollegesin the USA, UK,Singaporeand China.A vastamountof informationis availablefrom web search enginessuchas GOOGLE, althoughyou will be able to get a morecomprehensive overviewon the IATAwork, from the articleby ClaudeSt. Hilairethat is in this issueof 'TheController'.

Unfortunately,I havenot beenable to find out what is happening,for example,in manyareas suchas China,Russia,as well as South AmericaandAfricawherewith the global increasein internationalflights there are large numbersof ATCO'sall requiringcompetencyin

English.Thequestionof regionalaccent, different'English'languages,and which organisationsare to be 'approved'-as well as how they are to be testedas acceptable- by the StateRegulators, remainimportanttopics that nobodyseemsto havetakenon board,let aloneresolved.An evenbiggerconcernis what happensif there are either large numbersof failuresto achievethe level required,or ANSP'ssimplydo not have sufficienttime to carryout the necessary tasks,by the implementationdate in 2008?As a preludeto this article,I haveapproached approximatelya dozenorganisationswho are offeringservicesroundthe world, yet not one hasbeenapprovedby any StateRegulator, althoughI suspectthat Eurocontrolshouldnot be includedin that statementas althoughits PELAtest was developedsome10 yearsago, it hasbeenadaptedto complywith the ICAO requirements.( Note Editor: see Eurocontrol's Adrian Enrightarticle in this issue) Sufficeto say,that unlesswork hasalready started,there is minimalneedin your country, or somesupremeeffort beginsalmost immediately,it is likelythat it hasbeenleft too late to completethe requirements.

Foradditionalinformation,pleasecontactme at the addressbelow. trottonrg@ntlworld.com

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English language proficiency

AVIATION ENGLISH: A CRITICAL SAFETY MATTER

by ClaudeSt Hilaireof IATA ccordingto the InternationalCivil AviationOrganization(ICAO),more than 1,100airline passengers and crew lost their livesbetween1976and 2001 in accidentsin which investigatorsfound that Air TrafficControl(ATC)communications playeda significantrole. Numerousother incidents involvingthe languageof the air, English, continueto be reportedannually.Giventhat 70% of verbalexchangesin Englishare taking placeamongspeakerswho useEnglishas a secondlanguage,the potentialfor miscommunications leadingto accidentsis significant.

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In orderto reducethe impactof inadequate languageproficiencyon air safety,ICAO decidedin 1998to reviewits language requirements, with the objectiveto strengthen provisionsrelatedto the useof the English languagefor radiotelephonycommunications.

In 2003,new Standards And Recommended Practices(SARPs) concerninglanguage proficiencyrequirementswereadopted.In additionto strengtheningthe provisions relatedto languageusein radiotelephone communications, ICAOachievedthe following: 1. Introduce an ICAOlanguage proficiencyrating scaleapplicableto both native and non-nativespeakers.

Therating scaledevelopedby ICAOdelineates six levelsof languageproficiencyrangingfrom Pre-elementary (Level1) to Expert(Level6) acrosssix areasof linguisticdescription: pronunciation,structure,vocabulary,fluency, comprehension and interactions.Ratersuse this scaleas a frameof referenceto determine the proficiencylevel of air traffic controllers and pilots involvedin internationaloperations,

whetherthey are nativespeakersor not.

2. Establishminimumskill level requirementsfor languageproficiencyfor flight crewsand air traffic controllers.

It was decidedthat the minimumacceptable level requiredfor air traffic controllersand pilots involvedin internationaloperationsshall be Operational(level4). In orderto receivea level4 rating,an individualmustdemonstrate a level4 proficiencyacrossall six areas,also calledholisticdescriptors.Forexample,an air traffic controllerrated as a level3 in pronunciationbut a level4 in all other areas would be rated as a level3 overall,for safety reasons.

3: Clarify the requirement for the use of both plan language and phraseologies.

With its new requirements,ICAOhasofficially recognizedthe needfor plain language proficiencyas a fundamentalcomponentof radiotelephonycommunications.

Thisdoesnot

Thepotential for miscommunications leadingto accidentsis significant

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suggestthat plain languagecan sufficeinstead of ICAOphraseologies that shouldalwaysbe usedin the first instance.Phraseologies shall be usedwheneverpossiblebut there is sometimesno practicalalternativeto the use of plain languagefor the full rangeof aeronauticalcommunication, especiallywhen emergencies or unusualsituationsoccur.

4. Standardizethe use of ICAO phraseologies.

ICAOhasclarifiedthe useof phraseologies by recommending that all Statesand individuals ensuretheir useof phraseologyconformsto ICAOstandards.Thecurrentuseof different phraseologies in differentgeographicalareas of the world increasesthe likelihoodof communications being misunderstood.

Any deviationfrom ICAOstandardized phraseologies presentsan obstacleto the best possiblecommunication.

5. Recommenda testing scheduleto demonstratelanguageproficiency.

Thedeadlineto complywith ICAO'slanguage proficiencyrequirementsis Marchsth, 2008.

Personnelwho demonstratelanguage proficiencybelow Expert(level6) on the ICAO RatingScaleat their first test mustbe formally

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English language proficiency evaluatedat regularintervals.Recurrenttesting requirementshaveindeedbeenput in place sinceexperienceand practicalobservation showthat languagelossoccursover time, especiallywhen a secondor foreign language is not usedfor a long period.

6. Providefor serviceprovideroversightof personnelcompliance.

Theresponsibilityfor ensuringthat air traffic controllersand pilots meetproficiency requirementshasbeenallocatedto ATS providersand airlineoperators.Proficiency mustbe demonstratedas requiredby the State Regulator.

IATA'sSolution In orderto help the aviationindustrycomply with the strengthenedICAOlanguage proficiencyrequirements,IATAhaspartnered with Berlitz,the world-renownedlanguage servicesprovider,to developa complete AviationEnglishSolutionin compliancewith ICAO'srequirements.

TheIATAsolutionincludes threecomponents:

A senseof urgencyseemsto be lacking Englishlanguagetraining can be delivered usinga varietyof methods: • Semi-privatelessons(for two to three candidates).

• In-companygroup lessons(for four to ten candidates).

• Groupimmersionin an English-speaking country(for four to ten candidates}.

• Virtualclassroom(for two to six candidates):candidatessimplylog on to a dedicatedwebsitefor scheduledlessons and conversewith an instructorin real time.Coursematerialsare combinedwith joint Internetbrowsingto ensurethat lessonsare alwaysstimulatingand up-to-date.Thismethodeliminatestravel time and expensesassociatedwith traditional instruction.

Sofar, a very limited numberof civil aviation authoritieshaveregulatedthe implementation of the new ICAOlanguageprovisionsin their country.A senseof urgencyseemsto be lackingdespitethe criticalrole playedby propercommunicationsin the improvementof air transportsafety.Thiswas onceagain demonstratedby the Cypriotairlinerthat crashedon August14th 2005 nearAthens: investigatorsconcludedthat the Germanpilot and the Cypriotco-pilot couldnot speak Englishfluently and had difficulty understandingeachother.Whiletheir English was good enoughfor normalair traffic control purposes,it was not sufficientto copewith the technicalproblemsthey encounteredin flight, which eventuallyled to the airliner crash's121 fatalities.

TheIATA·Berlitz training modulesare tailoredto reflect the working environmentof air traffic controllersand pilots.Thetopics coveredin the modules are geography,weather conditions,

A majorproblemwith Englishproficiencyis that individualstend to think of themselvesas being better in Englishthan they reallyare.

Radiotelephony in routinesituationsrequiresa limited vocabulary (mainlyphraseology· related)that most individualsinvolvedin international operationsare comfortablewith.

Problemshoweverarise when non-routineor emergencysituations occur.Thesesituations requirea muchmore elaboratecommandof the Englishlanguage, which is often lacking.

aircraft maintenance,cargo and dangerous goods, flight planning and dispatch, airway clearance, en route and position reports, maneuvers in flight, descent and landing, inflight safety and first aid and medical assistance. Candidates learn how to communicateeffectivelyin Englishin a variety of aviation-relatedsituations.The programme allows for practiceof both plain languageand standardICAOphraseology.

In orderto createa greatersenseof urgency, ICAOhasbeenorganizingregionallanguage symposiums to explainthe proficiency requirementsand provideguidanceon their implementation.IATAhasalso contacted airline and CAArepresentatives aroundthe world urgingthem to take action.Bringingair traffic controllersup to ICAOlevel4 can easily take severalmonthsof training,dependingon their currentproficiencyand the training intensity.As the March2008deadlineis fast approaching,IATAis hopingthat a growing numberof ANSproviderswill assessthe proficiencylevelof their air traffic controllers and delineatean actionplan for all staff to be trainedand testedbeforethe deadline.Air safetydependson it.

1. Assessment Service IATAand Berlitzhavesetupan assessment servicewhich purposeis to determinethe currentproficiencylevel and the training requirementsof air traffic controllersand pilots,accordingto the ICAOproficiencyscale.

In orderto be evaluated,air traffic controllers and pilots call in to a testing centreto completean oral assessment of their English pronunciation,structure,vocabulary,fluency, comprehension and interactions.A professionalrater leadsa 15-minuteinterview by askingvariousaviation-relatedquestions.

Uponcompletionof the interview,each candidateis givena reportoutlining the amountof training that will be neededin order to reachthe ICAOlevel4 proficiencystandard.

Thenumberof training hoursrequiredwill vary from nearly300 hoursfor a candidateratedas a level 1 down to about 100 hoursfor a candidatethat is very closeto level4.

Sofar, IATAhasperformedassessments with air traffic controllersand pilots from Chile, Colombia,Mexico,Poland,Russiaand Ukraine, China,the PhilippinesandThailand.

2. LanguageTraining Oncethe assessment is completed,aviation

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3. Proficiency Testing Oncethe training programmeis completed,air traffic controllersand pilots are onceagain testedto confirmwhetherthey meetor exceed the ICAOlevel4 proficiencystandard.

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English language proficiency

ELPAC - ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY FORAERONAUTICA CoMMUNICATIONS byAdrian Enright,

Eurocontrol,Luxembourg

Safetyin aviation is paramount o you think you can speakEnglish?And why not?After all as a controllerdealing everyday with internationalflights you are usingphraseologyin English- as well perhapsas your own language- to talk to pilots.Do you feel confidentenoughwhen an unexpectedsituationarisesand the communicationturns to plain language?For manyof you (nativespeakersof English excluded)the answerwill be "of course".But, thereare someamongstus who do not have that confidence.Is it reallytrue that in a coupleof yearswe are all goingto be testedin the language(s)we usein our job? Yes,as of March5th 2008.

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Thisarticlewill look at how oneorganisationEUROCONTROL - is addressingthe problem facedby Europeanprovidersof ATCservices.

EUROCONTROL (the EuropeanOrganisationfor the Safetyof Air Navigation)is developingan Englishlanguageproficiencytest to help Europeancontrollersmeetboth ICAOand EuropeanUnionlanguageproficiency requirements.

Othertests are beingdeveloped in other partsof the world.

The situation As of Marchsth 2008air traffic controllersand pilotswill haveto demonstratetheir proficiencyin the language(s)they usefor aeronauticalcommunication.More informationcan be found in ICAOAnnex1 PersonnelLicensing(Chapter1, paragraph 1.2.9),Appendix1 andAttachment1 to Annex 1 (HolisticDescriptorsand RatingScale).

ICAO'slanguageproficiencyrating scalehas6

levelsand Level4 (operational)is set as the minimumstandardwhich air traffic controllers must meet.Thislanguageproficiencywill be a licenceendorsementwithout which air traffic controlservicescannotbe provided.

In additionto the ICAOlanguageproficiency requirementsapplicableto the operationof internationalair services,the European 1 Commission's CommonEuropeanATCLicence requiresthat fill air traffic controllers(of EU MemberStates)demonstratelanguage proficiency(to ICAOLevel4 or above).Thiswill becomeeffectivein early2010.

Thetest beingdevelopedby EUROCONTROL for operationalair traffic controllersis called ELPAC (EnglishLanguageProficiencyfor AeronauticalCommunication).ELPAC will enablethe Air NavigationServiceProviders (ANSPs)and the NationalSupervisory Authorities(NSAs)of EUROCONTROL's MemberStatesto meetICAOand EUlanguage proficiencyrequirements.

Air traffic controllers will be ableto demonstratetheir proficiencyin the Englishlanguagenecessary for effective

Thislanguageproficiencywill be a licence endorsementwithout whichair traffic controlservicescannotbe provided

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and efficientaeronauticalcommunicationwith pilots and fellow controllers.

