Multi-Crew Pilot Licence: Journal
Multi-Crew Pilot Licence: Journal
ICAO
VOLUME 62
J O U R N A L
NUMBER 3, 2007
MULTI-CREW
PILOT LICENCE
INNOVATIVE AB INITIO TRAINING
FOR THE AIRLINE PILOT
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Introducing
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Montreal
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Cooked-to-Order Breakfast
Evening Manager’s Reception
Fireplaces in Most Suites
Jacuzzi Bathtubs
Kitchenette
Hilton HHonors Rewards Program
4 ICAO JOURNAL
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Asia/Pacific region has been the fastest in the world over the 35
30
past two decades, and this trend is expected to continue for the
Percentage
25 India India India India India
next 20 years. According to the latest ICAO forecasts, passen- 20
ger-kilometres and freight tonne-kilometres for airlines of the 15
region will increase at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent 10
and 8 percent, respectively. 5 China China China China China
While most of the past growth has been driven by the newly 0 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
industrialized countries of the region, future growth will be Share of the world population accounted for by China and India
determined by developments in China and India, whose com- 16
bined traffic currently represents around 6 percent of the 14
India
world’s air traffic, both in terms of tonne-kilometres and pas- 12 India
Percentage
10 India
senger-kilometres performed, and about 25 percent of region- India
8
al traffic (all statistics concerning China exclude Hong Kong 6
India
and Macao Special Administrative Regions). 4
Over the past five years, the average traffic growth of airlines 2 China China China China China
based in these two countries has far outpaced that of the world’s 0 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
average growth. Both countries and their airlines have put in place Share of world GDP generated by China and India
aggressive plans to cope with the dramatic growth, with multi-bil- 14
lion dollar airport projects and orders for new aircraft totalling 12 India
more than 1,000 jets to be delivered over the next five years. 10
India
Percentage
20 China
kilometres performed. 15.3%
15
India’s air carriers have ordered around 430 new aircraft that 4,4%
10 India
are scheduled to enter service with existing airlines in a
5
phased manner by 2012-13. India’s airline industry is expected
0 World
to show very strong growth rates over the next few years, with
-5 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
domestic traffic outpacing a respectable increase in interna-
Percentage change in total scheduled traffic (total passenger-km)
tional traffic. Based on conservative estimates, the country is
expected to move up to around 8th place for total traffic (i.e. 35
COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE,
domestic plus international) by 2012, and to around 4th spot in 30 2000-06
13.6%
terms of domestic traffic volume by around 2010. 25
20
Passenger Traffic Total Domestic China
2006 2005 2006 2005 15 15.4%
Percent
China 158 million 137 million 144 million 125 million 10 3.3%
India
Rank 2 2 2 2 5
0
India 40 million 28 million 33 million 22 million World
-5
Rank 12 15 7 11
-10 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Passenger traffic and world rank, 2006 and 2005 Percentage change in total capacity (available seat-km)
NUMBER 3, 2007 5
V O L C A N I C A S H A L E RT S
on existing observing networks dates back cast movement of volcanic ash in the
GUSTAVO ALBERTO FLORES to the early 1980s. The initiative was spear- atmosphere is communicated to various
BUENOS AIRES VOLCANIC
ASH ADVISORY CENTRE headed by the ICAO Volcanic Ash aviation-related facilities including meteor-
(ARGENTINA) Warnings Study Group (VAWSG), and later ological watch offices (MWOs), area con-
the International Airways Volcano Watch trol centres (ACCs), flight information cen-
Operations Group (IAVWOPSG). tres (FICs), world area forecast centres
E
ARLY in-flight encounters with vol- Efforts by these experts led to the (WAFCs) and international operational
canic ash clouds demonstrated the introduction of IAVW-related provisions meteorological (OPMET) data banks.
need to establish an independent in relevant regulatory documents. These These various facilities are notified
system — one intended specifically for avi- provisions concern ground-based and air- whenever a volcano has erupted or is
ation safety — to keep watch on the more craft observations of volcanic eruptions expected to do so, or whenever volcanic
than 600 volcanoes around the world that and ash clouds as well as satellite detec- ash is reported in a VAAC’s area of
are known to be active. Such monitoring is tion and monitoring of volcanic ash and, responsibility. The VAAC performs its
necessary because of the harm that vol- to a lesser extent, the monitoring of vol- primary task by monitoring relevant geo-
canic ash poses to aviation operations. One canic eruptions by a network of volcanic stationary and polar-orbiting satellite data
oft-cited encounter involved a British ash advisory centres (VAACs). The provi- to detect the existence and extent of vol-
Airways Boeing 747 which lost power on all sions also cover how VAAC information is canic ash in the atmosphere, and by
four engines after they ingested ash from reported, and to whom. using transport and dispersion models to
Mt. Galunggung, in Indonesia. The B747 predict the movement of an ash cloud.
descended to 12,000 feet before its crew Primar y functions Forecasts on the extent and movement
could restart the engines and proceed to an A VAAC is a regional meteorological of volcanic ash cloud are issued every six
emergency landing in Jakarta. centre designated by an air navigation hours to the offices and centres cited
The establishment of a global volcanic agreement to provide advisories. The advi- above, as well as to relevant regional area
ash monitoring and warning system based sory information on the extent and fore- forecast centres. The six-hour bulletins
continue until such time as the volcanic
ash cloud is no longer identifiable from
satellite data and, moreover, there are no
further reports of volcanic ash or addi-
tional eruptions.
There are currently nine ICAO-designat-
ed VAACs around the world, including the
VAAC located at Buenos Aires, whose activ-
ities are the focus of this article. The other
centres are located in Anchorage, Darwin,
London, Montreal, Tokyo, Toulouse,
Washington, D.C. and Wellington.
Buenos Aires VAAC. Like all VAACs,
the Buenos Aires centre — which
entered operation only last year — has
been assigned an area of responsibility.
Jim Jorgenson
6 ICAO JOURNAL
V O L C A N I C A S H A L E RT S
been identified, of which more than 20 these data and pinpoints the location of the volcanic ash “Alert Phase,” at which
are classified as high risk. the anomaly in order to support monitor- point volcanic ash advisories are pre-
The volcanoes found in this sector of ing, analysis and decision-making. pared and distributed throughout the
the cordillera are predominantly charac- As these volcanic activity reports occur region and internationally in accordance
terized by violent and sudden expulsion only occasionally, the CONAE system with the established standards and proce-
of volcanic ash, which is comprised of issues a daily report on a designated sig- dures. It also determines when to initiate
finely pulverized rock. Carried aloft, this nificant point, such as an oil company gas the “All-Clear Phase.” The VAAC’s opera-
ash can be dispersed over great distances vent or flaring tower, to demonstrate to tional tasks are suspended whenever the
and can reach heights beyond the
tropopause. When it falls to the ground, it
can have catastrophic consequences that
must be handled by emergency manage-
ment organizations whose operations
may require substantial funding, as was
the case with the eruption of Mt. Hudson
in August 1991.
