A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/740802
Director of Communications Doug Church : dchurch@natcadc.org ; 301 - 346 - 8245 Associate Director of Commu nications, Art & Design Laura Roose: lroose@natcadc.org ; 202 - 220 - 9814 Senior Communications and Public Affairs Associate Sarah McCann : smccann@natcadc.org ; 202 - 220 - 9813 Communications Specialist Sarah Zilonis : szilonis@natcadc.org ; 202 - 266 - 9844. Multimedia Specialist Chris Ray : cray@natcadc.org ; 202 - 266 - 9875 WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM ATO COO T ERI L. BRISTOL ATO Flight Program Operations Hi everyone. In July, I discussed our plans to restructure and consolidate all of the agency ' s flight programs. I ' m proud to announce that our new ATO Flight Program Operations organization was off icially stoo d up on October 2 – right on schedule. We achieved the Administrator ' s goal to create a single organization responsible for all aspects of these operations. This was a massive undertaking that encompassed nearly 600 employees from Technical Operations, the Aviation Safety Office (AVS) , and the NextGen Office (ANG). We consolidated six legacy flight programs under four different lines of business or staff offices handling a nationwide fleet of 46 aircraft – owned, leased, rented , or unmanned aircraft – into a single unit. The new organization is based at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, with field offices in Anchorage, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Battle Creek, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City , and Sacramento. The new Flight Program Operations organization is a ligned to report directly to me. Once Congress approves reprogramming, this organization will officially become its own service unit in the ATO. David Boulter is serving as our acting Flight Program Executive and he is responsible for all aspects of FAA fl ight program operations, compliance and policy. David has put together an outstanding team of managers comprised of aviation professionals from ATO, AVS , and ANG. The transition was a big challenge. In some ways the hard work starts now as the Flight Progr am Operations team works to develop policy, standardize operations and implement a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS). As safety is the FAA ' s top priority, an effective SMS is vital to our success and Flight Program employees are accountable for the delivery of the highest level of safety performance. On this note, David Boulter said something in his first message to employees that I think bears repeating: " We must all be vigilant citizens of our safety culture, and I expect everyone to be observa nt and say something about any hazards or safety concerns when you see something. " The ATO is committed to ensuring that the new Flight Program Operations organization has all the resources necessary to successfully carry out its mission. You