ELPAC is designedfor operational air traffic controllersand reflectsthe rangeof language tasksundertakenin air traffic control.The focusof the test is on languageratherthan operationalprocedures.

Languagetesting in aviationhasexceptionally high-stakes.Controllerswho fail to demonstratecompliancewith the ICAO languageproficiencyrequirementsmay have their licencesuspendedor evenwithdrawn - a consequence which can havesevere professionalrepercussions on not only the careerof an individualcontrollerbut alsoon the providersof air traffic services.

Thereforeeveryoneinvolvedin aviation languagetesting has the responsibilityto ensurethat the languageproficiencyteststhey select,provide,or developfor the aviation industryare valid, reliable, effective, and appropriate.

TheICAOlanguageproficiencyrequirements point towardsthe aviation context for testing. Demonstrationof actualspeaking and listening ability is required.

Aeronauticalcommunicationis highly specific and as suchany languageproficiencytest that aviationprofessionals, controllersand pilots are askedto undertakehasto reflectthe

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English language proficiency aviationcontextas opposedto any other contextsuchasthoseprovidedby academicor business-related languageproficiencytestse.g.

IELTS (InternationalEnglishLanguageTesting System},, TOEFL, (Testof Englishas a Foreign Language},BEC(BusinessEnglishCertificate}.

Therearealsoa numberof diagnosticand placementtestsavailable.Bytheir very nature thesetestsare not appropriatefor proficiency testing.Statesand air traffic serviceproviders cannotaffordto wastemoneyon inadequate tests.Thuslanguagetestingfor licensing purposesneedsto be of the highestpossible quality.

Followingfeasibilitystudiescarriedout in 2004 the projectto developa languageproficiency test was approvedby EUROCONTROL's Human Resources Team(HRT)in October2004and initial developmentstartedin Novemberof that year. In February2005a coreDevelopment Team,consistingof ATCand Englishlanguage expertsfrom six Europeancountriesand Eurocontrolbeganconstructingtest specificationsand items/tasksin accordance with the ICAOlanguageproficiency requirements.

Manyof theseexpertshave experiencein languagetest development throughlong associationwith the Proficiencyin EnglishLanguagefor studentAir Traffic Controllersor PELATest.

Theprojectconsultantfor languagetestingis Dr.RitaGreenwho hasextensiveexperiencein developinglanguagetestsall overthe world.

AdrianEnright(EUROCONTROL, Luxembourg} projectleaderfor PELAand a memberof the ICAOPRICEStudyGroup- managesthe ELPAC projectassistedby MagdalenaVecerova(expert in languagetesting).In addition,ENOVATE A.S. (Bergen,Norway}hasbeenappointedsoftware consultantto the projectand is currently

designinga tailor-madeprogrambasedon the successfulBITE( BergenInteractiveTestof English}systemwhichwill enableELPAC to be deliveredas a web-basedtest.

The ELPACtest ELPAC will test Englishlanguageproficiencyfor Aeronauticalcommunication(phraseology and plain language} at ICAOlevel 4 (operational)and level 5 (extended}.Plain languageproficiencyis an essentialcomponent of radiotelephony communications as it is not possibleto developphraseologies to cover everyconceivablesituation.

ELPAC will be partly a web based test. This will not only ensurethat test administrationis as economicalas possiblebut it will alsoallow for a high levelof security.

Therewill be two test papers - Listening Comprehensionand Oral Interaction.

The first Paper (ListeningComprehension} is web-based.

Trialling

Controllerswill be assessed on their understanding of communications between pilots and controllersand betweencontrollers and controllersin both routineand non-routine situations.

Therecordingswill be basedon authentic materialand rangefrom shortstandardpilot transmissions to longercommunications in which the controllerdealswith non-routineor unusualsituations.

It will be availableon the internetbut only accessible throughtrainedand accreditedtest administrators.

In November2005morethan 100controllers participatedin the first trialling exercise.

The resultsof the initial analysiswerevery

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encouragingfor the test developers.

Thebasic test designis provenand internetdeliveryis improving.Thenext trial of Paper1 will take placein March2006.A sampletest shouldbe availableby the summer.

ThesecondPaper(OralInteraction}will be doneby an Englishlanguageexpertassisted by an ATCexpert.

It will assessthe controller'sproficiency throughboth non-visualand visual communicationin threephases.Thecontroller will be assessed on: the correctuseof standardICAOphraseology the ability to switchbetweenstructured phrases[RTF]and plain English makingan appropriateresponseto a message resolvingmisunderstandings dealingeffectivelywith the relationship betweenpilot and controller negotiatinga developingunusualsituation producingextendedspeechin an aviation context.

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An importantpart of anytest developmentis trying out the test on a target population.

Operationalcontrollersare askedto take versionsof the test and to completea feedbackquestionnaire.

All commentsand test resultsare subjectto intensescrutinyand a statisticalanalysisto seehow the test performs.Canthe test discriminatebetween thosewho are proficientat level4 or 5 and thosewho are below level4? Are the items (questions}reliableand valid?Is the test testingwhat it is designedto test and will the resultsbe consistentovertime?How do the controllersperceivethis test? Is it relevantto the useof Englishin their job? During2006 and the earlypart of 2007EUROCONTROL will conducta numberof trialling exercises.

Feedback, evaluationand improvementare essential.As manycontrollersas possiblewill be askedto assist.Not only will the developmentteamgain valuableinsightinto how the test performsbut it will alsobe a chancefor the controllersto playa majorrole in ELPAC test developmentandthus help to producea languageproficiencytest that suits their needs.

Testavailability

TheELPAC test will be availableto EUROCONTROL and ECACStatesfrom July 1i 2007. Therewill alsobe a sampletest ~ (plannedfor summer2006)so that test takers canfamiliarisethemselveswith the test structureand item types

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English language proficiency

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS

"TOBEORNOTTOBE?"

by DougChurchill, IFATCA

hat is the question... beingaskedby manyair traffic controllersthesedays.

Sincethe issuanceof the International Civil AviationOrganization(ICAO)StateLetter (May 31, 2001), Proposalsfor the Amendment of Annexes1,6, 10, 11and the PANS-ATM concerningLanguageProficiencyfor Radiote/ephony Communication, there has beenmuchado surroundingthis issuefrom manyfronts but, unfortunatelywe haveheard very little from somewho havethe most influencein the quality,methods,and timing of deliveryof training for controllers- the Civil AviationAuthoritiesand the ServiceProviders.

In light of amendmentsto Annexes1, 6, 10 and 11 and to the PANS-ATM havingbeen adoptedby ICAO,and whereasthe ICAO resolutioncalledfor a strengtheningof relevantprovisionsand obligingStatesto take stepsto ensurethat ATCOsare proficientin conductingand comprehending communications in English,it is very dishearteningto witnessthe apparentlack of concernsomesectorsof the industryhave shownto date.Admittedly,the proposed deadlinefor complianceis two yearsaway howevergiventhe gravity of the issue(on the safetyaspectalone)it is not too earlyto act.

Forair traffic controllersthis is no trivial matter;the consequences of inadequate training leadingto an inabilityto meetthe recommended "start date" of January2008 could haveseriousrepercussions.

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Languageproficiencyhaslong beenidentified as havinga prominentrole in accidentsand incidents.Investigatorshaveconcludedthat inadequateproficiencyon the part of flight crewsand/orcontrollersis a maincontributor to eventsleadingto accidentsas well as incidentsand nearmisses.Suchwas the concernthat in 1998the ICAO32ndAssembly Resolution#16, urgedthe ICAOCouncilto directthe Air NavigationCommissionto considerthe matterwith a high degreeof priority.ICAOhasdoneits job and continuesto lead by example.An initial step in 1999saw the establishmentof a studygrouptaskedwith

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developingprovisionsrelatingto language testing requirementsand minimumskill levels in the commonuseof English.TheStudyGroup was the ProficiencyRequirements in Common EnglishStudyGroup(PRICESG), in which IFATCAhad representation.

Thegroup'sraison d'etrewas to recommendremediesfor insufficientEnglishproficiency,as many controllerswould needa language-enhancing programto bring them up to acceptablelevels.

PRICESG statedthat the greatestchanceof successwas for Statesto implementEnglish languagestrengtheningactivities,as it is primarilythe responsibilityof the Regulatorof eachStateto ensurelanguagetesting complies with ICAOAnnexamendments.

Thefeelingwas that the chanceof successwould be enhanced if ICAOplayeda role as Stateregulatory bodiesmaynot possessexpertiseor resources to completelyfulfill their responsibilities.

IFATCA was pleasedwith the work of the PRICESG, and I think it fair to saythat at this point in time there was a feeling of optimism

surroundingthe languageproficiencyissueand we were all lookingforwardto great progress beingmade.Thetask was defined;goalswere set,ruleslaid down and responsibilities allotted.Thereis little doubt that our greatest chancesof successdependon Statesand Operatorsacknowledgingtheir respective responsibilitiesin the process.So,what is happening?Whydo manyStatesseemto be at a lossas to how to proceed?We havescant informationas to what action(s)Providers and/orCAAshavetaken so far howeverthere are indicationsfrom reliableresearchwhich indicatesStatesare in one of threecategories concerninglanguagetraining: 1) they haveno ideaof how to proceed;2) they havelittle idea of how to proceedand no plan in place,and 3) they know bestand will "go it alone".To repeat," it remainsthe responsibilityof each Stateto ensurethat no matterwho or what organizationactuallyperformsthe testing procedures, they will complywith ICAO Annexesand that there existsa high levelof compatibilityamongstall nationalprograms."

THE CONTROLLER

English language proficiency Howwill this be possibleif Statesdo not take somecontrol?

All is not doomand gloom.ICAOis continuing its leadershiprole and IFATCAis awareof work beingundertakenby, and/orfacilitiesbeing providedby manyinstitutions(Editornote : SeeBob Trottarticle " How to do it " in this issue).

Threeof thesedeserverecognition.Thereis ICAOof courseleadingthe way as described earlier,but in additionthey haveproduceda manual,the Manualon the Implementationof /CAOLanguageProficiencyRequirements in an attemptto further supportStates'effortsto complywith the strengthenedprovisionsfor languageproficiency.Thismanualis meantas a guideand centerson Englishlanguagetraining issues,asthis is the areain which most States and aircraft operatorsrequirespecificguidance.

Thetarget audienceincludestraining managers of CAAs,the airlineindustryand training organizations.

We hopethis documentwill be a catalystfor all stakeholdersinvolved- States, CAAsand test developers,to get movingand incorporatea languageproficiencytesting programthat is valid, reliable,effective, appropriateand timely.Tocomplementthe ManualICAOhasproduceda comprehensive questionnaire(survey)addressedto Civil AviationAuthorities,ServiceProviders, operatorsand training institutionsthat are involvedin Englishlanguageproficiency testing.Thissurveywill be distributedglobally for completionby Statesand resultsanalyzed to determineand assessprogressionin their languageproficiencyprograms.

At Eurocontrol,the Testin the Proficiencyin Englishfor Air TrafficControl(PELA)has been evolvingover a numberof years.TheTestwas initially administeredto somethree hundred ATCstudentsfrom six differentStatesbetween 1995and 1997,with the statisticaldata showingthe testing hashad a positiveimpact on ATCEnglishlanguagetraining and has met its aims.

More recentlythe EnglishLanguageProficiency for AeronauticalCommunication (ELPAC) programis beingdevelopedby Eurocontrolto meetthe new ICAO requirementsfor air traffic controllers.ELPAC reflectsthe rangeof tasksundertakenin ATC with the focusof the test beingon language.

ELPAC will be web-basedand will test English languageproficiency(phraseologyand plain language)at ICAOlevels4 (operational)and 5 (extended).( EditorNote: seeAdrina Enright article on ELPACin this issue)

THE CONTROLLER

In orderto helpthe aviationindustrycomply with the strengthenedICAOlanguage proficiencyrequirements, the InternationalAir TransportAssociation(IATA)has partneredwith Berlitz,the world-renownedlanguageservices provider,to developa completeAviation EnglishSolutionin compliancewith ICAO's requirements.IATAand Berlitzare working together(with input from IFATCA) to set up an assessment service, the purposeof which is to determinecurrent proficiencylevelsand training requirements of air traffic controllers accordingto the ICAO proficiencyscale.

Controllerswill be evaluatedby callingin to a testing centerto completean oral assessment of their Englishpronunciation, structure,vocabulary,fluency,comprehension and interactions.Uponcompletioneach candidateis givena report outlining the amountof training that will be neededin order to reachthe ICAOlevel4 proficiencystandard.