Remote Sensing Monitoring. Meteoro-
logical satellites are used to monitor
potentially active volcanoes. The VAAC
also carries out post-eruption monitoring,
and observes the successive positions of
volcanic ash clouds using direct images
or algorithms which highlight volcanic
ash when the satellite view is obstructed
by steam clouds.
To support its remote sensing activi-
ties, the National Meteorological Service
of Argentina that hosts the Buenos Aires
VAAC arranged with the National Space
Activities Commission of Argentina
Sigurleifur Kristjánsson
NUMBER 3, 2007 7
V O L C A N I C A S H A L E RT S
information services (AIS) and air traffic on volcanic ash emergency planning is to izing operational procedures. Advanced
services (ATS), vulcanology agencies, and be discussed by regional air navigation steps include the identification of meth-
airlines. Formal agreements would help planners at a future meeting. ods for updating operational procedures,
ensure the timely exchange of information Future projects. The Buenos Aires the definition of a legal framework for
and would also better support decision- VAAC has a number of projects under standardizing operational procedures
making about the safe use of airspace. development. Notable among these is a and, finally, the dissemination of opera-
The VAAC wish list cites several poten- plan to expand the VAAC’s current remote tional procedures to personnel. As a last
tial improvements. It points out, for exam- sensing system for the early detection of step, the plan also provides for continu-
ple, that volcanic ash SIGMETs and fore- volcanic activity to include automatic ous distance training.
casts could be better prepared and distrib- detection of indicators such as the pres-
ence of sulphur dioxide or portions Summar y
of the atmosphere contaminated by When an episode of volcanic activity
high levels of volcanic ash. This takes place, the ash clouds emitted can
project was to have been completed affect vast areas. Carried by winds aloft,
by the end of 2006, but remains in ash clouds can travel to areas that are
the development phase because of very far from their source. This is why
its complexity and the large num- flight crews need precise and timely
ber of variables to consider. information about ash cloud dispersion.
Another important project is the Such information makes it possible for
creation of training modules for the operators to plan safe alternative routes
various sections of the VAAC (i.e. in an orderly manner, which may require
the individual sections of the VAAC complex coordination by ATS units.
responsible for remote sensing Flight crews have a pivotal safety role
monitoring, communications, spe- to play. When aircraft inadvertently fly
cialized regional meteorological through or near to this hazard, their
services, and administrative sup- crews must, with the utmost dispatch,
port). In creating such modules, notify ATS units of the occurrence so that
certain factors that hinder the train- alternative routings can be identified with
ing process have to be taken into support from the VAACs.
consideration. These include the In establishing operating procedures,
lack of personnel in the area of spe- State civil aviation administrations, air
cialization, a situation that often carriers and meteorological authorities
makes it impractical to relieve oper- must jointly address the issues related
Satellite image (top) and photo of Mt. Lanin, a
potentially active volcano in the Argentine Andes ating personnel of their regular to volcanic ash emission. These operat-
duties; scarce economic resources, ing procedures should be periodically
uted by following ICAO guidelines, and rec- often making it hard for employers to cover reviewed to ensure harmonization with
ommends harmonizing the colour coding the cost of transportation, accommodation, ICAO standards and recommended
used by vulcanological organizations and etc.; a lack of suitable training centres; and practices and guidance material such as
the International Air Transport Association a lack of training policies that make it diffi- the Manual on Volcanic Ash, Radioactive
(IATA) to signify the level of volcanic ash cult to establish career objectives. Material and Toxic Chemical Clouds
alert. It proposes the updating of each To address training issues, Argentina (Document 9691) and the Handbook on
State’s contact list and operational proce- has devised a plan for training aviation the International Airways Volcano Watch
dures to ensure the speedy dissemination personnel that it is currently implement- (Document 9766).
of alerts, noting that it is crucial that such ing nationwide, and is encouraging other It should be borne firmly in mind that
listings provide contact information for States to introduce a similar plan on a when a hazard of this type occurs, it is cru-
offices and units that remain operational regional level. Such action is focused on cial that all parties are fully aware of their
around the clock. The VAAC also called for developing an accurate report on the sta- respective roles. In this way, advisories
periodic exercises entailing the exchange tus of operating personnel, making it pos- may be issued as promptly as possible with
of volcanic ash cloud information (such an sible for the training process to address the purpose of minimizing the event’s
exercise was conducted by the Buenos actual common needs. effect on operations, particularly with
Aires VAAC in coordination with the In brief, the Argentine plan consists of respect to safety, and without overlooking
Washington VAAC in November 2006). several steps, beginning with a survey of the adverse economic impact that can
The VAAC has also proposed the cre- the course certificates held by personnel. result from the dispersal of volcanic ash. ■
ation of a guide on preparing airport Subsequent steps involve establishing
emergency plans for responding to the the desirable knowledge profiles, devel- Mr. Flores is the Operational Supervisor at the Buenos
Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. He is a member of
disruption of operations caused by the oping the standards for the granting of the ICAO International Airways Volcano Watch
dispersion of volcanic ash. A draft guide certificates of competence, and standard- Operations Group (IAVWOPSG).
8 ICAO JOURNAL
YOU’D BE SURPRISED
WHERE YOU FIND US
www.thalesgroup.com
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES
operators of light aeroplanes employed tion to its national responsibility for pro-
M.S. MHITA on rural services to wide-body transports viding meteorological information at mili-
P.F. TIBAIJUKA • A.J. MLAKI serving intercontinental routes. All of this tary aerodromes.
TANZANIA METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY
makes aviation weather forecasting in The meteorological personnel stationed
Tanzania, and indeed all of Africa, an at the country’s three international airports
T
HE growing availability of afford- immense challenge. One of the key play- of Nyerere (Dar es Salaam), Kilimanjaro
able air travel throughout the ers in meeting aviation’s weather infor- and Zanzibar, as well as those at 11 other
world has considerably widened mation needs is the Tanzania Meteo- aerodromes scattered throughout the
aviation’s role in creating wealth in the rological Agency (TMA). country, make the hourly meteorological
developed countries, but has also Aeronautical meteorological services. (METAR) reports and transmit this infor-
brought enormous benefits to developing According to international provisions for mation to the air traffic services (ATS)
economies by unlocking their potential air navigation, TMA has the responsibili- units and to the Central Forecast Office
for trade and tourism. ty of providing meteorological forecasts, located in Dar es Salaam, where they are
In Tanzania, for example, the liberaliza- weather-watch and en-route services at exchanged locally, regionally and interna-
tion of air transport, together with eco- all civil aerodromes in the Dar es Salaam tionally via the ICAO aeronautical fixed
nomic growth in sectors such as mining flight information region (FIR), in addi- telecommunication network (AFTN).
