We have a lot of important work ahead, and I know I can count on all of you to be
engaged and work together to make 2018 another successful year for the ATO and the
FAA.
Thanks everyone!
Jan. 19, 2018
The Best Super Bowl Commercial? Recurrent Training
Hi everyone,
I've been a Minnesota sports fan since I was a kid, so I've been pretty excited about the
Vikings making the NFL playoffs and getting closer to the Super Bowl. Our quarterback
Case Keenum went from a backup to a superstar in just a season, and I wasn't surprised
to read about how he got there – focused training and practice. In his case, he used a
specialized virtual reality tool that allowed him to get a lot more practice in than he could
get on the field.
That reminded me of why the ATO is so committed to recurrent training for all of our
operational air traffic controllers, supervisors and others who need to maintain familiarity
with the operation. While they get plenty of experience controlling traffic every day in the
NAS, they don't necessarily get concentrated chunks of time to focus on potential
problem areas and how to handle them if they occur.
With recurrent training, which we do every six months, we focus on immediate areas of
concern. For example, in the July 2017 round, we focused on wrong surface landings,
which is an area that needs a lot of attention NAS-wide and one of our Top 5 safety
priorities.
In the training that kicked off earlier this month, the Web module is focused on how to
handle operations around flights with skydivers, basic radar service to Visual Flight Rule
(VFR) aircraft, visual approaches, and terminal teamwork.
Our instructor-led segment focused on Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and VFR, which
was released this month and is also a Top 5 safety priority, as well as training for
developmentals and controllers in training, managing stress, and professionalism.
Managing stress is important because it can cause fatigue and impact your performance.
Professionalism covers a lot of areas, but particularly taking responsibility and never
assuming other controllers will catch or correct mistakes that you have observed.
Even if you're not a controller, continuous learning and training is imperative if we want
to stay current and bone up on how to handle difficult tasks.
We're not the only business that does recurrent training – it's required of pilots, flight
attendants, law enforcement, and many others. NATCA is a full partner with us on
developing the classes, and I want to thank everyone who is involved in developing and
teaching the training, as well as the participants.
Thanks everyone,
Teri L. Bristol, ATO Chief Operating Officer
