FAA - NATCA led Recurrent Training program to reinforce core skills and address
national safety trends.
The next release starts this month. In instructor - led training, we'll cover the following
topics: Safety Culture, Recovery , and Mandatory Reporting Requirements. These
training sessions are an opportunity to have meaningful discussions and strengthen
relationships with our peers and managers.
In web - based training, we'll cover the following topics: Airspace and Procedures, Altitude
Compliance, IFR/VFR Operations, NOTAMs, Special VFR , and Weather.
For each round, topics are determined by the ATO's Safety Roundtabl e, which includes
representatives from labor and management. By looking at safety data collected over the
past six months, the Roundtable selects topics that will address the most pressing risks
in our system. I encourage controllers and managers to fully engage in Recurrent
Training and to continue to report safety concerns.
You may have noticed that two of this round's topics , NOTAMs and IFR/VFR , are also
on our 2017 Top 5 list . Recurrent Training allows us to address these concerns in the
facility while procedural and technological solutions are worked on at the national level.
We are reinforcing our national focus on IFR/VFR conflict resolution through our
collab orative Take a Stand for Safety campaign . Close proximity IFR/VFR events are
occurring in all air traffic environments. Even as pilots flying VFR are required to see and
avoid traffic, we can't make the assumption that they consistently will. Together, the FAA
and NATCA are addressing myths like these and encouraging controllers to call traffic,
issue safety alerts , and work with pilots to avoid IFR/VFR conflicts.
The campaign launches th e week of Jan. 9 . Look for discussions on the Partnership for
Safety and QA/QC webinars, videos, an infographic, and controller recognition stories
that highlight great examples of conflict resolution.
I want to thank all of the teams and workgroups who keep our safety culture thriving. We
maintain the safest most efficient aerospace system in the world through collaboration
and commitment at e very level of our organization.
Thanks everyone,
Teri
Teri L. Bristol
ATO Chief Operating Officer
