A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/806148
Hi everyone. This week, I was at NATCA's annual Communicating f or Safety conference. CFS is an important opportunity for the FAA and NATCA to come together, along with other members of the aviation community, to focus on our common interest to improve the safety of the NAS. Over the past several years, our collabora tion with NATCA has matured and grown and I'm honored to be part of that. The benefits of bringing diverse knowledge and experience to our safety conversations and modernization efforts are immeasurable. We've worked together on many safety programs such as ATSAP, the Top 5 Hazard List, Recurrent Training and Partnership for Safety, among others. We've also created many safety campaigns to address issues affecting controllers, such as electronic distractions, fatigue and weather. Our work with NATCA on ATSAP – by which employees voluntarily identify and report concerns – allows us to proactively address safety and operational issues at facilities. And when this early detection system identifies similar trends at the national level, we can share details a nd recommendations through the Recurrent Training program or with local safety councils at the facilities. Through ATSAP, controllers have submitted more than 127,000 safety reports, from which we've issued 176 corrective actions to mitigate safety risk. Last year, we started the Take a Stand for Safety campaign, and our first topic was weather dissemination. Because we know that weather awareness save lives, we stress the need for air traffic controllers to share the weather information they have with pi lots, and for pilots to report weather issues to controllers. A pilot ' s equipment alone can't do the job – it takes controllers and pilots working together to complete the picture. I encourage everyone in our facilities to continue ongoing discussions arou nd all aspects of weather and to issue depicted weather and solicit and disseminate pilot weather reports (PIREPs). Take a Stand for Safety is currently focusing on close proximity IFR/VFR events, which occur in all air traffic environments. Together, th e FAA and NATCA are addressing myths and encouraging controllers to call traffic, issue safety alerts and work with pilots to avoid IFR/VFR conflicts. While we work to drive down safety risk, we know there are times when controllers have to step - in durin g emergencies. A pilot might be experiencing a mechanical problem or a health issue, dealing with bad weather or a fuel shortage, or having difficulty completing a maneuver. Each of this year's ten recipients of NATCA's Archie League Medal of Safety Awar ds came through in situations like these to help a pilot in distress. These controllers demonstrated the calm professionalism and quick thinking necessary to ensure a safe outcome. You can read more about the recipients here . Please join me in congratulating this year's award winners and nominees for th eir service and their success. (March 17, 2017) Data Comm at JFK and Other Busy Airports