and tourism, have contributed significant-
Charles J. Sharp
10 ICAO JOURNAL
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES
During the past decade, the global avi- the qualifications and experience of staff, valid for periods ranging from six to 48
ation industr y has witnessed rapid quality management of instruments and hours. Low level significant weather
advances in science and technology. This equipment, and infrastructure and serv- charts are produced twice daily for FL100
has necessitated the commissioning of ice provision. and FL180.
new facilities and created a need for staff As a semi-autonomous entity, the TMA Latest service improvements. In its
to be properly trained to operate and is partly funded by the Government of endeavour to improve on services to the
maintain up-to-date systems. While cer- Tanzania. Importantly, it is also partly self- aviation industry, TMA has upgraded
tainly beneficial, such advances have also financing, meeting its operational costs observations in the terminal areas by
had a significant implication for the fund- through the levying of charges on its deploying automatic weather observing
ing of national meteorological services in clients in accordance with ICAO’s guide- systems (AWOS). So far these automated
developing countries, especially in Africa. lines on cost recovery. (TMA has also systems have been installed at Nyerere
Considering the possible impacts of the developed a charging system for special- and Kilimanjaro international airports,
current and future economic, scientific ized, non-aviation meteorological services where they have greatly improved both
and technological environment on the which takes into account the type of data observational data and terminal aero-
provision of meteorological services, it is or information produced, the labour drome forecasts (TAFs).
hoped that users will understand and sup- involved, etc.) Furthermore, the agency is TMA offers meteorological briefings at
port the collaborative spirit that service required to manage its affairs in a busi- all three international airports and three
providers must adopt to effectively nesslike, cost-effective manner conform- other major airports, displaying significant
address the impact of such changes. ing with modern management practices weather charts, upper-level winds and
The aviation industry requires mainte- and techniques, and in particular to apply temperature, and satellite imagery, as well
nance of high standards of service in the the highest standards of financial manage- providing oral presentations to aircraft
interest of flight safety. With respect to ment and accounting to its operations. operators and flight crews. Internet con-
aeronautical meteorology, this requires Like most aeronautical meteorological nections are available at 12 airports to pro-
implementation of the standards and rec- offices in Africa, Tanzania makes use of vide access to aviation and other meteoro-
ommended practices developed by ICAO. the world area forecast system (WAFS) logical information generated by the
Important aspects requiring compliance products obtained through the satellite Central Forecasting Office. Hourly
with ICAO and World Meteorological distribution system for information relat- METARs from all local stations are distrib-
Organization (WMO) regulations include ing to air navigation (SADIS). WAFS prod- uted to the 12 airports using the Internet.
ucts are supplied by the world area fore- Cost recovery. In addressing cost recov-
cast centre (WAFC) in London and from ery for airports and air navigation servic-
the meteorological data dissemination es (ANS), the chief executives of the
(MDD) service or from data obtained three key players, namely, the Tanzania
from advanced centres via the Internet. Airports Authority, the Tanzania Civil
The TMA also has an FTP address for Aviation Authority and the Tanzania
accessing SADIS products. A few coun- Meteorological Agency, are all of the
tries on the continent have developed their opinion that the revenue recovered by all
own local numerical weather prediction three agencies does not reflect the actual
products. Occasionally, products from the cost of providing the services.
European Centre for Medium Range A tripartite committee involving the
Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) are used above-cited institutions was formed in 1999
for routine weather forecasting, as well as to determine the cost of providing aeronau-
for deriving aviation weather products. tical services and propose the appropriate
Tanzania has acquired two modern inter- methodology for implementing air naviga-
active forecasting workstations from the tion charges, including their collection and
U.K. Met Office (HORACE) and from equitable allocation among the three organ-
Météo France (SYNERGIE). High level air- izations. The terms of reference called for
craft cruising above flight level (FL) 240 are the committee to determine relevant cost
still served with WAFS products for signifi- centres, identify activities and tasks attrib-
cant weather charts and upper-level winds utable to aeronautical costs, and perform a
and temperatures, while aircraft operating cost analysis. The committee was also
below FL240 are currently served with asked to estimate future costs based on
products generated locally using numerical projected aviation traffic.
weather predictions created by the
continued on page 31
HORACE and SYNERGIE workstations.
TMA also runs its own numerical M.S. Mhita is the Director General of the Tanzania
Meteorological Agency. His co-authors, P.F. Tibaijuka
weather prediction limited area model and A.J. Mlaki, are the TMA’s Director of Forecasting
(WRF), which supports forecasts that are and Manager of Network Operations, respectively.
NUMBER 3, 2007 11
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
tening post,” instantaneously receiving space surveillance over very large areas,
ALEX SMITH • RUSSELL HULSTROM every aircraft transponder transmission to terminal area traffic monitoring, to pre-
ERA CORPORATION
within line-of-sight range, out to the high- cise tracking and display of aircraft and
(UNITED STATES)
est jet altitudes. One or more multilatera- vehicle movements on the airport sur-
tion stations can be combined active/pas- face. Such installations are even being
I
T is not surprising that automatic sive units, both transmitting transponder used to automate the collection of aircraft
dependent sur veillance-broadcast interrogation signals identical to an SSR user fees.
(ADS-B) is poised to become a key and then listening to their responses. Among countries that have adopted
element of the world’s future air traffic Multilateration stations can receive all wide area multilateration is the Czech
management (ATM) system. Its benefits transponder responses (i.e. basic Mode- Republic, which has chosen this solution
are now well understood, both by opera- A/C, Mode-S, military IFF and ADS-B). over SSR to accurately track, maintain
tors and air navigation service providers When incoming transponder signals are separation and record the increasing
(ANSPs). Not only does ADS-B enhance received by these stations, each immedi- number of high-altitude aircraft transiting
safety while increasing capacity and effi- ately transfers its data to a centrally locat- its airspace to destinations beyond. The
ciency, it also promises substantial cost ed processing unit the size of a filing cabi- Czech Republic’s ANSP has established
savings. In announcing its ADS-B pro- net, where advanced signal time-of-arrival what is arguably one of the largest air-
gramme last year, for example, the U.S. and triangulation techniques are applied space areas in the world to be covered by
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to determine the precise position of each multilateration traffic sur veillance, at
stated that it would permit the eventual aircraft. These are then passed to the air least with respect to those areas where
decommissioning of much of the coun- traffic control (ATC) centre using stan- the provision of conventional SSR is con-
try’s secondary surveillance radar (SSR) dard protocols, including all the data nor- sidered too costly.
