Last week the National Transportation Safety Board issued a series of recommendations calling on both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to combat controller fatigue and improve controller vigilance, as part of board efforts to stem the rise in approach, taxi, landing, and takeoff accidents such as the Comair accident that killed 49 last summer at Lexington, Ky. The controller involved in the Comair accident had only a two-hour nap in the nine hours off between shifts, said the board. It also cited four other serious incidents around the country in which controller fatigue played a part.
Runway Safety
While the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) was issuing a new safety aid, the Board also expressed concern over the potential for aircraft/ground vehicle accidents as it called for lifting restrictions on Airport Surface Detection Equipment-X (ASDE-X) that would allow airports to better track ground vehicles. Speakers at the Board’s recent runway safety forum, complained the FAA does not allow ground vehicles to even have transponders, disabling a key function of ASDE-X, ground vehicle tracking. They charged FAA is compromising safety as a result. Related Story
For its part FAA, according to USA Today, which recently completed an investigation into FAA records, cited the potential for vehicle beacons to block transmission from aircraft. Consequently, it will not allow transponders aboard vehicles. The newspaper reported that airports have tested the system with transponder-equipped vehicles with no problem. Its investigation revealed vehicle/aircraft collisions were narrowly averted 26 times from 2003 through January, representing 22 percent of all serious runway incidents, or about one serious incident every other month.
ASDE-X is now operational at eight airports and the system is scheduled to be deployed at an additional 27. Originally intended for smaller airports, it was redeployed to the major airports and speakers complained that ASDE-X and other safety technology needs full deployment at all commercial airports, something the Board also wants.
There are two components to ASDE-X. The Surface Movement Radar is a primary surveillance sensor which searches for and detects aircraft and vehicles on the airport surface, according to RAN’s sister publication Air Safety Week. The second, called Multilateration, is secondary surveillance which directly interacts with all Mode S, ATCRBS (Radar Beacon System) or ADS-B-equipped aircraft and vehicles for positive identification and location information. Vehicles without radio identification beacons, are particularly difficult to track especially during heavy rain. Not one of the 1,500 vehicles at the eight ASDE-X-equipped airports is equipped. The requirement for transponder equipment on moving targets is inherent within the system's design. In the longer term, the agency hopes to require beacons on ground vehicles as it scraps surface radars and moves to satellite-based technology, according to FAA.
Controller Fatigue
The issuance of the Board’s safety recommendations regarding controller fatigue was prompted by compelling testimony at its recent runway safety forum at which NATCA testified that controllers could no longer use sick leave if they feel they are fatigued. This, said NATCA, has compounded understaffing and mandatory overtime.
While praising FAA for its fatigue research, the Board said it failed to act on the recommendations of its own researchers in 2001 calling for an evaluation of work scheduled and longer rest periods. Eight hours rest between shifts, a violation of the controller contract which called for eight-hour shifts on five consecutive days. Now, 61 percent of controllers start work earlier each day of the week and one in four endures at least one midnight watch per week. The frequently changing shifts are too much to allow body rhythms to adapt.
"Little progress has been made to revise controller-scheduling policies and practices in light of the latest research findings," the board wrote. "Because of the lack of FAA action on this issue, controllers frequently operate in a fatigued state and the action needed now must go beyond simple evaluations."
The Board instructed the FAA to work with the NATCA to reduce the potential for controller fatigue by revising controller work-scheduling policies and practices to provide rest periods that are long enough for controllers to obtain sufficient restorative sleep and by modifying shift rotations to minimize disrupted sleep patterns, accumulation of sleep debt, and decreased cognitive performance. (A-07- 30) (A-07-32)
It also wants FAA to develop a fatigue awareness and countermeasures training program for controllers and for personnel who are involved in the scheduling of controllers for operational duty that will address the incidence of fatigue in the controller workforce, causes of fatigue, effects of fatigue on controller performance and safety, and the importance of using personal strategies to minimize fatigue. This training should be provided in a format that promotes retention, and recurrent training should be provided at regular intervals. (A-07-31) Finally, the FAA must require all air traffic controllers to complete instructor-led initial and recurrent training in resource management skills that will improve controller judgment, vigilance, and safety awareness. (A-07-34)
NBAA Issues New Safety Aid
NBAA released an interactive, 90-minute training aid designed to reduce approach-and-landing accidents. Produced for NBAA Members in partnership with Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), the NBAA ALAR Training Aid customizes the FSF Approach-and-Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Tool Kit materials for business aviation users. This training aid uses select publications and presentations found in the FSF Tool Kit, augmented by newly developed visual aids and a discussion leader’s guide for the aviation industry. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, 50 percent of air transport accidents occur during approach and landing, making the issue critical for aviation safety.