It is estimatedthat the numberof training hoursrequiredwill varyfrom nearly300 (level 1) to about 100 (level4). Todate,IATAhas performedassessments with air traffic controllersfrom nine Statesin Europe,South AmericaandAsia.

Theseorganizationsare to be commendedfor their foresightin determiningearly in the processwhat the needsof controllersare and for taking the initiative to comeup with crediblesolutionsto satisfythe 2008 requirementsdeadline.

TheICAOrecommendations havebeenvery advantageousin helpingto resolvemanyof the languageproblemsassociatedwith the use of English,but on the other handthe initiative hascreatedmanyareasof concernfor controllers.ICAOhasdonemuchbut has neitherthe resourcesnor expertiseto involve itself further.We believeit necessary for States, airlines,serviceproviders,and training organizationsto now assumeleadershiproles and shouldertheir fair share(s)of the burden.

Organizationsneedto investin high-quality, aviation-specificlanguagelearningproducts and materialsthat are availablein the marketplace.

Therecan be no short cuts.Effort fueledby motivationis required.

Theintroductionof the Englishlanguage proficiencyrequirements, and their

_l implementationdate of January2008 is an ambitiousundertaking.In the academicworld it would take muchmoretime to accomplisha comprehensive strategysuchas the one being consideredfor languageproficiencytraining.

We cannotstressenoughthe importanceof timely implementation.Sufficienttraining mustbe availablefor currentATCO'sof all Englishlanguageabilitiesso as to be able to meetICAOLevel4, and subsequently to retain and improvethat competency.

Thereshouldbe sufficienttime includedto allow those controllerswho wi II havedifficultyachieving the languagerequirementsto take a reasonableamountof time for the re-training process.

With careersand possiblylivesat stake, administrationsshouldnow realizethe sense of urgencyfelt by manyin the system.IFATCA encouragesCivilAviationAuthorities,Service Providers,Regulators, trainersandtestersto regardthis issuewith a heightenedsenseof urgencyand to seriouslycommitto developing a languageproficiencyprogramthat will complywith the ICAOrequirementsin a timely manner.

D. Churchill,EVPP

References: IFATCA Manual ICAOStateLetterAN 13/48.1-02/1,Proposals forthe Amendmentof Annexes1,6, 10, 11and the PANS-ATM concerning LanguageProficiencyfor Radiotelephony Communication.

- IFATCA 05,WP No.164,MonitoringDevelopments in ICAOPRICESG - EurocontrolELPAC Flyer#1, EnglishLanguageProficiency/or AeronauticalCommunication ICAOManualon the Implementationof ICAOLanguageProficiencyRequirements

13

Americas

STANDARDS FORSAFETY THELANGUAGE BARRIER

by EI-Kadur,ACOSTA,RegionalEditorAmericas n the questfor higherstandardsin aviation, we find manyinterestingon-goingprojects; amongstthem is one in particularthat is raisingconcernfor mostcountrieswhose inhabitants'first languageis not English:the InternationalCivilAviationOrganization's {ICAO)mandatesthat all aviationprofessionals activelyinvolvedin internationaloperationsto attain a minimumEnglishproficiency.

This affectsnearlythe whole of our Region.The purposeof the mandateis to improve performancein Englishamongaviation professionals, primarilypilots andair traffic controllers,to not only communicate effectively at the minimumproficiencystandardin everydaysituations,but alsoduringcritical situationswhereeverysecondbecomescritical for either a singlelife or manylives.In short, the ICAOminimumEnglishproficiency operationallevelmandatewasestablishedto improvesafety.

contributingfactorsthat led to a fatal end.

TodayI will addresssomeof the itemsrelated to humanfactors,in this casethe communicationissue.

Thereare incidentsand accidentsin our Region causedmainlyby a languagebarrier.Thereare concernsabout how the resultof a situation mayhavebeendifferentif eitherthe pilot or the air traffic controllerhad had a higher proficiencyin the useof plain Englishinstead of only a high proficiencyin the useof aviation phraseology.

Toillustratethis, let's look againat the famous Aviancacasein NewYorkin 1990.

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Thecontrollersdid not understandthat an emergency situationexisted In the twenty itemsthat were found and addressedas the leadingcauses,at leastfour of themare EnglishLanguageproficiency related.Forinstance,one of thesecausescan be describedas,"Theflight crew did not adequatelycommunicateits increasingly criticalfuel situationto the controllerswho handledthe flight", while anotheronestates,

"Thecontrollersdid not understandthat an emergencysituationexisted."

Tounderstandthe situationinsteadof just readingcold facts,the CockpitVoice Recorder's transcriptionshows,in the NTSB Report,that the first officerdid all of the radio transmissions duringthe flight. HisEnglish Languageproficiencywasgoodenoughto carryout the communications and be understandable by the groundstations.But he had to translateeverytransmissionin Spanish to the other crewmembers,particularlythe captainwho wasthe pilot flying. The transmissionalsoshowsas the flight reaches criticaloperativelevels,the transmissions becomeslessfrequent.

A combinationof numerousfactors,suchas weather,stress,aircraftoperationallimits contributedto a majordisaster,resultingin 73

The Crashof AV052 in New York City On January25 1990,AviancaAirlinesFlight AV052,a B707from Bogota,Colombiato JFK Internationalin NewYorkCity,crashedin a woodedresidentialareaof NewYorkCity.Due to a total of 1:17 hrs of holdingreceivedon the way to KJFK,the aircraftran out of fuel, reachingcriticallevelsof reserve.

Tomake thingsworse,the flight crewexecuteda missed approachprocedureand finally crasheddue to fuel exhaustionwhile trying to returnto the airport.

TheNTSBreportshoweda numberof

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THE CONTROLLER

Americas

fatalitiesof its 158occupants.Themain factor was the inappropriateway of communicating the aircraft'sfuel problemby the crew,and,for the Controllers,the lackof understandingof the crew'srepeatedstatement:"We are runningout of fuel".

In our workingenvironmentwe are exposedto similarsituations.We mustunderstandthat at the time of a distressfulcasewe do have properwaysto declarean irregularsituation, suchas hijack,emergencyor radio communications failure.Sometimesit canbe requestinghelpfor a passengerexperiencinga healthproblemthat cannotbe managedin the airplane.Whilethis happenswe are subjectto usingnon-standardphraseology, in other words,usingplain Englishas long as both parties(cabincrewand controllers)don't speakthe samelanguageof course.It may sometimesalso involveother airlineground crewmembers,suchas flight dispatchers.

languagetraining programsto meetthe ICAO standards.Theseshouldincludeguidelinesto identifyup to what stageof knowledgean individualis capableof performingat an adequatelevelhis or heroperativeduties.

In America,mostconcernsare addressedto thoseSpanishspeakingcountries,besidesthe Frenchand Portuguese speakingones.Some MA'sare alreadyworkingon agreementswith specialisedlanguagetraining academiesand othersareapproachingthe Federation demandingadvice.In the past Regional Meetings,MA'shaveshoweda high interestin providinga successful transitionthroughthe languageproficiencyrequirement implementation.

Finally,we mustbe awarethat this issueneeds the cooperationof the partiesinvolved.Only throughjoint cooperationcana highersafety levelbe reachedby the improvementof our communications skills.

What will we do?

Thekeytransmissionsof AV052:

DuringMarch,2003,the !CAOCouncil determinedthat the languageproficiency requirementsfor both pilots andcontrollersare requiredto demonstrateOperationalLevel4 languagein the useof both ICAOphraseology and plain languageby 2008.

Extract from the Cockpit Voice Recorder CVR from NTSBreport:

As time runsout, StateMembershavethe responsibilityto developtheir own English

THE CONTROLLER

Thebold words arethosespokenon the R/T, the rest is on the CVRand in Spanish.( C1 is Captain,C2the copilot,C3 is the flight Engineer) After the missedapproach,the Captain( Cl ) who is pilot flying, tells copilot( C2) who is

doingthe R/T " 21:24:06: Cl : (Spanish)Tellthemwe are in emergency!

21:24 :08 C2 That's right to 180 on the heading and ... ah.. we'll try once again ..we are running out of fuel .

21:24 :15 TWR: Okay ...

21:24 :17 Cl : (Spanish)What did he say?

21:24 :18 C2 : ( Spanish) to maintain2000ft 21:24 :22 Cl : ( Spanish) Advisehim we are in emergency!

21:24:26 Cl (Spanish) Didyou tell him ?

21:24:28 C2 : (Spanish) YesSir 21:24 :29 C2 : (Spanish) I alreadyadvised him 21:25:07: APP AV052HNew York, good evening, climb and maintain 3000 21"25"08 : Cl : (Spanish) advisehim we don't havefuel .

21:25:10: C2 AV052 Climb and maintain 3000 and we're running out of fuel sir.

21:25:12: APP:OK fly heading 080 21:25:28: Cl (Spanish) Didyou already advisehim we don't havefuel ?

21:25:29: C2: (Spanish)YesI alreadyadvised him .... he is going to get us back 21:25:29: Cl Bueno( OK) 21:26:25: APP : AV052H,I am going to bring you 15 NM NE and then turn you back on the APP is that fine with you and your fuel ?

21:26:43 C2 : I guessso, thank you very much.

21:26:46: Cl : (Spanish) Whatdid he say?

21:26:46: C3 : (Spanish) the guy is angry 21:26:47: C2 (Spanish) 15 NM to get back to the Localizer, 21:27:36 Cl A morir ( to die) 21:30:32 APP:AV052 climb to maintain 3000 21:30:36: Ah..negative sir, we're running out of fuel, we're OK 3000, now OK. 21:32:33 : C3 : ( Spanish) Flameout number 4 21:32:43 C3 (Spanish) Flameout on number3, essentialson Number2, one on 1 21:32:49 C2 : AV052 we just..ah..lost 2 engines and we ah.. need priority please!"

21:32:54APP: AV052 turn left Heading 050 intercept localizer 21:33:04: AV052H,you are 15 NM from OM maintain 2000 ft until established localizer,cleared for ILS runway 22L. 21:33:12C2: Roger Avianca.

21:33:24: Endrecording,(crash) Thefull report is availableon : http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/ aar/AAR 91-04.pdf

15

English Language proficiency

AVIATIONENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN ASIA PhilParker,RegionalEditorAsia Pacific he net resultof thesenew ICAO requirements on EnglishLanguage proficiency, hasbeena scrambleto get all personnelup to the requiredstandard within a relativelyshorttime frame.English teachinginstitutionsaroundthe world seethis as a goldminefor makingmoney.Most of theseinstitutionsare reputable,howeversome are not.Thetask world wide is huge.IATAand IFALPA havetakena lead in promotingcourses which fulfill the ICAOrequirementsbeinggiven by competentschoolsand institutions.

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IFATCA Executive VicePresidentProfessional DougChurchill,wrote a letterto all Controllers Associationson the subjecton the 5th of September2005 . At IFATCA 2005therewasa recommendation that, "IFATCAbecomeproactivein the identificationof appropriate institutionsconsideredsuitableto administer Englishlanguagetraining,and take a more aggressiverole in determiningacceptable methodologiesin the provisionof suchtraining for air traffic controllers".Doug goeson to say that, "languageproficiencytrainingneedsfor ATCOsincludeboth high quality English languagetrainingmaterialsand programs.Well - developed,qualityEnglishlanguagelearning programstend not to be particularlyadapted to a specificrequirementsuchas ours." EVPP also statesthat "Statesare in oneof three categoriesconcerningtraining:" • they haveno idea how to proceed • they havelittle idea of how to proceedand no plan in place,or • they know bestand will 'go it alone' In manycaseshowever,I believethere is not the desperateneedto 'teach' English,just a requirementto improvethe Englishlanguage ability the controlleralreadyhas.

With the majorityof Asia/PacificMAs,Englishis not the 'mothertongue'.With this in mind,I would like to sharewith you someobservations on Englishlanguageability in this area.These are basednot only my observations, but those of my sonand mywife. Now you might say what hasthis to do with Englishproficiency.

16

Let me explain.My sontaught Englishfor NOVAin Tokyofor 3 yearsand mywife currentlylivesin Tokyofor about 9 to 10 monthsa yearwheresheis learningto play the Koto,(Japanese Harp),and trying to learnJapanese.

BothhavemanyJapanese friendswho canspeakEnglishand mostof theseEnglishspeakingfriendshavethe sameproblem.Lackof exposureto a native Englishspeakerso that they can improve their comprehension and fluency.Theycan read and write Englishwell, however,in the main, their EnglishteacherswereJapanese, who themselveshad problemswith fluency.The other problemis that evenif taught by a native Englishspeakerand havingdevelopedgood languageskills,unlessthey havecontinual exposureto the language,it will deteriorate.