network, thereby saving about U.S. $1 bil- mally provided by an SSR. However, the In the terminal area, the tracking and
lion. Airservices Australia launched a multilateration process is much faster, separation of aircraft has been traditional-
similar programme in 2005, and it too allowing controllers to track traffic every ly an exclusive SSR function. While
expects significant savings when use of second, compared to viewing targets with unquestionably safe and efficient, SSR
ADS-B reaches the point where its SSR each sweep of an SSR’s rotating antenna. coverage of key areas can be hampered
network can be safely retired. The frequent tracking produces a very by local high terrain. This limitation led
Perhaps less well known is the fact that smooth trace on the controller’s display to the earliest certified use of multilatera-
a number of ANSPs are already moving screen rather than the progressive tion for terminal airspace control at
to a new surveillance technology which “jumps” characteristic of SSR targets. Ostrava, in the Czech Republic.
provides equivalent and often better per- What’s more, strategic location of the lis- Located within a wide horseshoe of
formance than the traditional SSR, at a tening stations allows reception of aircraft mountains, Ostrava and its surrounding
much lower acquisition and maintenance signals in areas that are below SSR cover- terminal airspace posed a difficult chal-
cost. But even more important is the fact age or that are blocked by intervening lenge for the operation of SSR. The ANSP
that this technology, known as multilater- structures. Position accuracy is also a consequently opted in 2001 for a multilat-
ation, can provide ANSPs with an eco- strong point: over many evaluations, multi- eration network solution, which was com-
nomical foundation for their eventual lateration has been shown to be at least as missioned in 2002. By the following year,
transition to a full ADS-B environment. accurate, and usually more so, than con- sufficient data had been obtained on the
In its surveillance role, multilateration ventional SSR. system’s performance to receive formal
does away with the need for expensive approval from the Civil Aviation Authority
rotating radar antennas, replacing SSRs Diverse applications to reduce terminal area aircraft separa-
with several small and inexpensive sta- Multilateration installations are now tion to three nautical miles from the typi-
tions strategically located to cover the operating at a large number of locations cal five miles. As well, the low level cover-
same or greater airspace volume. Each around the world. These applications age of the multilateration system permit-
unmanned station acts as a passive “lis- range from long-range, high-altitude air- ted its exclusive use below 3,000 feet in
12 ICAO JOURNAL
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
the Ostrava terminal area, well below the Madrid’s Barajas airports for this purpose Aside from their installation in aircraft,
surveillance coverage of regional radars. — an application that previously had been vehicle tracking units can be installed on
Yet one of the most demanding applica- the exclusive domain of radar. all vehicles which use the operational
tions of the multilateration technique is in Perhaps equally important is the sys- areas. Small, affordable and quickly
its use for monitoring landing approaches tem’s application to monitoring move- installed, these units can readily be seen
and airport surface movements. To ments on the aerodrome’s surface, which on the controller’s display, with their
achieve this, a number of the system’s paradoxically remains one of aviation’s unique vehicular identification tags allow-
small receivers are strategically placed most hazardous operating environments. ing quick differentiation from taxiing air-
craft, and thereby allowing appropri-
ate communication messages to be
sent. In January 2007, the Dutch ANSP
selected multilateration-based vehicle
tracking units for over 300 service
vehicles at Amsterdam Schiphol,
following similar introductions at the
Copenhagen, Prague, Santiago and
Cape Town airports. At Schiphol, vehi-
cle movement monitoring will be an
integral part of the airport’s advanced
surface movement guidance and con-
trol system (A-SMGCS), as it will be in
the multilateration-supported A-SMGCS
at Beijing.
One unique application of the tech-
nology is in its very precise height
measurement of aircraft overflying at
high altitudes. The worldwide intro-
duction of reduced vertical separation
minima (RVSM) is unquestionably
having a very beneficial effect on air-
space capacity. Throughout most of
the world, aircraft may now operate
with 1,000 feet vertical separation
between 29,000 and 44,000 feet, com-
pared to the previous 2,000 feet of
Era Corporation
NUMBER 3, 2007 13
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
itself well to noise and curfew monitor- tude, track, speed, intent (i.e., climbing, During the lengthy transition to a com-
ing, and several small airports have descending or flying level), plus other plete ADS-B environment, the most
adopted it for that purpose. More impor- information. These transmissions are important uplinked data will undoubtedly
tantly, it provides very accurate details of received by ATC and also by all other be that describing the flight paths of air-
the arrival and departure times of all air- ADS-B equipped aircraft within reception craft not yet equipped with ADS-B. These
craft — information that facilitates the range, where they are presented on cock- would be visible to controllers using radar
automation of airport billing systems. pit displays in a similar fashion to that of or multilateration surveillance, but with-
Airport operators typically employ an ATC screen. The cockpit displays usu- out the uplink would not be visible to the
monitors that obser ve aircraft move- ally restrict the presentation to show crew of an aircraft equipped for ADS-B.
ments and enter the data manually. other aircraft within a crew selectable alti- Details of unequipped traffic are provid-
Estimates are hard to come by, but it tude band of up to 3,000 feet above and ed to ADS-B equipped aircraft via the traf-
appears certain that a substantial amount below their aircraft, thereby providing fic information service-broadcast (TIS-B),
one of the ADS-B system’s two supporting
features. The other, known as the flight
information system-broadcast (FIS-B),
will carry weather, NOTAMs and other
priority information. Both uplink trans-
missions are specific to the ground-based
transceiver’s coverage areas.
For ANSPs, the critical questions are
therefore those that concern the timing
of their transition to a full ADS-B control
environment and the associated invest-
ment in a network of dedicated ground-
based transceivers to cover their air-
space. The date by which ground-based
transceivers will be needed in a specific
area is hard to determine, being depend-
ent on the rate at which aircraft operators
Jim Jorgenson
14 ICAO JOURNAL
PILOT LICENSING
plements, and does not replace, existing worldwide pilot shortage. Indeed, when
CAPT. CHRIS SCHROEDER ways of qualifying as a co-pilot for multi- the ICAO Flight Crew Licensing and
CAPT. DIETER HARMS crew operations (see “Technological Training Panel (FCLTP) convened its first
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION
advances facilitate change in licensing meeting in 2002, the world’s aviation com-
and training standards,” ICAO Journal munity was still feeling the repercussions
T
HE nature of the multi-crew pilot Issue 2/2006, page 22). of 9/11, an event that suppressed demand
licence (MPL) that was intro- The MPL reflects the competency- for air transport services, and hence pilot
duced late last year is not clearly based approach to training that was intro- recruiting. While the panel was not con-
understood throughout the aviation com- duced by a 2006 amendment to ICAO cerned about a pilot shortage, however, it
munity. In part this lack of comprehen- Annex 1 (the annex to the Chicago was patently obvious that the 40-year old
sion has been fuelled by inaccurate state- Convention which contains provisions for standards and recommended practices
ments about the newly created licence personnel licensing). The new licence (SARPs) of Annex 1 (as well as the SARPs
that have appeared in media reports. was subject to a risk and safety benefit of Annex 6, which is concerned with the
While the aviation community generally study conducted by an ICAO panel of operation of aircraft) had become out of
has been supportive of the new licence, experts. Moreover, MPL implementation step with the evolving best industry prac-
certain comments based on misunder- incorporates specific risk control meas- tice and did not reflect the capabilities of
standings about the rationale for the inno- ures developed by the expert panel, as advanced training devices, especially in
vative programme have been unsupport- well as a post-implementation proof-of- the area of high-fidelity simulation.
