Terry Biggio, Vice President for Safety & Technical Training, and I were invited to the
2017 ALPA annual conference to participate in panel discu ssions with our peers in the
aviation industry. It was our privilege to represent the talented professionals who run the
safest, busiest, and most complex airspace in the world.
Terry highlighted our collaboration with NAV Canada on safety data sharing, a nd our
work with NATCA to use voluntary reporting data in the development of recurrent
training. Together, we emphasized our proactive approach to safety and how we're
collaborating with pilots at airports across the country, through our Runway Safety Action
Teams, our work to address this year's Top 5 H azards and what we're doing to ensure
proper dissemination of weather information. Terry also took the opportunity to thank
pilots for supporting controllers in the cockpit for the Flight Deck Training (FDT) Program.
When we receive pilot input and gain from their expertise, we can make better decisions
to enhance safety. With more than 14,000 con trollers guiding more than 43,000 flights
every day across the NAS, communication between air traffic controllers and pilots is of
the utmost importance – and this includes face - to - face interaction in the cockpit through
FDT.
Over the past decade, the FAA has continued to recruit new hires to the air traffic
controller workforce. Roughly a third of these new hires have never sat in a flight deck
jump seat in a commercial cockpit and could benefit from this invaluable perspective
from the "other side of the mic."
Well, that stat is quickly changing with the shift to a new, automated FDT system; there's
less paperwork and manual proced ures to complete. During a recent test of the
automated system, controller usage grew to 5,448 flights logged in 2016, an increase of
more than 400 flights over 2015.
Thanks to improvements made by ATO Safety & Technical Training, NATCA workgroup
members and the five facilities who beta - tested the new system, we made it easier for
controllers to request and receive approval for Flight Deck training, and eliminated
previous obstacles to participation.
The new automated program was rolled out to 315 facilit ies across the nation in January.
Usage is expected to increase by at least another 30 percent following integration with
eLMS training, PIV security system access, and the Cockpit Access Security System
implementation scheduled for late 2019.
As I learne d at ALPA, pilots enjoy having controllers along for a flight. It gives them a
chance to share their views as our customers, and help controllers understand the
demands they face during taxi, takeoff and landing, as well as the impact of changing
runways o r arrivals.
Awareness and open communication between us and our customers can go a long way
toward fostering a safe operating environment, and I encourage eligible air traffic
controllers, operations supervisors, traffic management staff , and support 2152 - series
employees to take a ride in the jump seat and expand your understanding of the NAS.
Thanks everyone!
Teri L. Bristol ATO Chief Operating Officer
