09/05/2008
6 May 2008
The Airspace and Safety Initiative (ASI)* today confirmed that the introduction of new UK Air Traffic Control Services Outside Controlled Airspace (ATSOCAS) will take place on 12 March 2009.
The four new services that make up the changed ATSOCAS, which has been the subject of full industry consultation, will completely replace the existing services.
Richard Taylor, Head of the CAA’s Air Traffic Standards Division, said: “The CAA has now considered and incorporated comments from the consultation, and the resulting procedures, together with extensive educational material on the changes, will be published in June.”
The official CAA publication (CAP 774) will be available on the CAA website in June and a fully interactive guide to the services will be posted on this site – airspacesafety.com. This interactive guide will also be available on a CD which will be sent directly to all UK CAA licensed air traffic controllers, Flight Information Service Officers and pilots. All CDs will be despatched during June with the exception of those for non-commercial pilot licence holders, who will receive the CD in the autumn to enable them to train nearer the implementation date.
John Clark, Assistant Director Airspace Policy 2 in the CAA, said: “The new project ’O’ date takes into account the requests from air traffic service providers to allow sufficient time to train staff outside the peak summer months.
“The CAA and other members of ASI will also provide continued guidance and assistance to the UK aviation community to help ensure the transition to the new procedures is as smooth as possible.”
ASI’s full plans for the publicity and education of the changes will be published at the beginning of June.
For more media information please contact Jonathan Nicholson on 020 7453 6027.
In the UK ATSOCAS are provided by both civil and military air traffic control units to a variety of airspace users ranging from commercial airliners to military fast jets and private pilots.
* The Airspace & Safety Initiative (ASI) is a joint CAA, NATS, Airport Operator’s Association, General Aviation and Ministry of Defence effort to investigate and tackle the major safety risks in UK airspace.
It emerged from a top-level discussion between the CAA Chairman, NATS Chief Executive and MoD Assistant Chief of the Air Staff following a number of incidents where light aircraft infringed controlled airspace, or military and commercial flights conflicted outside controlled airspace.
The ASI is a major review covering a number of different areas, with the aims of:
23 January 2008
The Airspace and Safety Initiative* today confirmed that the introduction of proposed changes to UK Air Traffic Control Services Outside Controlled Airspace (ATSOCAS) has been delayed in order to allow more time to consider the responses to the consultation on the proposal. The introduction had been planned to take place in April.
Richard Taylor, Head of the CAA’s Air Traffic Standards Department, said: “We received some 400 comments on the proposals during the consultation period which ended in mid-December. To allow a fair review of those comments, consider any changes that may be required and allow sufficient time for air traffic control units to train staff in the new procedures, we will unfortunately have to aim for a later date than the planned April 2008 introduction.”
The CAA is now assessing the responses to the consultation and working with the other ASI partners to introduce the requirements for improved ATSOCAS as soon as practicable.
Further updates on the project will be provided as soon as possible on this website.
For more media information please contact Jonathan Nicholson on 020 7453 6027.
In the UK ATSOCAS are provided by both civil and military air traffic control units to a variety of airspace users ranging from commercial airliners to military fast jets and private pilots.
*The Airspace & Safety Initiative (ASI) is a joint CAA, NATS, Airport Operator’s Association, General Aviation and Ministry of Defence effort to investigate and tackle the major safety risks in UK airspace.
It emerged from a top-level discussion between the CAA Chairman, NATS Chief Executive and MoD Assistant Chief of the Air Staff following a number of incidents where light aircraft infringed controlled airspace, or military and commercial flights conflicted outside controlled airspace.
The ASI is a major review covering a number of different areas, with the aims of:
8 November 2007
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7 September 2007
NATS has announced that it is to commence a new Lower Airspace Radar Service (LARS). The new service will cover Britain's busiest skies and provide important radar-based safety information for the pilots of aircraft equipped with transponders, warning them of other aircraft in their vicinity, or the proximity of controlled airspace. The minority of light aircraft not equipped with a transponder will continue to receive the current RT-based Flight Information Service (FIS) but will receive some additional radar information.
The service will be run from Farnborough Airport, where NATS already provides a LARS service for the surrounding airspace, and has the active support of airport operator TAG Aviation Ltd. Pilots will not be charged for using the service which will be available from 8am to 8pm daily, including weekends.