ive and could impede this valuable concept programme. The panel of experts that agreed on the
endeavour even before its advantages One common misconception about changes needed in Annex 1 — subse-
take effect. MPL is that the programme emerged as a quently reviewed by the Air Navigation
The new licence qualifies the holder to countermeasure to the pilot shortage in Commission and approved by the ICAO
perform co-pilot duties on aeroplanes Asia, and especially in China and India, Council — were nominated by 15 mem-
operated with more than one pilot. It com- where the pool of qualified personnel can- ber States and a wide range of industry
not keep pace with current bodies representing pilots and aircraft
industry growth. In fact, the operators, including airlines. One of the
PROOF-OF-CONCEPT INITIATIVE MPL programme simply recog- tasks facing this diverse group of experts
DEPENDS ON DATA QUALITY nizes the significant advances was to evaluate alternative approaches to
in methodology and technolo- ab initio training for pilots to be employed
THE INITIAL RESULTS OF MPL training pro- gy in the training sector that in air transport, and today’s MPL is the
grammes around the world will be carefully moni- allow the air transport indus- outcome of this comprehensive effort.
tored by ICAO to assess whether there is a require- try to sustain rapid growth by There is a perception among some that
ment to expand or improve on the current guidance generating an influx of more the MPL was created primarily as a means
material. Under the proof-of-concept project, protect- appropriately trained pilots. to save time and money by investing less
ed information concerning the performance of The MPL is part of sweep- in training. The FCLTP experts who fash-
trainees during and following the MPL training pro- ing changes to ICAO Annex 1 ioned the programme during the 2002-06
gramme will be forwarded to ICAO by licensing which came into effect in period were unanimously motivated by a
authorities so that the organization can evaluate the November — the first major desire to improve the safety standards that
existing MPL programme requirements and docu- update of the annex’s provi- govern the operation of modern multi-
mentation on a periodic basis. The measure is intend- sions since 1948. When the crew civil aircraft. The MPL initiative was
ed to safeguard the long-term integrity of the MPL. initiative to modernize the not driven by economic factors, although
The quality of the data supplied to ICAO, espe- international training provi- most members of the FCLTP, now dis-
cially in the early years of the MPL programme’s sions commenced in October banded, foresaw that the operations-ori-
continued on page 33 2000, there was no pressure ented training approach could also reduce
to address the problem of a the duration and cost of pilot training.
NUMBER 3, 2007 15
PILOT LICENSING
The new MPL, as defined by Annex 1 and and instructor competencies. The docu- developers are able to establish an effective
the first edition of ICAO Document 9868, the ment also furnishes States with guidelines curriculum by defining the ultimate train-
Procedures for Air Navigation Services – for implementing an MPL programme; ing objectives and mastery tests and then
Training (PANS-TRG) that became applica- importantly, this includes guidance on the highlighting the training modules and
ble late last year, represents the best docu- design and development of the MPL devices required to develop these skills.
mented training system in ICAO’s history. course, sample training objectives and Some in the industry are under the
ICAO requirements include a stringent qual- assessment material, and explanations for impression that MPL candidates are not
required to obtain solo flying experience.
On the contrary, there was never a doubt
about the necessity of including solo fly-
ing in the programme. Some pilot-in-com-
mand experience is important for build-
ing confidence. For this reason, the
International Air Transport Association
(IATA) supports retaining the Annex 1
requirement for a minimum of 10 hours
of solo time. In all, the candidate is
required to log a minimum of 240 hours.
The flight experience in aircraft must
include cross-country navigation, night
operations, upset recovery and flight by
reference solely to instruments. Much of
the flying is acquired during Phase 1
(Core) of the four-phase programme.
Although the principle of threat and
error management, as a fundamental
aspect of multi-crew operations, is intro-
duced at the earliest stage of MPL train-
ing, the capacity of a small single-engine
aeroplane to meet multi-crew training
objectives is admittedly limited. In this
respect, training devices that provide for
multi-crew interaction play the more
effective role.
the application of the Training for multi-crew flight operations
threat and error man- starts in earnest with Phase 2 (Basic) and
agement framework remains on an operational basis for the sub-
as an overarching sequent training phases. In Phase 2, the rel-
principle that pervades evant flight simulator training device must
all flight operations. be — to borrow the term adopted for
CAE photos
16 ICAO JOURNAL
$716 NQRZV $IULFD
75$,1,1*
96$7
$'9$1&('
$,5 75$)),&
6<67(06
(see figure, page 19). The crew of ACA513 The Cessna pilot, who had not paid
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD did not hear the controller talking to the attention to the messages between the
OF CANADA
pilot of the Cessna 172. tower and the Airbus crew, thought that
At 0934:34, a Cessna Citation in the the instruction to taxi to position on the
A
N UNSAFE situation arose at parking area called the Quebec City runway included a clearance to take off.
Quebec City Jean Lesage ground controller. The strength of the When the ATC communications
International Airport on the transmission was low and the pilot’s voice recording was reviewed following the
morning of 13 June 2004 when an Airbus was practically inaudible. To improve incident, a number of phraseology errors
A320 and Cessna 172 took off from inter- reception quality, the controller deactivat- were noted. As a result, the Trans-
secting runways at the same time. The ed the air frequency transmit button. He portation Safety Board of Canada (TSB)
vigilant airline crew delayed the rotation then realized that the Cessna 172 had examined the recording of the con-
of their Airbus A320 after spotting the air- started its take-off roll without clearance troller’s most recent operational commu-
borne Cessna on a crossing path. The and was abeam of taxiway Bravo. nications skills check, a review that
report of the incident highlighted the Immediately thereafter, the controller revealed many instances of incorrect
need for safety measures with respect to twice attempted to instruct the crew of phraseology which had not been noted by
air traffic control (ATC) and administra- ACA513, which was rolling at a speed of the delegated evaluator.
tive procedures at the aerodrome, and 58 knots abeam of taxiway Alpha, to abort The procedures for controlling air traf-
also raised concerns over the use of cer- take-off. After realizing that the Airbus fic are set out in the Nav Canada ATC
tain ATC phraseologies that are open to A320 was not slowing down, the con- Manual of Operations (MANOPS). The
misinterpretation by flight crews. troller then attempted to instruct the pilot manual states that if an aircraft is
of the Cessna 172 three times to initiate Number 1 in the departure sequence, the
Misunderstanding led to incident an immediate left turn. Neither the controller can instruct it to taxi to posi-
Air Canada Flight 513 (ACA513), an instruction to ACA513 nor to the Cessna tion on the runway without specifying
Airbus A320 with 140 passengers on 172 could be heard on the air frequency that it must wait for take-off clearance.