Possiblesolutions and strategies: the Hong Kong experience.

HongKongATChasalwaysbeenluckywith regardto English.As a formerBritishcolony, Englishis one of the official languagesof Hong Kong.TheCivilAviationDepartmentAir Traffic ManagementDivision,alsohavea set of rules in placethat all operationalconversationand coordinationmustbe in English.All of the controller'straining including,classroom, simulatorand on the job training is in English.

HongKonghasalwayshad expatriatenative Englishspeakingcontrollersfrom all overthe world, howevermostare fromAustraliaor New Zealand.Thelowestnumberwas9 and the highestwas90.Thereare still approximately 50 working here.Thereis evena groupof local controllerswho haveworkedmanyyearsin AustraliaincludingEVPASP,DavidCheung.

Studentcontrollersfrom HongKongaresent to the U.K.for a basicATCcourse whichalso includesan Aviation Englishmodule.Thisgives a naturaladvantageto all local HongKong controllersto improveand maintaintheir Englishability.HongKongCADfeel that they

will haveno problemin beingeasilyable to reachthe ICAOLevel4 requirements.

ForthoseAsianControllersAssociationsthat don't havethe advantagesof HongKong,I put forwardthe following ideas: • Havean Englishonly day,onceperweek at all facilities • Haveat leastsomeof the ATCtraining done totally in English • Trainingvideosin English • Accessto aviationbooksand magazinesin English • Consideremployingexperienced native Englishspeakingcontrollerswho have retiredor are aboutto retire,as instructors.

(Thatway you are getting 2 peoplefor the priceof one).

• Considerusingexperiencedexpatriate controllersfor aviationrelatedEnglish conversationand comprehension training, either in the training schoolor as roving employees.

Theycouldbe attachedto a majorATCcentre,but travel to other centres and towersaroundthe country.

Thething to rememberaboutthe aboveis that it is not requiredto teachEnglishto working controllerswho, evennow,haveat leasta reasonable ability in the language.Otherwise theywould not be doingthe job.Whatis neededis the continuinguseof the languageto improvetheir fluencyand comprehension enablingthemto reachLevel4 andmaintainit.

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THE CONTROLLER

African Affairs

INTERVIEW Thesituationin Kenya.

Interviewwith KeziahOgutu Everyoneremembersthe Kenyanstrikeof March2002,resultingin a largenumberof controllersbeingdismissed.

At the regional meetingin Dubai,it was mentionedthat finally the KenyanHighCourtruledin the controllers' favor.

I met with KeziakOgutu,a controller representingthe KenyanMA, and this is what shehad to say: Ph : What is the latest situation regarding the dismissed controllers?

KO:Thehigh court ruledthat the dismissalof the 39 controllers,and otherANSPstaff,by the Ministryof Transportin April 2002was illegal and orderedthat they be financially compensated for their 3 yearslossof income.

Thecourthoweverdid not, in fact couldnot, ordertheir re-instatement(i.e.gettingtheir jobs back)as the Organisationthat fired them no longerexisted.

Thedismissalof the 39 controllers,in April 2002 was illegal

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BACKGROUNDOF THE CONFLICT: Thestrikewas in March2002and calledfor bettersalariesand workingconditions.

In April 2002the governmentretaliatedby dismissing39 controllers.Mostlythosethat weresupposedto be on duty on the day of the strikeand somebelievedto be the

organizersof the strike.

In October2002 the governmentwithdrew responsibilityfor ATCfrom the Ministryand createdthe new KCAAwith a different managementand structure.Within weeksthe issuesthat causedthe strikewere resolvedand controllers'salarieswere increasedby 500%.

Ph: How come? There is still ATC and controllers in Kenya today?

KO:Of course,but sinceOctober2002,only a few monthsafter the strike,a new company calledKenyaCivilAviationAuthority(KCAA) was formedand the formerGovernment Departmentthat usedto manageATCceased to exist.

Ph: Is there any hope for them to get their jobs back?

KO:Thejudgesaidthat thereshouldbe dialoguewith the KCAAto investigatethe possibilities.

Theproblemis that the KCAAsays it hasan optimumnumberof controllerstoday and doesnot have37 openvacancies.

Sadlyof the 39 originalcontrollers,2 havedied in the meantime,so thereareonly 37 left to be reemployed.

TheKCAAsaysthey will reviewthe situation as exitingcontrollersleavethe servicefor retirementetc.

Theyalsostatedthat they do not feel responsiblefor what happenedunderthe Ministryof Transport's management.

Soit will take sometime before all the controllersare re-employed.

THECONTROLLER

Fujairah International Airport require

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS (from any of the following nationalities: American Canadian, European, Australian) holds Valid ATC license with the following: 1. Tower Rating 2. Approach Procedure Rating 3. Approach Radar Rating 4. On Job Training Instructor Rating 5. Min. five years of civilian ATC experience required Pls. submit CV's to:

Nasser Akber Juma, Manager Air Traffic Services, FIA P.O. Box 977, Fujairah, U.A.E Tel: +971-9-2055553/Fax: +971-9-2222108 Email: satco@fujairah-airport.com Website: www.fujairah-airport.com

17

Dubai Regional Meeting

AFRICAMIDDLEEAST REGIONAL MEETING IN DUBAI ReportbyEditor

he meetingthis yearwas held in the DubaiChamberof Commercebuilding, an impressiveskyscraperon the waterfrontin Dubai,in the UnitedArab Emirateson 28-30November2005.It was attendedby 19 ControllersAssociations from the region,and 17Aviationorganisations.

Themeetingwas chairedin an energetic mannerby IFATCA ExecutiveVicePresident AFM,AlbertTaylorand containedmany extremelyinterestingpresentations.

Thethemewas "Co-operationand collaborationin ATMprovisionin the Region" Thescenewasset right from the start.

In his openingspeech,JamelAl-Hai,chairman of the ExecutiveBoardof DubaiCAAsaidthat we lived in a globalindustry.Herein Dubai,we havean openmarketwith an openskypolicy (Meaningif everyonecanfly to Dubai,Emirates Airlinesintendsto fly everywhere).

He predictedthat in a few yearstime the Middie Eastwill haveover 1000aircraftbasedin the regionand they shouldbe preparedfor it.

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"We needmorecontrollers", he said,"and while,herein Dubai,50% of our controllersare nationals,we still rely on expatriatesto do the job."

Theregionis preparingitself for the arrivalof the A380,as both EmiratesAirlinesand Etihad Airwayshaveplacedmassiveordersfor this aircraft.TodayDubaiairport handles25 million passengers but it is expectedto handle35 millionwithin 4 years.

Hesaidthat co-operationwith Emirates Airlinesis verygood."Basicallywe are doing what they want and we help themto reach their targets.Weare planningthe future togetherand we are luckyto haveonly one personwho combinesthe positionsof CAA Chairmanand the Airline chairman.Thatmakes it easy."

Anotherkey presentationwas madeby David

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Gleavesfrom the UKbasedAviationHazard Company:Hetalkedaboutthe poor safety recordthe AfricanRegionhas.Hesaidthat firstly,therewas little or no risk monitoring beingdone, and secondly,manyStatesdo not encouragereportingand,as a consequence, assumethat they havesafeoperations.

Theyoperateunderthe motto: " No reported incidentsequalssafeoperations."

Evenwhenan incidentis reported,often no formal Safetymanagementanalysisis made afterwards.He remindedthe regionthat risk analysismustbe performedbeforeintroducing new technologiesand new proceduresand he doesnot seethis happening.

CaptPaulVissersfrom IFALPA addressedthe

problemof self separationor transferof separationresponsibilityto the cockpit.Thisis a real issuein Africa. Hesaidthat therewere manyproblems,especiallyin the workloadand humanfactor areas.He saidtherewas no such thing as sharedresponsibilities and that for IFALPA the responsibilityfor separationshould remainon the ground.

Civil-militaryco-operationissueswere raised in a numberof presentations from Eurocontrol (Flexibleuseof airspace),Sweden(Sharing availableresources)and the UAEAir Force.

CaptSaif Mubarak,of the UAEAir Forcemade a presentationin which he stated: "We want no restrictionsfor militaryflights.We want to be ableto fly in all airspacesbut we want to

Associations are urgedto improvetheir relationshipwith the Pressto ensurea move vividunderstanding of ATCby the public THE CONTROLLER

Dubai Regional Meeting be separatedfrom all other traffic.We prefer to be controlledby a militaryagencybut we alsowant directroutesand as manymultiple heightand directionchangesas we like."

Thedreamof everymilitarypilot I guess.

Themeetingalso listenedto the Controllers Associationproblems,which arevast in the region.

Onemajorissuewasthe lackof preparation by someStatesand someserviceproviders regardingthe implementationof RVSMin Africa.Thisis of greatconcernto IFATCA. In this regardit askedICAO,IATA,IFALPA and stakeholders to work closelytogetherto meet the timescalesset for the RVSM implementationin Africa.

In view of the fact that the vastmajorityof the Regions'populationhaslittle knowledge aboutair traffic control,the meetingurgedthe controllersassociations to improvetheir relationshipwith the Pressto ensurea move vivid understanding of ATCby the public.

Someparticularproblemswere raised.For instance,contactwill be madewith the Authoritiesof the DemocraticRepublicof Congowith a requestto re-enternegotiations with the controllersassociationregarding honoringan agreementreachedon revised working conditions.

IFATCA will alsopursuethe possibilityof reestablishingthe platformfor communications and negotiationbetweenthe CAAsof Ethiopia and Eritrea.

IFATCA will alsoplan a visit to Togowith the aim of trying to convincethe authoritiesto reinstatefull ASECNA employmentstatusto a controlleron probation.

With regardto EnglishLanguageProficiency, IFATCA will producea checklist,translatedin the 5 ICAOlanguages, to help controllers protectthemselvesfrom losingtheir jobs as a resultof failing the assessment.

Finally,the meetingapplaudedthe authorities of Jordan,UnitedArab EmiratesandYemenas they haveencouragedcontrollersto form professionalassociationsand will allow them to interactinternationally.IFATCA urgedother authoritiesin the Middle Eastto emulatethis stance.

Continuingthis theme,I took the opportunity to interviewedYousif Hassan,Presidentof TheEmiratesAviationassociation( EAA), our IFATCA controllermemberAssociation.

Ph: Yousif , How did you achieve this?

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j associationuniting all professionals in Aviation;they includedgeneralaviationpilots, parachutists, controllersetc,but unfortunately the commercialpilots of Emiratesairlineswere not allowedto join. (Thereis hopethat Etihad pilots might be allowedto join in the future) TheATCpart of the Associationis veryactive, but restrictsitself to educationaland informationalmatters.TheAuthoritiesare not preparedto allow discussions regarding professionalmattersor negotiationswith managementon staff issues.Youhaveto realizethat local laws hereprohibit Unions.

Ph: What are your plans?

YH:Ouraim is primarilyeducation.But we would alsolike to promoteco-operationwith controllersfrom our neighboringFIRs.We are mostlyinterestedin regionalissues.

Finally,I interviewedAlbertTaylor,ITACA Executive VicePresident Africaand MiddleEast Ph: Albert, How do you think the

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meeting went'?

AT:We had a challengehere,but IFATCA is proudto havedemonstrated to the UAEthat a smallcontrollerassociationis part of the large IFATCA familyand that we are fully behind them.

Ph: Was the theme of this meeting: "Cooperation and collaboration in ATM provision in the AFM Region" covered to your satisfaction?

AT : Cooperationin this region,whichhasa lot of conflicts,for instancebetweencivil and military,is essential,and we, IFATCA, havethe possibilityto put the two partiestogether,as we just did here,in this Regionalmeeting.

Ph: Are you pleased with the results?

AT:Yes,we achieveda lot in this meeting.One big aim was to facilitateinteractionbetween controllersand their management.

We succeededin that as you haveseen. We hope that the trend set by the UAEcontrollershere canbe followed by othersin the Region.

WELCUIVlt:.

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The16'hRegional Conferenceof the (IFATCA) For (Africa& Middle Ea from 2a••to 30••N St}• ov 2005 • Dubai . Ch • amber of c

ornmerce and Industry

YH:TheAssociationwasstartedin 1997as an

THE CONTROLLER

19

Dubai

WHATIS GOINGON IN DUBAI? EXPANSION PLANSFORTHE NEXTTENYEARS

Dubai contr@ITower

in 55 countries.It will expandits fleet by addingone wide bodyplaneeverymonthover the next 6 years.It currentlyhas45 Airbus A380s,25 Boeing777sand 20 AirbusA340s on order.By2012Emiratesexpectto have around160aircraft,or doublethe fleet of today.

