NATS SAFETY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WORKING GROUP

NSL HQ HEATHROW 10 SEPTEMBER 2008

UKFSC CE SUMMARY

 

-           The Agenda for the NATS SPA.

 

-           Co-training opportunities between pilots and ATC communities.

 

            --         Opportunities existed by using current LOFT and TRM training.

            --         ASI Communication and Education Programme exploitation.

            --         A tie-in with current NATS human factors training.(TRM/CRM)

 

-           NATS have started to develop a MRCM programme was aimed at:

--         Enhancing working relations between ATC and the flight deck.

--         Design, develop and deliver a collaborative NATS/airline venture.

 

--         Current thinking was a one day facilitated discussion to be tried out using the current SPA membership to test the concept on 5 Dec 2008 with an initial course commencing in Feb 2009 for airlines and possibly FOIs.

 

--         The content of the course will depend upon the target audience – is it for trainee/newly appointed pilots and controllers or for experienced operators?

 

-           Current Work Focus for NATS

 

            --         TMA Redesign for the London TMA.

            --         Introducing active risk management into the ATC community including provision of debrief facilities for quick reviews of events.

            --         Improve planning and communication in TCN by introducing admin and planning support to work alongside the controller.

 

-           TCAS Issues

 

            --         In 2007/8, there have been 246 TCAS incident reports. Main areas of concern are alerts resulting from high rates of climb and descent, inadequate responses to TCAS and a loss of separation.

 

            --         A NATS TCAS working group has identified the following actions:

                        ---        Produce a video training package for controllers on TCAS.

                        ---        Investigate the RITA 2 package produced by Eurocontrol.

                        ---        Examine ATC avoiding action in light of TCAS RA responses.

                       

--         The meeting then debated the following additional actions:

 

---        Consider the value of a TCAS training package for pilots. 

---        Further investigation of airline SOPs for rates of descent/climb for best practice- although the conclusion was it is impractical.

---        Debate on the use of VS to adjust rate of descent/climb – but again considered impractical and ac type dependant. 

---        The increased use of ‘slow’ climb/descent in the same way as ‘expedite’ is currently used as a descriptor by ATC.

 

--         NATS asked that airlines reported all TCAS incidents and, if possible, in much greater detail than at present.

 

-           ATC Assigned Speeds and Stabilised Approaches.

 

--   The meeting recommended that ATC use approach speeds tailored to specific airfields rather than a common speed for all airports and that the speed requested should be ‘at a geo reference point’ and not ‘by a point’.

 

--   The meeting recommended that NATS played a co-ordinating role to achieve a common application across Europe.     

                       

-           Landing without AC Clearance

 

            --         NATS expressed concern about the number of occasions when aircraft landed without ATC clearance and wished to build up a better understanding of the issue.

 

            --         The ATC view was that the aircraft should commence a go-around if they had not received landing approval. The airline community disagreed, stating it was the Captain’s prerogative to take the decision to land depending on the prevailing circumstances – RT failure or dire emergency.

 

            --         NATS requested more data from the airlines to inform a study and analysis of the problem.

 

-           ATSOCAS

 

            --         ATSOCAS was developed to standardise the variations and misunderstands that had evolved with the many users of AT services outside controlled airspace in the UK.

 

            --         A single set of services has now been agreed and will be implemented on 12 March 2009.  Four suites of services will be available – Basic, Traffic, Deconfliction and Procedural.

 

            --         A CD has been produced to cover the new ATSOCAS service and distributed to all UK commercial airlines and private pilots. The CD is also available on the CAA website where an interactive programme is used to describe the services provided in detail.

 

-           AOB

 

--         A review of SID naming will be undertaken by NATS in order to identify potential conflicts with similar sounding names being used for different procedures on the same airfield.

 

--         A callsign conflict tool is under development at NATS with a target implementation date of Winter 2009. More information on the tool will be distributed shortly to the SPA for comment and is attached for UKFSC members to consider and comment upon.

 

 

 

Rich Jones

Chief Exec

UKFSC

3 October 2008