A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/724722
Both programs are progressing through t he software development phase and have been demonstrating evolving capabilities and progress. The program office is working to align both contractors' schedules closer, so that when end of build demonstrations are conducted they will be more closely aligned. One of the big hu rdles that will have to be over come is the need for AIMM data in a format that can be easily ingested into both systems. Currently , a number of corrections and reformatting ha ve to be done before the data can be used. Due to this , the AIMM data issue has become a high risk to both programs. Airport Winds Currently there are a number of airports that the airfield wind and the ASOS winds conflict , causing issues with aircrews asking for a runway that is different than being advertised on the ATIS . This is causing aircraft to be taken out and re - sequenced. This creates a workload for controllers and has resulted in fuel emergencies due to aircraft being dispatched based on the TAF, which uses ASOS winds in its creation and arriving to a significantl y different wind provided by the tower. A solution to these problems is to allow towers to select the wind that digital ATIS broadcasts. This requires a software change to both Digital ATIS and TDLS . W e are currently waiting for a cost estimate to be given to the program office. Until then , we are working on a recommendation to allow towers to augment the winds in the digital ATIS. Safety Risk Management Panels Participated in two SRMP s : the first one was on signing in and out of the ASOS OID in the towers. The main issue was ensuring that when the tower closed that the ASOS was broadcasting one - minute observations so no risks were identified. The second panel was a change to the weather observing standard about ice pellets and small hail. The main risk is m isidentifying the one for the other , as this impacts de - icing holdover times. T his would have to be addressed in training and will require an Art 7 briefing.