WashingtonWire - 2001-06-11

<B>WashingtonWire</B>

<B>On Ground Tracking</B>

Expressing concern over the rising number of runway incursions and collisions, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration make a number of procedural changes to assist air traffic controllers in confirming aircraft locations on the ground. NTSB said FAA should direct ATC tower facility managers to include standard procedures in the Facility Standard Operating Procedures manual, such as reading back the pilot's stated position, annotating flight progress strips to indicate the aircraft's starting point, posting or arranging flight progress strips according to the aircraft's intended takeoff location and marking the location of aircraft with color-coded chips on a magnetic diagram of the airport.

NTSB said FAA also should require that, when a combination of intersection and full-length departures routinely are being used at an airport, controllers state the aircraft's location with regard to the takeoff runway. Tower controllers and pilots should be advised that intersection departure operations may involve a higher level of risk of conflict with other aircraft, vehicles or objects, and they should be reminded to treat intersection departures with caution. Finally, NTSB said that, when operating at an airport, pilots should state their position whenever making initial contact with any tower or ground controller, regardless of whether they have previously stated their position to a different controller.

<B>CNN Ticker Tallies Airport Delays</B>

Up-to-date information on airport delays began airing June 5 as a scrolling line on the bottom of CNN Airport Network monitors under a plan jointly premiered June 5 by House aviation subcommittee chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), Federal Aviation Administration administrator Jane Garvey, American Association of Airport Executives president Charles Barclay and CNN News Group chairman and CEO Tom Johnson. The delay information comes directly from FAA's air traffic control system command center Web site, which provides real-time airport status information. The new service scrolls the city/airport name, the airport's abbreviation code and the delay time. If there are no delays greater than 60 minutes, the ticker will not appear. Garvey said FAA is committed to improving the level of information provided to travelers to assist them in avoiding delays, wherever possible. Barclay referred to the service as similar to a commuter traffic report but with a nationwide range.