board, was on a scheduled instrument because the air frequency transmit but- The ATC MANOPS does not define
flight from Quebec City to Toronto, ton had been deactivated. “Number 1 for take-off.” In this occur-
Ontario. At 0933:44 local time, ACA513 At 0935:20, about 1,000 feet from the rence, the controller did not ask the
was cleared for take-off on Runway 24 at intersection of Runways 24 and 30, when Cessna 172 to wait after instructing it to
Jean Lesage International Airport. the A320 had reached its rotation speed taxi to position on Runway 30. The con-
Sixteen seconds later, a Cessna 172 (146 knots), the captain saw the Cessna troller considered that the Cessna 172
departing from the same airport was 172 in flight on a converging track. He was Number 1 in the departure sequence
instructed by the tower controller to taxi immediately ordered the co-pilot, who because the Airbus A320 had received
to position on the intersecting Runway 30 was at the controls, to delay the rotation clearance to take off.
and to not take off until they had crossed The controller may clear several air-
Runway 30. Radar data show that the craft to taxi to position for take-off on
INCIDENT REPORT
Cessna 172 flew over the Airbus A320 intersecting runways provided that:
This article is an abbreviation of the final report on an with 200 feet of clearance above the inter- • the aircraft receive a departure
incident involving a risk of collision between an Airbus section of the two runways. sequence number when a departing air-
A320 and a Cessna 172 at the Jean Lesage Interna-
The weather was suitable for visual craft is not Number 1 for take-off;
tional Airport in Quebec City, Canada on 13 June 2004.
Released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada flight. The winds were calm; there were • the aircraft that is not Number 1 is
on 5 April 2006, Report A04Q0089 can be viewed in its no clouds below 5,000 feet, visibility was instructed to “wait” and is informed of the
entirety at the organization’s website (www.bst.gc.ca/ over six miles, and there was no precipi- reason for the delay;
en/reports/air/). Extracts appear here in the interest of tation. The automatic terminal informa- • all aircraft are visible to the aerodrome
promoting awareness of safety issues. tion service (ATIS) message indicated controller; and
that intersecting runways were active. • traffic information is given to the sec-
18 ICAO JOURNAL
I N C I D E N T R E P O RT
NUMBER 3, 2007 19
SAFETY MANAGEMENT
A
RECENT study on safety sys- ports, and included interviews with rep- In some jurisdictions, senior managers
tems at five European airports resentatives of governments, airport are compelled to pay close attention to
highlights several essential pre- operators, major air carriers and air traf- safety because of their potential personal
requisites for managing safety effectively. fic services (ATS). Of particular interest liability. For example, in one country cov-
The comparison of the safety systems in were the organization of safety processes ered by the study, senior managers run
place at different airports identified three and the coordination and procedures fol- the risk of imprisonment should their
measures in particular that are needed lowed by various stakeholders, as well as organization be found liable for an acci-
both at the individual organizational level the development of a safety culture. dent as a result of judicial proceedings.
and at the airport systemic level. In brief, In some organizations, senior manage-
the study, completed in December 2006, Clear, strategic responsibility ment visibly assumes responsibility by
highlighted the need to: The study confirmed a strong correla- initiating innovative approaches to safety.
• define safety as a clear strategic tion between the presence of a healthy One driver for this proactive process is
responsibility; safety culture and the attitude of senior the highly visible personal responsibility
• ensure independence of the safety management towards safety. Safety man- assumed by the organization’s chief exec-
department, whose roles include over- agement receives higher priority and is utive officer (CEO), and the possible
sight and providing advice; and more developed where senior manage- adverse response to an incident or acci-
• implement a community-wide approach ment looks on safe operations as a matter dent by the organization’s shareholders
and clients. For this reason, the study
concluded that privatization can have a
positive effect on safety management in
REACTIVE
those organizations that have clearly
made safety a high-level responsibility.
PROACTIVE Risk Threat Safety Such privatization, however, needs to
assesment identification threats
Risk Trends & take place in a climate where sharehold-
inventory changes
ers recognize the importance of safety to
the well being of the organization.
Clarity is paramount. Where there is
Safety Decision Safety Safety patent recognition of the consequences of
policy making actions level
Safety Safety Safety
objectives directives measures
incidents and accidents to the organiza-
tion as a whole, and for senior manage-
Safety recommendations,
statistics
ment in particular, good safety perform-
ance is defined as a strategic corporate
Safety
monitoring
target. Moreover, efforts are made to
integrate safety considerations into every
decision, as evidenced from the way the
organization approaches risk analysis. In
The safety management process contains both reactive and proactive elements; at a a safety-conscious organization, every
large airport, safety management is more effective when it involves all of the stake- change in organizational structure or
holders in a proactive approach that is grounded on risk analyses processes is subjected to a risk analysis.
20 ICAO JOURNAL
SAFETY MANAGEMENT
This pertains to changes having to do airport levels. At the corporate end, the viewed for the study observed that safety
directly with the core business processes safety department reports directly to the managers who were assigned an opera-
as well as changes having no discernible CEO; at the local level, the safety office tional role were at a disadvantage, since
impact on operational safety, such as the reports to the highest local manager. they were compelled to negotiate safety
relocation of the corporate office. The role of the corporate safety office measures with those responsible for
In terms of their strategic responsibili- is three-fold: it collects and analyses safe- achieving efficient operations.
ty for safety, what sets one organization ty information of concern to the entire The following picture emerges from
apart from another is expressed in the organization; it advises on safety improve- the study: the more independent a safety
goals they set, the extent to which safety ments at the corporate level; and it serves department and the more access it has to
is addressed as an explicit part of strate-
gic decision-making, and the role that
senior management plays in decisions
that could influence safety. Another indi-
cator is the manner in which an organiza-
tion’s strategic goals are addressed by its
corporate structure and the allocation of
its resources.
In setting their strategic targets, some
organizations need to be more explicit
about the role of safety. By doing so, they
promote safety as an integral part of deci-
sion-making and stimulate the safety cul-
ture of the entire organization. Senior
management must actually be seen to
take responsibility for safety by champi-
oning safety measures. There are several
Jim Jorgenson
NUMBER 3, 2007 21
A I R P O RT E C O N O M I C S
income obtained through airport landing County has a 420 bedroom hotel in its
RUWANTISSA ABEYRATNE and passenger charges. main concourse. Munich Airport has its
ICAO SECRETARIAT More and more, airports are evolving own hospital, while Amsterdam Schipol
from being basic aeronautical infrastruc- has a Dutch master’s gallery and a casi-
I
N the not-so-distant past, an airport tures. Typically, terminal buildings incor- no. Beijing has quite a few banks carry-
was simply a terminus that served air porate duty free shops, specialty retail ing on business within the terminal build-
travellers and shippers — a place for and brand name boutiques, restaurants, ing, while Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport
passengers to begin or complete their hotels, banks, office complexes, recre- in 2005 solemnized marriages and offici-
journey. The traditional definition of an ation and fitness centres. ated over 450 weddings in the vast chapel
airport, however, is being refined to A number of major hubs are facing a located within the terminal.