Toaccommodate this planATCis also being challenged.

Talkingto RiisJohansen, DirectorAir NavigationServicesof the EmiratesGeneral CAA,presentat the RegionalMeetinglast November, the followingplan is beingdevised: "EmiratesAirlinesin Dubaiis not the only airlinethat hasambitionsin the Region.

EtihadAirways,basedin nearbyAbu Dhabi, hassimilarplans.If we take into consideration othervisiting airlines,for instanceBritish Airways,they tell us that they alsowant to plan to double,or eventriple,their flights into the regionoverthe sameperiod. Weseethat definitivelythe increasein the densityof traffic that we aregoingto haveto handle overthe next 10 yearsis goingto be very impressive.

OurcurrentATCsystemis modernand expandable.Resources arewhat we needto focuson.Toplan for this we havedevised simpleformulas.

ubai alonewill invest36 Billion US dollarsin a new aviationinfrastructure and expandedairlineeconomy, expandingits airportsand aircraftfleet.

4 billion dollarsalonewill go into expanding the existingDubaiInternationalAirport, inside the city boundary,to be ableto reacha capacityof 60 Million passengers peryearby 2010.

Thenthe extrademandwill slowlybe movedto a newlybuilt JebelAli Airport,currentlybeing built outsidethe city at a costbetween8 and 10 billion dollars.Thisnew airportis expected

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Foraccommodating growth,we plan to open g; one extrasectorper 100.000movementsper s0 year.We also knowthat for everynew aircraft .c a. beingbasedhere,this will add on average2.3 movementper day,or roughly1000 movementsa year.

Ourexperiencealso showsthat we needone controllerper 9000movements.

We are currentlyplanningfor 1.4 million movementsperyearfor Abu DhabiACC.Soif you divide1.4 Million by 9000you will have roughlythe numberof controllerswe will needin the next 10 years." to be ableto handle120 million passengers peryearwhencompleted.

HOW TO BECOMEA CONTROLLER: EmiratesAirlines,basedin Dubai,hascurrently Whenvisitingthe DubaiAPP,I met Marwa, one of the threefemalecontrollerscurrently 80 aircraftand fly to 75 differentdestinations

THE CONTROLLER

Dubai

Building new A380 gates

"0

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"-

employedin Dubai.

Ph: How did you learn about the job?

Marwa:I was alwaysvery motivatedand interestedin aviation.I foundthe job advert on the Internetand applied.

Ph : And do you like the job?

M: I lovethis job. I am now trainingas an assistantcontroller,and expectto be qualified within the next 6 monthsor so.

JEBELALI AIRPORT(second Dubai airport being built) Thesite is in the desert,some30 kmsfrom the city ( currently50 kmsusingthe existingroad system) and covers140 squarekms.For comparison,the existingDubaiInternational Airport in the city covers14 squarekmsor 10 timesless!

Workalreadystartedin 2005and PhaseOneis plannedto be completedin 2007.

Theplan is for 6 parallelrunways,groupedin 2 parts, 3 north and 3 south,eachrunwaybeing separatedby 1 nm ( 1850m)to allow for full parallelrunwayoperations.

Theaim is for a capacityhandling infrastructureof 120million passengers a year VISITINGDUBAITower and Approach.

AhmedAl Jallaf,the GeneralSecretaryof the Association,escortedme on a visit to the DubaiTWRandAPP. Dubaiis one of 5 APPsin the UAE,but currentlyhandlesoverhalf of the total United

THE CONTROLLER

Arab Emiratestraffic. It is currentlypreparing, like everyoneelse,for the arrivalof the A380.

Thenew terminalpresentlyunderconstruction will have18 newA380dockingpositionswith 2 level boarding.Theywill haveto redesign the apronand are currentlydisplacingthe thresholdof one of the two existingparallel runwayby some800min orderto be able to makestaggeredapproaches.

Newparking spacesfor cargoaircraftare alsobeingbuilt.

Theyhavealso upgradedtheir ATCsystem.

"We had 225.000movementsin 2005 and that is a 14% increasecoMarwathe feamle controllermpared to the previousyear.This increaseis expectedto continue.", said OmranAhli, the supervisoron duty. "We have about 70 controllersworking here,45 radar and 25 tower.We controla CTAthat is about 40 NM aroundDubaiVORand goesup to 13.000ft. Therestof the airspaceis controlled

by Abu DhabiACC.We use4 en-routeradars and a groundmovementradarthat displays "- call sign, type of aircraftand speed. ~ Wetry to havea maximumof 8 aircraftin the ~ sectorat the sametime."

21

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~ ~CJ SJ-l'.Jfj f J-l'.on CorporateMembers I

_J

1

KevinSalter - ContributingEditor,CorporateAffairs

Welcome to all our readers for our first 2006 Corporate Members feature 'Spotlight' I hopeyou all had a verygoodstart into the NewYearandwish you all good fortunefor the remainder.

I will commence this yearwith an introductionto one of our newcorporate members

About Helios Heliosis an independentconsultancy basedin the UKspecialisingin air traffic management (ATM),airportsand navigation.Thecompanyhelpsits customersdelivertechnology, operational and businessimprovements.

Heliosis expertin developingand applyingtechnologysolutionsin safetycriticalindustries.Heliosconsultantshave an in-depthunderstanding of aviationand navigationissues,and a wide rangeof finance,operations,technicaland safety skills.

Helioshasestablisheditselfas market leaderfor consultingserviceswithin air traffic management (ATM).Fromthe very beginning,the companyspecialisedin ATMsystemsdevelopmentand validation, but todayits skillsand track recordhave expandedto includeall air traffic operations,from pre-flightto airborne,enrouteto approachand landing,as well as a growingportfolioof regulatory,systems and safetywork.

22

A proven track record in aviation and navigation Heliosis increasingly activein the strategicdevelopmentof theATMindustry.

Muchof its recentwork hasfocussedon the SingleEuropeanSky,includingthe development of FunctionalAirspaceBlocks (FABs)and supportingthe Industry ConsultationBody(ICB).

Recentand currentprojectsinclude:

Single EuropeanSky TechnicalSupportto the Industry ConsultationBody(ICB)of the Single EuropeanSky:the work involves analysingandsynthesising technical documentsas well as preparing briefingpapersto supportthe ICB's decision-making processes with regard to the implementation of the futureATM system.

Abu Dhabi Abu DhabiInternationalAirport:Heliosis part of a team providingplanningsupport to ParsonsInternationalLimitedfor the developmentof Abu DhabiInternational Airportin the UnitedArab Emirates.

Galileo GalileoTimeServiceProviderprototype: Heliosmanagesthe Fidelityconsortium which will createan operationalprototype GTSPto deliverUniversalTimeCoordinatedservicesto Galileoin time for its In-OrbitValidationdue in 2008.

UK-IrishFunctional AirspaceBlock UK-IrishFunctionalAirspaceBlock(FAB) study:the reportexaminedthe potential benefitsof establishinga FAB,the actions neededto set it up,and any issuesarising from it.

OATAAvionics OATAAvionicsprojectfor Eurocontrol:key achievements werea detailedstudyreport written by Heliosand Boeing,reviewedby Airbusand industry;and a logical architecturefor avionicsconsistentwith plannedgroundsystems.

EUATM systems benchmarking ATMbenchmarking of EUcandidate States:workingfor the European Commission Heliosreviewedand benchmarked the ATMsystemsof 13 EU candidateStates.

Data Link DataLinkRoadmapstudy:workingfor the EuropeanCommission Heliosled a team includingAirbus,IATA,lntegraand Sofreaviato developa roadmapfor the implementationof data link servicesin European Air TrafficManagement(ATM).

I am sureyou will all agreethat Helios's new statusas a corporatememberof IFATCA is the start of a veryinteresting partnershipfor us both.Youwill be pleasedto readthat a longerarticleon Helios,whichwill includecurrentcase studiesand briefings,is plannedfor inclusionlaterthis year.

If you cannotwait until then and would like moreinformationaboutHeliosnow, visit them at www.helios-tech.co.uk.

Now exciting news from Thales regarding interesting developments in China.

THECONTROLLER

Spotlight

Thales'Air Traffic Management system in China is fully operational - Integrated air traffic control systems operational for Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou -

GuangzhouCon1trol Centre TheAir TrafficManagementBureau (ATMB)of the CivilAviation Administrationof China(CAAC)has successfully transitionedto full operational useof the newThalessuppliedNESACC system.

TheNorthEastand SouthAreaControl Centre(NESACC) contractwas awardedto Thalesin September 2001,followingan extensivedesignand planningphase,and consistsof lateststate-of-the-art integratedEurocatair traffic management systemsin Beijing,Shanghaiand Guangzhou.

TheBeijingsystemwasfully commissioned in December 2004,the Shanghaisystemin May2005and the Guangzhou systemin Novemberthis year,all within the ATMB's schedules.

Thales'Eurocatair traffic management systemis an advanced,field proven system.Morethan 100 FlightInformation RegionsthroughoutAsia Pacific,Africa,the MiddleEast,Europeand LatinAmericaare controlledusingThalesautomation centres.

MmeLuXiaoping,DeputyDirector General,Air TrafficManagementBureauof China,said "TheNESACC projectis the biggest infrastructureconstructionprojectin the historyof air traffic managementsystems for CivilAviationin China.Tomeetthe fastgrowing demandin civil aviation transportation,the CAAChasincreased the constructionstrengthof its infrastructurefor air trafficmanagement.

Sincethe majorityof air traffic in Chinais situatedin the easternregion,CAACset up thesethreesafe,reliable,modernised and versatilecontrolcentreswith unified standards,whichform the threemainstays

THEC8NTROLLER

supportingthe air traffic management systemof the easternregion."

Thenewsystemscontrolup to 60 per cent of currentair traffic in China,enhancing safetyand allowingChinato accommodate increasingair traffic demandsandto supportthe nation's economicdevelopment.

Thaleswill provideongoingcustomer serviceand logisticssupportto ATMBfor the maintenance of the NESACC system, mainlyfrom its facilitiesin Melbourne, Australia.

In additionto completingthe NESACC programme, Thaleshasrecentlybeen awardedseveralcontractsfor navigation aidssystemsand radarsthroughoutChina.

About Thales Thalesis a leadinginternational electronicsand systemsgroup,serving defence,aerospace, securityand services marketsworldwide.TheGroupemploys 60,000peoplethroughoutthe world and generatedrevenuesof 10.3billion eurosin 2004.

Thisconcludesthe first Spotlightfeature for 2006.OncemoreI would like to take this opportunityto thankall of my old and newcorporatecontactswhoseinput greatlyhelpsin makingthis featureso popular.

Remember, as per lastyear,members commentsand suggestions on the content of Spotlightare mostwelcome.Your feedback,sincethe introduction,has provedinvaluablein ensuringthe content meetsthe needsof our membership.

Finally,in the 'thank you' department, thanksmustgo to Laurette Royer Helios

and Joelle Lebreton Thales

without whosehelpthis issue'sfeature would not havebeenpossible.

As normal,to our corporatemembership readers,if you would like your companyto be featuredin 'Spotlight',and likewiseto anyreader,who would like further informationon anytopic that was covered,pleasedo not hesitateto contact me usingthe followingaddress:

KevinSalter IFATCA ContributingEditor CorporateAffairs Flugsicherungsakademie Am DFS-Campus 4 D-63225Langen Tel: + 49 (0)6103707 5120 Fax:+ 49 (0)6103707 5177 E-Mail:kevin-john.salter@dfs.de or E-Mail:kevinjsalter2008@aol.com

23

African news

RUSSIAN AVIATION IN AFRICA

by PhilippeDomagala

uring the regionalMeetingin Dubai,I heardmanystoriesabout Russian Operationsin Africathat I decidedto sharea few of them with you.

D

not clearedfor take off so returnedto the ramp.

No problem,things like thishappen!

THEMISSINGPROPELLER Kinshasa: An AN 32 ( largetwin engine turboprop) inboundat FL130.ThePilot calls: "Kin, we havetechnicalproblems".The controllerasks,"What kind of problems?"The Pilot responded,"We haveto featherone propelleron one engine." Thecontrollerasks, "Do you want priority or fire serviceson arrival?"Thepilot replies,"No need,we have full controlof airplane."

