‘Stand Up for Safety’ Campaign, as an ATC system solution, is full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing (maybe little)
The FAA has received a lot of recent press notoriety[1] about Air Traffic Control (ATC) near misses. In April, the FAA (DOT?), as has been their want in the last 18 or so months, established a panel of external experts, the Independent Aviation Safety Review Team (IASRT). That assignment of six distinguished ATC executives “to further examine ways to enhance safety and reliability in the nation’s air traffic system,” is a wise first step in rectifying this mess. In an effort (symbolic over substantive?) an order, the ‘Stand Up for Safety’ Campaign,
was issued to initiate a MANDATORY SPECIAL EMPHASIS TRAINING for all controllers.
Let’s examine the details; it is there one can spot the Campaign’s true impact beyond a nice, reassuring press release.
This initiative with the union appears to have been started without the benefit of the insights of the IASRT, without any cited lessons from the ATC Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs[2] (VSRP), but with the commitment of time of every controller to a monthly briefing.
The collective judgment about the sources of these problems can be summarized as follows:
the common causes of air traffic controller near misses may include:
1- Mistakes or miscommunication by the controllers or pilots, such as ignoring orders, crossing paths, or misunderstanding instructions.
2- Pressures on the system due to increased air traffic, staffing shortages, or loss of expertise after the pandemic.
3- Systemic factors such as management, quality assurance, or equipment issues that may affect the performance of the controllers or pilots.
Perhaps the most cited reason for these ATC problems is “Pressures on the system due to increased air traffic, staffing shortages, or loss of expertise after the pandemic”. None of these factors can be rectified by TRAINING. However, requiring the controllers to take time from their duty station to get this briefing will likely[3] reduce the pool of available controllers. Such an outcome will actually increase the volume of the shortage problem.
The Secretary and the airlines have engaged in a battle of blaming: overscheduling by the carriers or ATC understaffing.
The first step in resolving this difference of opinion is a dialogue. The FAA needs to get a better understanding the dynamics of establishing flights; the process begins months in advance with estimating exogenous variables (domestic and international economies 3/6 months out, currency exchanges, point-to-point demand, world health forecast, supply chain issues, seasonal weather factors etc.) and factors within their control (fleet size, slots [domestic and international], pilot training and availability, flight attendant staffing, for both– the more complex crew fatigue management rules, maintenance/mechanical capacity (people and facilities), fuel prices).
Equally unintuitive is the FAA’s management of the system or perhaps more accurately, the constraints on its authority/ability to manage it. Their biggest challenge is a budget being imposed on them by the Administration and Congress, plus recent Executives have accreted funds away from the FAA for other national objectives (Ukraine, COVID, the border…). A percentage of the ATC workers are eligible for retirement; how many and when are not easily estimated. Its basic tool for scheduling the ATC positions has been found to be flawed. Yes there is a shortage and yes, the FAA finally has a more predictive tool for hiring candidate hiring, but the transition from the street to the seats is still rough.
What we have here is a presumption by both, that they understand their respective challenges, but their vituperative exchanges seem unduly self- centered. When there is not mutual comprehension, the ability to identify a win/win solution is diminished!!!
Another cited problem–management, quality assurance, or equipment issues, is solely a matter for FAA management and NOT A SUBJECT FOR SAFETY STAND DOWN, BUT should BE in THE IASRT’s mission. Like the prior assessment of the respective problems, IRST’s charter, a long term solution for this conjoint problem, REQUIRES BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PERSPECTIVES. However, composition, as designed by the DOT/FAA, is deficient:
· Former NASA Administrator and astronaut Charles Bolden Jr.
· Former Air Line Pilots Association, International President Captain Tim Canoll
· Former National Air Traffic Controllers Association Executive Vice President Patricia Gilbert
· Former FAA Chief Operating Officer David Grizzl[4]e
· Former FAA Administrator Michael Huerta
· Former NTSB Chair Robert Sumwalt
None of these subject matter experts have had significant and current experience scheduling an airline. All have dealt with federal service.
This first monthly briefing, July? August?…, will instruct the ATC workforce about the most prominent problems. Are the lessons about how to reduce these risks already known? Why not administer this remedial education NOW? And, if some (all?) of the answers are already why establish a blue-ribbon committee to find answers? Are these sessions likely to be worth the ATCer lost time on the scopes? More pertinently, there can be no single systemwide syllabus would work—
· These 3 facilities, ATCT, TRACON, ARTCC, have different assignments and different skills
· There is little commonality between an HDR tower and a rural VFR tower
· The pace of ATC-cockpit communications is drastically different among them
· The geometry and geography of ATC facilities are as diverse as the country and require a wide range of procedures.
Time will be required to write the appropriate message for each. July quickly becomes Fall or even Winter.
A Scottish general named Macbeth was asked to comment on the “STAND UP FOR SAFETY” campaign and he concluded:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
This CAMPAIGN sounds great, but has little remedial merit as presently defined. Sadly, it’s global goals have merit, but its tactics are myopic.
FAA Launches Controller ‘Stand Up for Safety’ Campaign
June 22, 2023
“The FAA is launching a monthly “STAND UP FOR SAFETY” [link to FAA press release] series to provide Mandatory Special Emphasis Training For Its Controller workforce.
“The effort, which will be held in collaboration with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)[5], will focus on relevant safety topics aimed at strengthening the proficiency of controllers in all FAA facilities.
“To reach our goal of zero close calls, everyone must stay sharp,” said Tim Arel, FAA’s Air Traffic Organization Chief Operating Officer. “This training will give us an opportunity to focus on safety with our entire workforce.”
While data and seasonal challenges will determine topics each month, initial topics will include AIRFIELD SAFETY to help cover several items to reduce events on the surface. The campaign kickoff will also include VOLUNTARY SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAM training to identify potential safety hazards and ensure corrective actions are taken.
In March, the FAA hosted a safety summit with industry and aerospace safety leaders. Since then, the agency has issued a safety alert, increased supervisor presence during peak traffic and invested $100 million to reduce the risk of incursions at 12 key airports. The agency has also set a new goal of zero close calls, building on the aviation community’s success of driving the risk of a fatal plane crash to nearly zero.”
[1] How the Airline Industry Defines a Near Miss – The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/12/aviations-opaque-definition-of-the-near-miss/509027/; Can a mistake of a single air-traffic controller cause a collision …. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/7626/can-a-mistake-of-a-single-air-traffic-controller-cause-a-collision-between-plane.
[2] Curiously, the FAA press release states “The campaign kickoff will also include Voluntary Safety Reporting Program TRAINING To identify potential safety hazards and ensure corrective actions are taken.” One interpretation of this quote may be that the Controllers do not use and/or do not understand and/or do not trust this safety system. “ The US DOT OIG has issued reports which criticized the managing of VRSP as being heavy on reporting and weak on analysis/remediation of risks.
[3] Do they expect NATCA support using the line controllers’ rest time for work?
[4] At Continental Grizzle oversaw the marketing, strategic planning and international alliances divisions.
[5] Since Secretary Buttigieg has frequently blamed the airlines, it’s curious that, like the Independent Aviation Safety Review Team, there is no airline representative collaborating on the Campaign. Airline scheduling, pilot communications, system delay tactics, etc., are all subjects to which someone knowledgeable with current airline practices could contribute.