reflect the reality that many airports are boom in non-aeronautical activities that All this is of course related to the fact
actually complex industrial enterprises. are not directly related to air travel. For that a busy airport has scores of relative-
Quite apart from their essential airside instance, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong’s ly affluent travellers flowing continuously
activities, many large airports today house international airport, has more than 30 through its terminals. This potential mar-
commercial facilities within the terminal high-end designer shops. Singapore’s ket for goods and services has prompted
building that serve both passengers and Changi International pampers to fitness airport operators to refine their manage-
the non-travelling public. Airport authori- cravings and the continuing need for ment structure. For example, many
ties collect concession fees (i.e. non-aero- entertainment by hosting cinemas, authorities have established separate real
nautical revenues) from concessionaires saunas and even a swimming pool in the estate management and property divi-
who specialize in various business activi- airport itself. Frankfurt Main has the sions to capitalize on their landside com-
ties, and in numerous airports around the world’s largest airport clinic, with the mercial activities and enhance real estate
world this income is significant. Indeed, capacity to serve 36,000 patients annually, values. One of the foremost in this area is
such revenues often exceed the traditional while Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Aeroports de Paris, which established its
real estate division in 2003 to oversee
landside commercial activities coming
under the purview of Paris Charles de
Gaulle and Orly airports. Amsterdam
Schipol is doing the same and developing
its real estate potential to build large
office complexes, meeting and entertain-
ment facilities, logistics parks, shopping
and other commercial activities. Some
other airports have aggressively put in
place free trade and customs-free zones,
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
22 ICAO JOURNAL
A I R P O RT E C O N O M I C S
NUMBER 3, 2007 23
ICAO UPDATE
ICAO proposes major amendment of general aviation provisions
ICAO Contracting States and international organizations The proposed amendment, intended to become applicable
have been asked to comment by 15 July 2007 on a propos- on 20 November 2008, was developed with the assistance of
al to overhaul the ICAO provisions for international general the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and the
aviation (GA) operations contained in Annex 6 (Part II) to the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations
Chicago Convention. (IAOPA), and reflects significant changes including the advent
The proposed modifications to the GA provisions are con- of new technologies and more capable GA aircraft. It propos-
sidered necessary because of major developments in the GA es dividing Part II of Annex 6 into three sections, with the first
sector in the years since the regulations were first introduced, section covering general provisions and definitions. Section II
among them the emergence of a rapidly expanding corporate would cover provisions applicable to all GA operations, and
aviation sector and an innovative scheme known as fractional Section III would concern provisions for business/corporate
ownership, a concept that many States have yet to address. operations and any operation involving large aircraft or any
The GA provisions currently contained in the annex were turbojet aircraft.
by and large established in 1968 and are still geared towards The amended provisions would address GA issues such as
the GA environment prevalent at that time. instrument approach criteria and equipage with ground prox-
The ICAO Air Navigation Commission has recognized that imity warning systems, and would introduce more stringent
the current Annex 6, Part II, “is lagging behind the develop- requirements for corporate and business operations and the
ments in general aviation and is in danger of becoming irrele- operation of more sophisticated aircraft.
vant,” the ICAO Secretary General informed member States in The proposed amendment does not yet address the ques-
a letter disseminated at the end of March. “If timely action is tion of fractional ownership as there is a lack of a clear and
not taken to amend Part II, this segment of international avia- consistent definition for these types of operations and uncer-
tion could undergo changes in an uncoordinated manner as tainty about their commercial or non-commercial nature.
States develop their own regulations for contemporary gener- However, States have been asked to comment on how frac-
al aviation, including large turbojet aircraft operating interna- tional or shared ownership is treated by their regulatory sys-
tionally and on intercontinental routes,” the letter states. tems. They were also urged to provide ICAO with specific
information on its legal status so that the organization can
work on resolving the issues in this area. It is possible provi-
NEW PUBLICATIONS sions for fractional ownership could be included in Annex 6,
Part II, in the future.
FROM ICAO States have been asked to comment specifically on a
proposed change to instrument approach criteria for gener-
al aviation. The current provisions apply an “approach ban”
Manual on Testing of Radio Navigation Aids (Doc 8071) to all GA aircraft, whereby a precision instrument approach
Volume II — Testing of Satellite-based cannot continue beyond the outer marker fix and a non-pre-
Radio Navigation Systems cision approach cannot continue below 300 metres (1,000
5th Edition, 2007; 76 pages
ft) above the aerodrome unless the reported visibility or run-
ISBN 92-9194-889-6
way visual range (RVR) is above the specified minimum. The
Order No. 8071P2 … $41
proposed amendment contemplates eliminating the
Manual on Volcanic Ash, Radioactive Material approach ban for all GA operations, or alternatively, apply-
and Toxic Chemical Clouds (Doc 9691) ing a modified ban only to operations involving large and
2nd Edition, 2007; 178 pages turbojet aircraft covered under the new Section III. Under
ISBN 92-9194-888-8 the latter option, the reported visibility requirement is elimi-
Order No. 9691 … $96 nated with the result that the ban applies only to those
CNS/ATM Business Case Analysis Tool approach operations where RVR is reported. States are
2007, CD-ROM requested to provide specific comments on both of these
Order No. CD-109 … $300 options in light of their own operating environments and
requirements for general aviation. ■
Visit ICAO’s website (www.icao.int) to order documents or obtain Seminars to help introduce
a complete list of ICAO publications and audio-visual training aids,
or e-mail [email protected] performance-based navigation
All prices are in U.S. dollars, and are subject to change. ICAO’s performance-based navigation (PBN) initiative has
Prices include the cost of delivery by best method, as determined by ICAO
entered a new phase following the recent dissemination of a
PBN manual in final draft form on the ICAO secure website,
24 ICAO JOURNAL
as well as other guidance on how States and air navigation ANB Director appointed
service providers (ANSPs) can implement the PBN concept,
Nancy J. Graham (United States) has
which was developed as the most practical solution for reg-
been appointed Director of ICAO’s Air
ulating the expanding proliferation of navigation applications.
Navigation Bureau (ANB) for a four-
The new information, available at ICAO-NET (www.icao.int/
year term. Ms. Graham assumed her
icaonet), includes guidelines on issuing operational approvals
duties on 2 April 2007.
for PBN for different phases of flight. Since PBN revises the
The holder of a master’s degree in sci-
current required navigation performance (RNP) concept, the
ence (technology management) and a
PBN Manual replaces the Manual on Required Navigation
bachelor’s degree in management, Ms.
Performance, which is now out of print.
Graham joins ICAO from the U.S.