Thenwhen aircraft approachesthe field, the controllercan seethat the right propelleris completelymissing,physicallygone! The aircraftlandsnormallyand taxiesto parkingas if nothing had happened.Whenquestioned aboutthe missingpropellerthe pilot stated, "No problem,things like this happen!"

THEVISUALAPPROACH In Lome(Togo),an Antonov12 returningfrom Abidjanrequesteda visualapproach.The controllertold him to report overthe harbour.

Therewas no reply.Sothe suspiciouscontroller asked:" Do you know wherethe harbouris? " "Affirmative!" camethe replyfrom the pilot.

Then20 secondslater a very low flying AN12 over-fliesthe Towertowardsthe runwaywhere a Cessna208 was taking off. Beforethe controllercouldintervene,both aircraftsaw eachother and the C208did a very spectacular avoidingmanoeuvreto missthe ANl 2.

The208 lady pilot got very angryand shouted not very nicewordsto the pilots of the AN12, who only replied,"Roger" and proceededto land without a further word.

"Theydo not speakEnglishverywell. They often do not speakat all, andwhen they do

speakwe often do not understandwhat they say!", commenteda CongoBrazzaville controller.

THE CARGODOOR Again Lome,Togoearlierthis year,another AN12taxiedtowardsthe runway,backtrackedit and startedits take off roll. A cargodoor opened,then fell off onto the runway,followed by dozensof suitcasesleavinga trail of broken suitcasesbehindthe departingaircraft.As a consequence, the airportwas closedfor 4 hours.

THEENGLISHLANGUAGE

THEIFR INSTRUMENTS CongoKinshasaAirport:An AN 26 clearedfor takeoff, sits there for a while and then returned to parking.After investigation,it was discoveredthat the pilot understoodhe was

"Theyhaveno instrumentsto fly IFRbut they file IFRflight plans,then fly visually",saysone Controllerfrom Congo.

Whilst makinga Famflight in the cockpitof an AN 28, one controllernoticedthat the cockpit was full of Russianinstruments,but he could not seea VOR,nor an ADFor ILS.Theflight was at night. "Thecontrollerin Kinshasagave our pilot a VORAPPfor ILSfor Runway24, and askedhim to reportoutbound.Pilot replied "Roger" and then puncheda few keyson his GarminGPS.Yet we were on an IFRflight plan!"

A Russian Antonov 32, similar to the one in the story

THEMAINTENANCE Ouradministrationhasa lot of difficultiesin checkingtheir maintenancerecords.Everything is written in Russianand no-oneunderstands it. Soas long as there is a date mentionedin the future on the papers,everyoneassumes ~ the aircraftmustbe OKto fly.Thismeansthat 'E i;i no-onehasthe capabilityto reallychecktheir ~ recordsor their airworthiness,unlikethe ~ process with BoeingorAirbus.

e

24

THE CONTROLLER

Asian /Pacific news

THEFUKUOKA ASIA-PACIFIC IFATCA REGIONAL MEETING

by Phil Parker,RegionalEditor,Asia-Pacific he 10th meetingof the North EastAsia Traffic,(NEAT),ManagementForumwas held in Fukuoka,Japan,on 15-16 November2005and was immediately followedby the Asia/PacificRegionalMeeting on 17-18November.

T

NEATis a forumfor discussionon traffic flows, separationstandardsand morerecentlyRVSM in North-EastAsiabetweenvariousFIRs, MemberAssociations, IATA& IFALPA. NEAT was startedin 1992by the HongKongATCA and chairedby IFATCA. Thesemeetingsmore recently,havehelpedto facilitatethe implementationof RVSMin the NEAsianarea for ICAOand this meetingwaschairedby DavidCheung,EVPAsia Pacific.Davidin turn handedoverthe meeting'smanagement to Mr.Koji Katoof JFATC. Longitudinalseparationfor traffic from Hong KongandTaipeiacrossthe North Pacific (NOPAC) routeswas reducedfrom 15 minutes to 10 minutesin 2003.A 90 daytrial of 5 minutelongitudinalseparationfor eastbound traffic over-flyingTokyoat the samealtitude for NOPACrouteswas initiatedon 16 May 2005.Theseparationstandardis now being formalizedin LOAbetweenNahaandTaipei ACC,meaningthat in a little under3 yearswe will havegonefrom 15 minutesto 5 minutes for traffic out of HongKong& Taipeion these routes.IATA,althoughpleasedwith this result, voicedits concernfor the future becausethe currentATCsystemwill not be able to handle the projectedgrowth in traffic. IATArequested that they be includedin anydesignor planningteamsfor future routestructuresand regionalATCprojects.

With regardto RVSM,the meeting recommended that ICAOstudythe feasibility in harmonizingthe FLOS(FlightLevel OrientationScheme)systembetweenthe

THE CONTROLLER

regionof North EastAsia& the SouthChina Sea.HongKongis part of this problemareaas it actsas the transitionareafrom RVSMto CVSMand feet to metersinto and out of China in the vicinityof someof the busiestair routes in Asia.Theimplementationof RVSMon 29 September2005in all Japanese airspacewas verysmootheventhoughNahaACCprovides sometransitionof flights to the differentFLOS of adjacentFIRs.RVSMproblemsregarding specificroutesand overthe SouthChinaSea werediscussedand it was notedthat ICAO will conveneanotherRVSMTFmeetingin April this year.

In a presentationby Mr.ChinenAkira from NahaACC,he discussed the impacton Naha FIRby traffic limitationsfrom downstreamFIRs by presentingdetailsof suddenincreasesin implementationof flow controlmeasuressince Julyof 2004.Heshowedthat of 90 occasions in 2005,57 were dueto extremeweather conditionsin HongKongFIR.Otheritems discussedincludedFlowControlin TaipeiFIR, proposedFlightLevelcontingency arrangements within ManilaFIRand an item

by IATAabout UserPreferredRoutesacrossthe North Pacific.

Apart from the normalMemberAssociation reports,includingreportsfrom new IFATCA members,India,Fiji, Iran & the Philippines, therewere a numberof interesting presentations.

Oneof the bestwasfrom David

In thesedaysof 'Prosecution culture' (...), controllersneed a legal plan in the event of an accident

Gleaveof 'AviationHazardAnalysis'on the mid-airover Ueberlingen,Thisincluded informationthat we had not previouslybeen informedabout and did not appearin the final report.Davidalso broughtout someimportant pointsabout the legalityof handlingaircraftin othercountry'sairspaceand overthe high seas.Healsosuggestedthat delegatescheckif their SafetymanagementSystemis working.

OtherpointsDavidraisedincludedthe suggestionthat in thesedaysof 'Prosecution Culture'insteadof 'JustCulture',controllers needa legalplan in the eventof an accident.

Itemsneedingconsiderationinclude: Individuallegal insurance& representation.

If the governmentis the employer,doesit • providea Governmentlawyer?

• Protectionof individualcontrollers.

• Who owns the data of the accident?

Theseparationof controllers/management /engineers.

Otherpresentationsincluded"RNAVroad map for Japan"presentedby Mr.Yoshikilmawaka, "LanguageProficiency"by myself& an outline of the new Fukuoka"Air TrafficManagement Center"(ATMC)presentedby Mr.Yoshinori Suzuki.Includedin the RegionalMeetingwas a visit to the new centre.Insteadof the Flow Managementpreviouslyoperatedat Fukuoka Centre,the newATMCis to makeuseof CollaborativeDecisionMaking,(CDM),to improvetraffic flows in Japan.In the same roomwill be airline representatives, the military,meteorologicalstaff as well as controllers.TheATMCwill take over responsibilityfor bothTokyoand NahaFIRs laterthis year.

JFATC did an excellentjob of organizingand runningthis RegionalMeeting.Asia/Pacific meetingfor 2006will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

25

European News

ONEFORALL?- ONE AGENCYFOREUROPE

by PatrikPeters,RegionalEditor,Europe

The Maastricht Centre

e aretalking aboutthe Harmonizationof EuropeanAirspace, aboutthe SingleEuropeanSky,about AirspaceConsolidationin Europe- and in all thesediscussions we hearabout the Eurocontrol agency. What seemsto be obviousto us as Europeancontrollersmight needa bit of explanationto others.What is Eurocontrol?

What doesthe agencystandfor?

What do they do?

W

26

Eurocontrol is the European Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation. Meanwhile

countingas manyas 35 MemberStates,this internationalorganizationwasfoundedin 1960 - with the beginningof the jet-era- by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands andthe UnitedKingdomas a joint civil-military bodyto allowfor a harmonized environmentto be createdfor this fast developingand new transporttechnology.

Thisprimeobjectivehas

not changedmuchoverthe years.With a growingmembership, increasingair trafficand an evermoreimportantview on costefficiency, a pan-European Air TrafficManagement System is a requirementfor the safeandefficient conductof flight. Eurocontrol todayis the leadingEuropeanorganizationin the development, co-ordinationand implementation of programsand strategiesaimedat safety, harmonization andcost-efficiency.

THE CONTROLLER

European News With the revisionof the Eurocontrol Conventionin 1997two new decisionmaking bodieswere established.TheEurocontrol Commissionholdsresponsibilityfor formulatingthe agenciesgeneralpolicy whereasthe ProvisionalCouncilis responsiblefor the implementationof the Organization'sgeneralpolicy.Membersof the ProvisionalCouncilare besides,both civil and military,representatives of the memberstates and also representatives of international organizations,who are allowedto contribute to the work basedon an observerstatus.

Amongstother internationalorganizations also IFATCA - our federation- is represented here.TheDirector General of the agency, Mr.VictorAguado,as the third decisionmakingbodyis responsiblefor the managementof the agency. ~

Theagencyitself is dividedinto several branches.BesidesEurocontrol Headquarters in Brusselswhich comprises of differentdirectorateslike HumanResources, Finance-,GeneralSecretariat-,Central EuropeanAir traffic Services-, ATMStrategiesandATM ProgramsDirectorateas well as the Central Route Charges Office and the Central Flow Management Unit, there are the EurocontrolExperimental Centre in Bretigny/France, the Institute of Air Navigation Servicesin Luxembourgand the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre/TheNetherlands.

Although~he operatinglanguage is English,many differentlandiuages are to be heard I

Whereasthe ExperimentalCentresouthof Parisis not that widely knownthough it plays an importantrole in simulatingnew airspace designand future route structuresand in testingand developingfuture technologies, manycolleagueshaveduringtheir career visitedthe Institutein Luxembourgbeingthe academyfor the initial phasetraining for future EurocontrolMaastrichtcontrollersas well as for manyother Europeanfacilities.

Advancedtraining and additionalmanagement coursesare alsobeingoffered.E-Learningas a new way of remotePC-based studyhas been developedin-house.

TheMaastrichtUpperArea ControlCentrein

THE CONTROLLER

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the southernpart of TheNetherlandsis one of the biggestand busiestATCfacilitiesin Europe.Theairspacecomprisesof the upper airspace(above24.500feet) ofThe Netherlands,Belgium,Luxembourgand the north-westernpart of Germany.In 2005 more than 1,3 million flights weresafelyhandled.

Theairspaceis respectedas a highly complex one as a large numberof major European airportsare locatedherein closeproximity.

Whenfoundedin 1972,the vision of creatinga consolidatedairspacein the coreareaof Europewas aheadof its time. Politicalpressure and sovereigntyissuesled to the renationalizationof originallysimilarlydesigned EurocontrolATCcentersin Karlsruhe/Germany and Shannon/Ireland.

Now the Single EuropeanSkyinitiative picksup this ideain a very similarway.TheMaastrichtUAC demonstrates, in a very impressiveway,how morethan 20 differentnationsare able to work side-by-sideunderone roof.

Almost everyEuropeannation is represented here.Thiscreatesa highly interestingand multi-culturalatmosphere.

Althoughthe operatinglanguageis English,manydifferent languagesare to be heardwhen strolling through the sectors.Theinternationalflair is one of the biggestassetsfor workingthe busy sectorsat the MASUAC.TheannualATCfair & conferencein the MaastrichtMECC- like the ATC2006 from the 14th until the 16th February 2006 - is a niceopportunityto pay a visit to this uniqueATCfacility.

CEATS, the CentralEuropeanAir Traffic

Servicesproject,plannedas pendantto the MaastrichtCentre,is sufferingfrom contradictingnationalinterests.Thenational fear of loosinginfluencein this lucrative aviationsectoris competingwith the needto consolidateairspacein orderto be financially viable.