» More information on the NATS website…
7 August 2007
As part of the preparation for the introduction of non-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) approaches for general aviation in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a publication detailing how to fly the approaches.
The publication, CAP 773 Flying RNAV (GNSS) Non Precision Approaches in Private and General Aviation Aircraft, is available on the CAA website at www.caa.co.uk/publications and also in printed form from the TSO.
The publication includes:
Ron Elder, Head of the Licensing Standards Division in the CAA’s Safety Regulation Group, said: “We know from the reports that pilots filed after completing GPS approaches during our earlier trial that there are some aspects of the operation that need to be carefully studied and practised. This publication should prove invaluable in helping to meet that requirement, and should be read by all pilots planning to fly one of the new approaches.”
Pilots with Instrument Ratings or Instrument Metrological Ratings will be able to fly the approaches, although the CAA is recommending that pilots undertake additional training on the non-precision approaches with a suitably qualified instructor. The guide for instructors and syllabus included in the document will assist in meeting this recommendation.
CAA Flight Examiner, Adam Whitehead, said: “One aspect of flying the approaches that pilots will need to be aware of is a difference in the way some GPS units show the miles to run to the airfield. Some GPS installations show the distance to the start of the runway but others show the distance in a series of steps, or waypoints, down the approach. Pilots therefore need to be aware that if a unit is displaying three miles as a distance to run this could be the distance to the next waypoint on the approach path rather than the distance to the runway threshold.”
24 July 2007
The seventeenth report of the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) was published today. It covers statistics for all of 2006 together with findings on recorded Airprox incidents within UK airspace between July and December 2006.
During the last sixth months of 2006, 81 Airprox were reported and investigated, 22 fewer than the average of comparable figures recorded in each of the previous five years.
During 2006 there was a total of 159 Airprox compared with 188 in 2005. Of these 159 incidents, 74 involved at least one Commercial Air Transport (CAT) aircraft compared with 87 in 2005. Six of the 74 incidents were judged as risk-bearing, the lowest number recorded in the period 1997 to 2006. There were no Category A (actual risk of collision) events involving CAT aircraft recorded in 2006.
“This is a very pleasing result,” said Peter Hunt, Director UKAB. “It is a fitting tribute to all in the CAT segment of the aviation industry – particularly the professional pilots, air traffic controllers and engineers – who continue to strive hard for ever-improving flight safety.
“Similarly, the downward trend in the CAT risk-bearing ‘rate’ continues, the year-on-year improvement moving from 0.52 to 0.37, the CAT Airprox rate per 100,000 hours flown in 2006.
“In conclusion, there was good news on all fronts. The Airprox rates involving military and general aviation aircraft were also down.”
UKAB reports, produced jointly for the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force, are principally aimed at UK pilots and air traffic controllers, both civil and military. Their purpose is to promote air safety awareness and understanding by identifying and sharing the lessons arising from UK Airprox incidents.
The bi-annual UKAB reports are distributed in hardcopy and CD format. They are also downloadable from the UKAB website www.airproxboard.org.uk.
All Airprox reports are also published on the UKAB website some six to eight weeks after assessment by the Airprox Board.
4 July 2007
Data released today by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS, the UK’s leading air navigation service provider, shows that many pilots flying outside controlled airspace could enhance their safety by making better use of current transponder equipment fitted to their aircraft.
A new procedure being undertaken by NATS allocates transponder codes to aircraft receiving an air traffic service from ‘London Information’. Although the Flight Information Service Officers providing the service have no radar, the unique code allocated can be seen by other radar controllers and tells them that the aircraft in question is currently on the London Information frequency. This enables controllers to pass any relevant safety information to the aircraft, such as warnings of impending airspace infringements or navigational advice and assistance if an infringement has occurred.
Since the procedure commenced in November 2006, eleven potential airspace infringements have been prevented by the new system and seven actual airspace infringements have been more speedily resolved. Steve McKie, NATS Division of Safety, said: “In each of these cases a potentially serious incident has been averted by a radar controller spotting the risk and contacting the Flight Information Service Officer. They have then passed the information on to the pilot, enabling appropriate action to be taken to avoid the infringement or to clear controlled airspace in the safest manner.
“Without this procedure it is highly probable that each of these eleven cases would have resulted in an airspace infringement and the potential consequences that come from it, and the seven infringement incidents would have resulted in greater risk and disruption than actually occurred.”
A trial is also taking place at Luton and Stansted where, in designated areas, aircraft can select a squawk to indicate to the radar controllers that they are listening out on the frequency. This trial, detailed in Aeronautical Information Circular 4/07 (Yellow 228), reduces radio transmissions from aircraft that may have previously requested a listening watch or a Flight Information Service, but still enables the controller to call and quickly identify an aircraft that looks likely to infringe controlled airspace. A similar trial is being carried out in the Manchester Low Level Corridor and early results are currently being evaluated.
A separate survey by the NATS air traffic control unit at Glasgow showed that over 40 per cent of aircraft receiving a service from the unit were displaying no Mode C transponder information.
In the trial, which ran during March and April 2007, 381 squawks were given to aircraft. Of these 270 automatically displayed Mode C information. Another 47 showed the data when asked by air traffic control and 64 advised that they were unable to show Mode C data.
Phil Roberts, Chair of the CAA’s Airspace Infringements Working Group, said: “The London Information procedure clearly shows the safety benefit in selecting Mode C on a transponder if it is available. Unfortunately the data from Glasgow shows that many pilots are simply not doing so.
“There is no justifiable reason for not selecting Mode C when it is available. A commercial aircraft’s collision avoidance system will provide a significantly enhanced separation if it receives Mode C data and the extra information available on a controller’s radar screen may allow them to prevent a serious incident. Fears that the CAA will use Mode C data to prosecute any infringing pilot are simply misplaced and the statistical data shows this clearly.”
4 June 2007
A new easy to use quick reference guide for commercial pilots on radiotelephony (RTF) phraseology has been released by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS, the UK’s leading provider of air traffic services.
The booklet follows on from the ‘Top Ten Tips’ leaflet and the ‘Communication Error’ DVD, both released last year. Karen Skinner, an Operational Safety Expert in NATS Division of Safety, said: “Established protocols and standard phraseology are designed to protect against communication errors. Good RTF discipline is a significant factor in enhancing safety in our skies.”
The guide is available in both a printed checklist format and also online as an interactive version. It provides details of the exact phraseology to be used by pilots throughout all stages of a flight – from start-up to approach and landing. A separate section deals with emergency communications.
Rob Holliday, a Flight Safety Officer in the CAA’s Safety Regulation Group, said: “We know that communication error is a significant contributory factor in incidents such as level busts and runway incursions. Clear and unambiguous communication between pilots and controllers using the standard words and phrases contained in the guides can help to reduce the risk.”
The documents are supplements of the official CAA radiotelephony guide, CAP413, but provide the information in a more user-friendly way and give background explanations to some of the more common situations.
All UK commercial pilot licence holders will be sent a copy while extra printed copies of the guide are available free of charge from the CAA’s Safety Regulation Group’s Flight Operations Department.
The online version can be accessed at www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413Supplement.pdf
Further versions of the document are planned to address the needs of airside drivers and General Aviation pilots.
1 June 2007
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced today that is has added a free internet-based newsfeed facility to the VFR Charting section of the CAA website aimed at simplifying the task of updating CAA VFR charts. This service includes information on all chart amendments, including changes to frequencies, aerodrome details, obstacles, navigation aids, airspace boundaries and Visual Reference Points.
Utilising RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology, the facility will deliver the latest information to an internet browser via dedicated newsfeeds. Alternatively, it is possible to subscribe to these newsfeeds and have the latest chart amendments sent to a nominated email account. The notifications will direct you to the full list of revisions that are listed chronologically according to their implementation date. More information on RSS can be found on the CAA website at www.caa.co.uk/rss. To subscribe to this free service please go to www.caa.co.uk/subscriptions.
The CAA VFR charts website – www.caa.co.uk/charts – will continue to list all the chart changes and also contains numerous other resources. These include information on chart publication dates and stockists, a VFR Guide, a number of downloadable VFR Guide supplements, generic printable VFR legends for both the 1:500,000 and the 1:250,000, a What’s New and an FAQs section, a user feedback facility, a VRP co-ordinate data file and pdf versions of Type A and PATC charts.