EurocontrolBrusselsHeadquarters with its manydirectorates,the CentralRouteCharges Office(CRCO)andthe CentralFlow ManagementUnit (CFMU)is by far the biggest Eurocontrollocation.TheCFMUis knownto manyEuropeanATCOsas the supranational flow-regulatingauthority,the CRCOcollects route chargeson behalfof the MemberStates andthrough bi-lateralagreementsalsofor Non-MemberStates.

Otherdivisionsin Brusselsdefine,develop, plan and managepan-European future programsfor Air TrafficManagement.These projectsare aimedat harmonizationof current procedures, technologiesand working guidelinesin order to ensuresafetyfor our customers.Costefficiencyand the lack of capacityare currentlythe focusof their researchand development.Programslike 8.33kHzchannelspacingor the European RVSMImplementationplan are veryprominent recentachievements.

Forthosewhishingto dig more into the manifoldwork of the agencyshouldtake a look at Eurocontrol'swebsite: www.eurocontrol.int

27

Thessaloniki crash

T E HESSALONIKI CRASH Howto blamecontrollers for eveything !

by Philippe Domogala

~thetc,ew;d;d not:follow: the:=.J ffi!gconti:ollei~s ·;nsfriiitioifs;aiicif ~

n 17 December1997a UkrainianYak 42 belongingto an airlinecalledLviv StateAviationcrashedwhile attemptingto land in Thessaloniki(Greece).

Accordingto the official passengerlist, 70 peoplewere on boardand all died ( 62 pax and 8 crew),but in fact 74 bodieswerefound in the wreckage.

Theflight was a regularOdessa-Thessaloniki flight of OlympicAirways,on a codeshare agreementwith UkrainianairlineAerosweet, and shouldhavebeenoperatedby an Aerosweet Boeing737. Unfortunatelyon that day the 737 had mechanicalproblemsand Aerosweetsub-chartered an availableYAK42 from Lviv,a local airline.

Thecrewwas madeup of a flight instructor (in the right seat), a Captain(left seat)a flight engineerand a co-pilot ( in the jump seat),they were all Russiannationalsand noneof them hadflown into Thessaloniki before.

Furtherfactorsthat mustbe consideredare that it was a night flight in badweather.

Theaircrafthad navigationequipment problemsand departedOdessawith VHF/NAV Nr 1 (with displayson the captain'sside) inoperative.Accordto the Minimum EquipmentList(MEL)this flight shouldnot havebeenallowedto departon an IFR commercialflight.

Thessaloniki Airport at that time had no radar, and in bad visibility the only approach possiblewas an VOR/DME /ILSapproach underproceduralcontrol.

0

will show) but they neverreportedthis on the frequency.

Thecontrollerbelievedthe position reportshe receivedfrom the pilot and issued appropriateclearances.

Thesewere mainlyto report establishedon the ILSat 3500feet to which the crew alwaysrepliedthey would.

Justprior to the crashthe crew had4 GPWS warnings.Thefirst three alertswere largely ignoredand only the last one was followed howeverunsuccessfully.

Theperformanceof the APPcontrollerwas examinedby the Investigationcommitteeand in their final reportthey concludedthat he providedclearancesin accordancewith ICAO rulesand maintainedseparationto the aircraft he was controllingat the time and sequenced them efficiently.In a non-radarenvironment

~7~;•P:2:~~ the controllerentirelydependson the informationand positionsprovidedby the crews.In this casethe YAK42crewdid not provideaccurateinformation.Phraseology from the crew wasalso poor. At one point the crew askedfor " radarvectoring"and were told by the controllerthat this was not possible.

Thecontrollerthen askedthe crew " Are you ableto complywith VOR-DME-ILS approach for Runway16? "to which the crew replied" Affirm" Thisanswerrelievedhis concern,but in fact, the crewwere lost, as the CVRlater showed.

Duringthe Approachthe YAKcrew did not follow the controller'sinstructionsand twice reportedthe wrong position.Thecrew confirmedthey were ableto follow a VOR/DME/ILS approachbut failed to do so.

Theaircraftovershotthe Localizerat least twice and the crewwere unableto establisha stabilizedapproach.Theyovershotthe runway without noticingit, and duringthe overshoot becamedisorientatedand lost ( as the CVR

28

THE CONTROLLER

Thessaloniki crash A Yak 42, similar to the ane that crashed,seen here in anather airline livery

in their expression,tone and quality " by The Courtsexperts.

Thedefensealso mentionedICAOrulesthat statethat under proceduralcontrolit is the pilot's responsibilityto maintainseparation with terrain,not the controller's.But this was all to no avail.

Thereasonswhy the crew neversaid so,or why they did not declarean emergency, remain unknown.

Thefinal accidentreport mentionedover 30 pointsas causesof the crashwhich included: Noneof crew hadexperiencewith the airport and the aircraftwas contraryto MEL No crew briefing,no useof a checklistwas madeduring the approach Crewdid not follow the VOR/DME APP,they were unableto performa stabilizedAPPand overshotthe runwaywithout realizingit. The crew initiateda go-aroundbut did not follow the publishedMissedAPPprocedureand did not follow instructionsgiven by ATC.Those instructionswereto proceedto, and enter,the Southholdingpattern(overthe sea)and later to return to the North InboundAPPfix. Despite theseinstructionsthe flight continuedtowards the west (mountainsarea).

Theflight crew mayhavebeenunderthe impressionthat radarwas availableas indicatedinaccuratelyon the Jeppesen APP chart.

Thecrewwere confusedin readingand reportingthe correctdistanceson their DME ( milesto Km confusion)and usedADF informationinsteadof VOR( one of them being inoperative) Thecrewdid not follow GPWSalarms. Had the crew appliedthe propermaneuverat the last warning( maxperformanceclimb)they would probablyhavebeenableto climb over the mountainsand avoid the crash.

Thissoundslike a typicalbadlypreparedflight with bad proceduresusedby the crew, followedby a poorlyexecutedAPPunderbad weatherconditionsat night.

AnotherCFiT( ControlledFlightInto Terrain) in a ProceduralControlenvironment.ATChad little influenceover the outcome.

Howeverin an annexto the final report ,a

THE CONTROLLER

point was madeagainstthe controllers.

A letter was insertedon the positionof an HellenicAir ForceMajorwho was a memberof the Accidentinquiryteam.

It saidthat this Major disagreedwith someof the inquiriesfindings,saying:( quote : ) f presumetheAPPcontrolis a CAUSE for not preventingthe accidentand not a contributing factor,since,by evidenceat the disposalof AAIC,it is clearthat ATChad formeda sufficientimageto characterizethe aircraftin questionas " LOSTAIRCRAFT" accordingDoc 4444. TheATCpersonnelinvolvedcarriedout its dutiesinefficiently,by interpretingthe provisionedin the particularchapteraccording to their belief,as a resultthey did not provide the crewthe necessary help underthe prevailingconditionsin order the accidentto be avoided."

Thispromptedthe GreekJudicialAuthoritiesto decideto prosecutethe APPcontroller.

Theprosecutorhad difficultiesaccusingthe controllerof not havingfollowedthe essential principlesand rulesof ATCas definedin ICAO, so,accordingto the controller'sown words: " they inventednew tasksand dutiesfor controllers". Theyaccusedhim of failing to detectthat the aircrah hadstayedon the wrong route aher the overshoot.

Theyalsointerpretedradiocallsmadeby the crew.Thecontrollershouldhaveguessedthat the aircrah was in dangerandforeseenthe accidentbasedon the pilot's quality and tone of his voicetransmissions.

Thecontrollerstatedthat therewas no way for him to detectthe aircrahwas off coursebased on the crew reports.Thiswas recognizedby variousexperts.And that the tone and quality of the pilot's voicewere reportedas " perfectly normalwithout any noticeabledifferentiation

Thecourt did not acceptthe testimoniesand reportsof manyexperts, includingICAO officials, who all statedthat the controller actedaccordingICAOrulesundernon-radar environment.

Thejudgesfollowedthe prosecutionwhich inventednew dutiesfor controllerssuchas : constantlymonitoringto checkif pilots execute their clearancesor not " and this in a proceduralenvironment!

Anotherproof of the court expertisecan be found in this statementfrom the appealcourt : " ... When the GroundProximitywarning (GPWS)soundedthe 3rd and 4th time , the aircrahwas insidecloudsandthis is the reasonwhy the crewdid not climb,because they couldnot see.... " Thecontrollerwas finally sentencedin 3 separatecourt cases.

In the first instance,the Courtsentencedthe controllerto a 5 yearjail sentence.

Thecontrollerwent into appeal.

In the Appeal,(the Secondcourt case)the judgesreducedthe sentenceto 4 yearsand 4 monthsundera 3 yearssuspendedsentence ruling.

Thecontrollerthen appealedto the Supreme Courtand this third court,in May 2005, confirmedthe Appealsentence.

Howthis is going to improvesafetyin the futureand preventsuchaccidentsfrom happeningagain remainsa mysteryto me.

Thesentencedcontrollernow intendsto go furtherto the EuropeanCourtof Human Rights,usingthe EuropeanConventionof HumanRightsand the basicprincipleof Justice " NullumCrimenNulla Peonasinelege" ( No penaltywithout relevantlaw ) as in his case he did not breakany existinglaw,and in fact followed the ICAOrulesand principles.They alsofound that the originaljudgmentswere againstarticle 6 of the EuropeanConvention of Humanrights which refersto a " fair trial " and decidedto appealfor this as well.

29

Google Spotting

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by PhilipMarien

potting - sitting for hoursin wind and rain waiting for the oneaircraftyou haven'tseenor photographedyet. Some haveevengoneto prisonfor this passion, whenthey inadvertentlysnappedsomemilitary aircrafton a holidayislandsomewhere.I personallyhaveneverseenwherethe attractionis of this,just as I can't seeany reasonto walk aroundin a well maintained park,occasionallyhitting a smallwhite balI towardsa flag in a hole... But that's probably just me.

Of course,it's not surprisingto find passenger jets at airportsaroundthe world. Solet us look for a bit moreexclusiveflying machines.

Concordehasstoppedflying sometime ago, but it is still possibleto find someon Google Maps.Thisonewas groundedat JFK,following the crashnearParisin July2000.Whileit is not possibleto determinewhen exactlythe picture was taken,it is obviouslysometime ago,as the aircrafthassinceflown backto France, where it was eventuallyretired.

As I indicated,thereare a lot of practical problemsassociatedwith airplanespotting:the weatheris just one,but you generallyalso needan airport.Veryfew peoplespendtime lying on their back in their gardenlookingto photographan aircraftat FL390.Now thanks to moderntechnology- the internet,satellites, photo-flightsand Google- you can spot all the aircraftyou want from the comfortof your comfychair,office or evenyour bed (provided you havea laptop).

16,-73. 794082&t=k

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Googlestartedas a searchengine:type in one or a few keywordsand the massiveservers returnthe mostrelevantweb pagesfeaturing thosewords.But in the last years,Googlehas expandedits services:one of them,Google Maps,hasstartedrenderingthe whole planet, usingboth conventionalmapsand satellite/aerialphotography.Any modern internetbrowser(MicrosoftInternetExploreror Firefoxfor example)can access http://maps.google.com.

Justenterwhat you'd like to seeand it'll showyou a map.And this is where it gets interesting:click on the satellite button,and it'll showyou the samearea,as visiblefrom space!

Althoughnot the whole world is coveredby high resolutionimages(yet?},somepartsoffer amazingdetail.At the best resolutions,finding aircraft isn't veryhard:just type in the nameof an airport and awayyou go.Try'JFK'for example,and you canfind your first aircraft.

Don't forget to zoom in and to click the satellitebutton.

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Concorde at JFK http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40.643

maps,why not visit EdwardsAFBin the Arizona desert...Whileyou're'there' also look for the rather largecompassrosein the salt planeto the east,as well as the enormousrunways.

Justa stonethrow away,you canfind the whole family of stealthaircraft:the B-1and B-2 bombersand the F-117fighter are all clearly visibleat variousairportsin the area.

SR-71 http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.953 229,-117.88402&t=k B-1 http://maps.google.com/maps?q=41.122 912,-111.986582&t=k B-2 http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.637 371,-118.082052&t=k F-117

Stayingin the USA,anotherinterestingone is ElvisPresley'saircraft,parkedat Graceland,in Memphis.There'stwo of them,althoughthe smallerone (a LockheedJetstar,N777EP)is slightly harderto spot.Thebiggerone, convertedfrom a DeltaAirlinespassengerjet, a Convair880. It's registeredas N880EPbut better knownas the Lisa-Marie,after his daughter.Theaircraft usedto fly as 'Hound DogOne'.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.623 52,-118.091547&t=k

Hound Dog One http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.046 95,-90.02546&t=k

But why stop there?How manyspottershave seena SR-71Blackbird,one of the fastest aircraft everbuild?How manyhavespotted two at the sametime?Well,usingGoogle

Coolstuff can't only be found in the USA.The Russianshad a go at buildinga SpaceShuttle and in the long standingtradition,it's not hard to seewherethey got their inspiration:it's now retiredin Moscow'sGorki Park. It was called 'Buran'(meaningsnowstormor blizzardin Russian).It only flew oncebeforethe project was scrappedbecausefinancialconstraints.The

THE CONTROLLER

Google Spotting

0 unmannedflight orbitedthe earthtwice beforereturningto earthperformingan impressivecompletelyautomatedlanding.

Logan Approach http://maps.google.com/maps?q=42.342 369,-70.971079&t=k

Shuttle Buran http://maps.google.com/maps?q=55.728 718,37 .596803&t=k

But it seemsthat the mostexoticaircraftonly fly nearthe Westcoastof the UnitedStates.

Here'sa U2 spyplane,veryfamousduringthe coldwar for photographingthe nuclear missilesduringthe Cubacrisis.Firstflight of the Lockheedbuild aircraftwas in 1955and they'll eventuallybe replacedby UAV's,but in the meantime,you cancatchthe odd one on GoogleMaps.

U2 Spyplane http:llmaps.google.com/maps?q=39.126 241, -121.432700&t=k

Hoppingbackto the goodold USof A for a projectthat probablyscoresthe lowesteveron the WifeAcceptabilityFactor(WAF)scale.Near Portland,someoneis convertingan old B727 into a house.I hopefor his sakeit doesn't meanhe'll haveto eat airline food for the rest of his life as well as havingto usea really smalltoilet...Youcanfollow his progresson http:llwww.airplanehome.com.

Justoff the Dutchcoast,it possibleto catch two modesof transportat one:a passengerjet and a hugecontainershipon a collision course!

Jet & Boat http://maps.google.com/maps?q=52.431 276,4.390379&t=

B727 House http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.408 062,-123.00794&t=k

Thefun doesn'tendwith finding parked aircrafthowever.Thatis just too easy.Sohow about lookingfor someairplanesin flight, from high above?Again,the obviousplace would be to look nearairports,the approach to BostonLoganAirport for example.

If you havea goodlook,you'll find three aircraftheadingfor the runway.It is very possiblythree timesthe sameaircraft,as the photo maybestitchedtogether.Cool nevertheless ...

THE CONTROLLER

And moreexclusiveis alsono problem, althougha little harder,giventhe sizeof the aircraft:it's an F-14flying off the coastof Connecticut.Designedfor the USNavyin the early70's,it shouldhavebeencalledthe F-13, as the previousdesign(theYF-12,which eventuallybecamethe SR-71 ). But some superstitiousgeneralsat the Departmentof Defencethoughtthat it would be unlucky...

F-14 http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.561 972,-75.487361 &t=k

There'sloadsmoreto be found.Havea look on www.the-controller.net for morelinks.Also, Googleoffersanotherservice:GoogleEarth.

It's an applicationyou needto download,that offersevenmoredetail and possibilities.Using that program,try and find a WWIILancaster bomber.It's near52°20'11.5"N and 0°11'43.75"W.Checkout http:llearth.google.com to downloadthe free versionof the program.

Happy GoogleSpotting !

Photos by permission Google.inc

Spotting:sitting for hoursin wind and rain and waiting for the one aircraftyou haven'tseen or _ photographedyet.

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Seattle

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTL VisitinganATCFacilityin the USA

by BjarneNilssen met DanOlsen,a controllerand the NATCArepresentativein the Seattle TRACON.I had met Dan 6 yearsago in a similarvisit and was happyto meet him again.

Hewas still as easygoingand enthusiasticas before,but obviouslyproudto be ableto presentan improvedstateof affairsboth at the TWRand at his own unit. He is still worried aboutstaffing,as a largenumberof controllersat the two units are up for retirementwithin the next 5 years,and there is little signof the FAAdoing enoughabout it he says.Healsoworriesaboutthe contract negotiationsthat havestartedwith the FAA. NATCA's President,JohnCarr,("A cleverguy, workedwith him in Chicago",Dansays"),is worried,too, mainlybecauseof the attitude of the FA/\sadministrator,MarionBlakey."She reallydislikescontrollers",Danmaintains.

this part of the answerto the question previouslyraisedabout attitudes?In any case, it seemsstrangefor the controllersnot to be willing to enjoythe improvedworking environmentofferedby a daylightadaptable system.

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Whichbringsup the eternalquestion:Wherein the world is that particulartraining establishmentthat educatesaviation administratorson manylevelsto actively dislikeand opposeair traffic controllers, apparentlybecausecontrollersarejust controllers?It is an internationalinstitution which offerscoursesto an international audience,for sure.Everywhere you go,you meetthe sameattitudes.On the other hand, do the controllersask themselveswhy they provokesuchattitudes?Thereis an interesting conferencethemehere,for whoeverdare raise the point!

THE SEATTLETRACON, Summer 2005 :

Thebuildingis brandnew,(April 2004) is simpleand attractive,lots of light coming throughthe lobbyareaandthe openstyle officefloors.It is only one of four government buildingsin the USto be givena citation for environmentalfriendlyconstruction,a "green" award.Thesysteminstalledinsideis the so calledSTARS systemdevelopedby Raytheon/Hughes, chosenby the FAAas the new systemfor approachcontrol units at busy airports.A needfor 192 STARS units was definedat the outset,but only 56 havebeen

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SEATAC TOWER: TheTWR,completedin 2004,is not located with the APPunit, but separatelypositioned on the eastsideof the airport,facingthe runwaysto the West.We were met by several TWRcolleagues,all of them wearingthe ai NATCAshirt.Accordingto Dan,relationswith ~ managementat local levelare good,even .,.; though somebadattitudesseemto be drifting j0.. down from above.Theadministrationhas alreadyspent manyUSDon mediainitiatives, ordered.SEAwas one of the units selectedto telling the USpublicof the extraordinarycosts receivethe system.Onecan only assumethat of controllers'wagesand how the entire US manyother busyunits,initially chosen,are still aviationindustrywill sufferif thesecostsare with 1980' s technology. not reduced.Openingmoves,one assumes.

(Formoreon theseinterestingdevelopments, checkwww.NATCA.org)

Controllersare a conservativelot!

STARS representsa stateof the art system, with Sony2000x2000data displaysfor presentationof traffic andvideo maps.There are moderncommunicationpanelsand informationdisplays.Theflight plan processing system,however,has not beenrenewedto the sameextent,and UScontrollersin APPunits havenot, and will not in the foreseeable future,graduateto systemswithout paper flight progressstrips.

Onemajorsurprise:In spite of the capacityof all the displaysto operatein a full daylight environment,controllershaveelectedto work in a very muchdarkenedroom. In fact, it is just as dark as it was in the old room with the old analogueequipment!Questionedabout this, Dansays:"Old habits,you know,hardto break,controllersare a conservativelot". Is

Spacedoesnot permit a detaileddescription of the TWRoperationsat SEA.but on a good VMCday,one is as alwaysimpressedby the efficiencyand expedienceof procedure application.Simultaneous landingsby airliners on parallelrunwaysnot reallyseparatedby muchare permittedin VMC,andthe levelof cooperationbetweenpilots andcontrollersis extremelyhigh. UScontrollersplaywith smallermarginsthan their European colleagues,but their safetyrecordis impeccable,in particularconsideringthe traffic volume.

SEATWR,like the TRACON, operatesmodern ATCequipment.It is interestingto note, however,that here;too, old habitsdie slowly.

Thegroundcontrollerarrangedher flight progressstripsloosely(not in holdersor on flight progressboards)on the table in front of her,movingthem seeminglyarbitrarilyaround as she issuedtaxi instructionsand information.

On the day in question,air traffic flow

THE CONTROLLER

Seattle

restrictionswerein forceat a numberof airportsin the centraland easternUS.The reasonwas weather,as summerthunderstorms wereappearingthroughoutsomeregions.

Questionedon the subject,the TWRsupervisor

confirmedthat pureATCcapacityrestrainsfor reasonsother than weatheror technical systemfailureswere extremelyrare,if not nonexistent.In the other hand,technicalsystem failureslike electricityoutageshad become

morefrequentin recentyears SEATRACON and TWRprovidean interesting mixtureof old and new . I thankedDanOlsen andthe other colleaguesat SEAfor this interestingvisit.

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Charlie's Column

CHARLIE'SCOLUMN IFATCAPRIVATEJET Dueto the difficult circumstances in whichthe aviationindustrypresentlyis and,as a resultof that, the increasingdifficulties for IFATCA officialsto get free or reducedtravelfacilities, the IFATCAExecutiveBoardinvestigated duringthe last Boardmeetingin PuntaCana (DominicanRepublic)the possibilityto buyour own IFATCA aircraft.Thepictureright,was shotwhen makingthe first test flight.

..,...:....__

SOMETOWERSTORIES SOUTHAFRICA: Onedark moonevening,as a military controllerwas readinghis novelin the tower of his airfield,situatedin the middleof the bush,awaitingthe returnof 2 Impalajets from a night flight.......he was suddenlyshookout of his storyby thejets returningearlyand buzzing/over flying the tower by a few inches without any navigationlightson.As they pitchedup to positiononto a downwindfor the landingthe radiosounded:"Guesswho?".

Thecontrollerstoodup from wherehe fell off his chair,switchedoff the runwayand airfield lightsand repliedon the radio:"Guess where?".

IRELAND: Dubinairport recently,with anAir Canada B767on final.

Twr:'Air Canada123,clearedto landrunway 10,wind 150 degrees10 knots'.

AC123:'Rogerclearedto landrunway1O'. a few secondslater.....

AC123:'DublinTowerfor your information, wind at 1000ftis 220with 30 knots'.

Twr:'Well it's luckyyou'relandingon the groundthen'.

UNITED KINGDOM : ATC"Midland123 line up 28Land cleared takeoff" BD123"Clearedline up takeoff" ATC"Speedbirdone (A Concorde) behindthe departingMidlandline up andwait.

BA001 "Is that the blueone ?"

ATC"Affirm" ATC"KLM 145behindthe departingConcorde line up hold cautionreheatand wake" KL145 : "Is that the white one?"

NORWAY: Thelast Boeingfor the night landed.On his

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way to gate30, the pilot said: Pilot : Ehhh...canyou seethe runningrabbit in front of us?"

Thecontrollerindeedsaw a smallshadow runningin front of the plane,and he said: TWR:"yesI do, Ehh...the rabbit is on its way to gate 28, no conflict" Pilot: Ah,thankyou, havea goodevening" I think he shouldhavefiled an "Hareprox" TOO MANY CHIEFS: In a NATCApressrelease,it is saidthat the OaklandCentrein Californiais critically understaffed:it shouldhave268 controllers but just employs150.Onthe otherhandthe centreshouldhave54 managersand supervisors and guesswhat? : It employs54.

As NATCApresidentput it: "Basicallyyou have moremanagerswatchingfewercontrollers jugglingmoreand moreairplanesover North California" But I am suresomeseethis is as excellent management.

Theyprobablyevenwill get extrabonusesfor havingsuccessfully reduced costs.

As one of our Humanresources man saida few yearsago aftera difficult meetingwith us: " Thiscentrewill work muchbetterwithout controllers !..."

"event-based"concept,but NATCApresident said:" it can be bestdescribedas a " fix-onfail" concept.Whattheyare doing,he said,is switchingfrom preventivemaintenance to a schemewhereequipmentwill be useduntil it fails and then fixed.Thisis like buyinga new car,neglectingto do anyoil changesand waiting until the engineseizesto take it to the mechanic" But in fact isn't it exactlythe samemethod mostManagementusewith controllers?Wait until theyfall deadto replacethem?

HAVEA BAD DAY Dialoguebetween2 mechanicsat Maastricht airporton a walkie talkie .

Mee1 : Didyou closethe doorsof the hangar?

Mee2 : Yesbut therewassomeresistance, the railsmustbe rusty!

Mee1 : OK. then usethe truck to pushthem.

Mee1 : Oooh....... .

Thephoto takenafterwardssaysit all.. . everyonehasa bad daysometimes ... .

PREVENTIVEMAINTENANCE In the USagain,the FAAapparently hasinventeda new conceptto performits maintenance of ATC systemelectronicequipment.

NATCAsaysthe FAArefersto it as an

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