In order to assist States and operators with the introduction
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
of PBN operations, ICAO is currently in the midst of organizing Nancy J. Graham
where she served most recently as
workshops in all regions of the world. So far 10 seminars have
Asia/Pacific Regional Director (2005-07). In this capacity she was
been planned, including one in Bangkok from 11 to 14 September,
responsible for leading FAA efforts to strengthen safety in the
and another in New Delhi from 17 to 21 September.
region while encouraging procedural and system harmonization.
The PBN seminars are intended for all stakeholders in the
Prior to the Asia/Pacific posting, Ms. Graham was the
PBN implementation process, among them the State regula-
International Technical Programme Manager at FAA’s region-
tory authorities, aircraft operators, ANSPs, and procedure
al office for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Specializing
design organizations. While some States are already moving
in air traffic management (ATM) technologies, systems and
ahead with PBN implementation, others will find the informa-
procedures, she has served as the senior ATM adviser to the
tion provided at the seminars to be a necessity in getting their
Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Air Traffic Organization
programmes under way.
and to the Director of the European and Middle East
More information on the seminars, and PBN in general, can
International Area Office, and has represented the FAA at var-
be found at the ICAO PBN website (www.icao.int/pbn). ■
ious ICAO venues.
Ms. Graham formerly served as the Integrated Product Team
Disclosure of ICAO safety Leader for the FAA’s International Oceanic and Offshore
oversight audit results Programmes, and has been Co-Chair for the informal ICAO
Asia/Pacific Working Group responsible for implementing satel-
A total of 87 Contracting States and two territories had
lite-based communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS)
agreed by mid-May 2007 to the disclosure of either their full
systems in the international oceanic operational environment.
safety oversight audit report or an executive summary of the
Prior to joining the FAA in 1991, Ms. Graham served in the
audit report at ICAO’s public website. Audit results are cur-
U.S. Navy as the Programme Manager for Surface Ship
rently available to all Contracting States at a secure web-
Weapons Systems. ■
site, but as of 23 March 2008 such information will be
released in summary form to the public provided that the
member State has authorized its disclosure. Beyond this
Amendment greatly simplifies
date, ICAO intends to issue a press release revealing the ICAO Annex 10
identity of those States that have not given their authoriza- A recent amendment to ICAO Annex 10 addresses a wide
tion to release their audit results. range of provisions for different communications, navigation
Efforts will be made during the 36th Session of the ICAO and surveillance (CNS) systems such as the aeronautical
Assembly this September to encourage senior government telecommunication network (ATN), the aeronautical mobile-
officials to sign the release consent forms if their States have satellite (route) service (AMS(R)S), the universal access trans-
not already provided such consent. The forthcoming ceiver (UAT) and automatic dependent surveillance-broad-
Assembly, to be held at ICAO headquarters from 18 to 28 cast (ADS-B) using the 1090 MHz extended squitter.
September, will set out a work programme and budget for the Standards and recommended practices (SARPs) for these
organization for the coming three years, 2008-10. systems have been restructured, with technical specifica-
Since January 2005, audits conducted under the Universal tions divided into a “core” element of SARPs, complemented
Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) are performed by additional material to be published in an ICAO manual and
according to the comprehensive systems approach. This covers by references to documents developed by other standards-
all of the safety-related provisions in 16 of the 18 annexes to the making bodies such as the International Telecommunication
Chicago Convention, and is greatly expanded over the initial Union (ITU) and RTCA.
audit mandate, which was concerned with just three of the The amendment simplifies Annex 10 by replacing some
Convention annexes. 1,500 system-specific provisions for the AMSS with approx-
To date, 26 final safety oversight audit reports have been imately 150 performance-oriented SARPs that are mainly of
posted at the ICAO secure website, and nine States have pro- a generic nature and not tied to a specific technology. The
vided consent to the release of audit information under this cur- amendment of new system-level provisions for extended
rent audit cycle to the public. Recent final safety oversight audit squitter, relocation of Mode S and extended squitter data for-
reports that were posted on the ICAO secure website in April mats, and the transfer of some other detailed provisions to a
and May 2007 include Botswana, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, new technical manual, allow for a further significant reduction
Italy, Liberia, Namibia and Sierra Leone. ■ of standards in Annex 10. ■
NUMBER 3, 2007 25
ICAO colloquium focuses on aviation emissions
A colloquium on aviation emissions held at ICAO
headquarters in mid-May provided a comprehensive
overview of a complex issue that will be high on the
agenda of the 36th Session of the ICAO Assembly this
September.
Where the question of aviation emissions is con-
cerned, the forthcoming meeting of ICAO’s
Contracting States is just the beginning of an ICAO-
led global effort needed to reduce the impact of avia-
tion on the environment, according to ICAO Council
President Roberto Kobeh González. “We also have to
think of the upcoming years and ICAO’s continuing
leading role in a post-Kyoto period,” he explained in a
welcome address to the colloquium participants.
ICAO, as the only global forum that can bring all par-
ties together on international civil aviation environmen- Participants at the Colloquium on Aviation Emissions held at ICAO headquar-
ters from 14 to 16 May 2007 heard various stakeholders advocate possible
tal issues, will continue to lead the way, together with approaches for dealing with engine emissions in aviation
its 190 member States and in cooperation with the
main international non-governmental organizations, ward-looking solutions. Precise technical information on avia-
asserted the Council President. tion emissions and their impact on local air quality and global
The Council President highlighted the importance of com- climate must form the basis of all measures.”
piling information before taking action, noting that the Looking to the future, Dr. Chérif said that ICAO should devel-
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had recently op the capability to provide information on the status of emis-
issued its fourth assessment report. “Once we increase our sions and to assess the reduction achieved through techno-
understanding of the situation, we will be in a better position logical and operational means, thus allowing the organization
to assess the magnitude of the problem, review proposed to determine whether additional measures are necessary.
mitigation measures and establish a clear direction,” he Work is also under way to develop technological and opera-
informed the colloquium. tional goals, the Secretary General added. “We must continue to
ICAO Secretary General Dr. Taïeb Chérif also underscored challenge aviation by setting goals,” he proposed, noting that this
the importance of utilizing data in the effort to minimize the process had worked well with respect to nitrogen oxides (NOx)
adverse effects of civil aviation on the environment, one of emissions. In the longer term, he predicted ICAO would probably
ICAO’s primary strategic objectives. regulate new aircraft engines with alternative fuel sources that
“Information is key to meeting this environmental chal- would produce a reduced impact on the atmosphere.
lenge,” he remarked. “Agreed and accurately characterized In mitigating the environmental impact of aviation emissions,
scientific and technical data are essential in developing for- Dr. Chérif stressed that all possible mitigation measures would
need to be explored. “Such measures must be made available
under a clear framework, a framework that provides States
with the flexibility to select alternatives in the most cost-effec-
tive manner.” The ICAO emissions plan, he added, could prove
instrumental in helping States achieve this goal.
Taking part in the three-day event were representatives from
a wide spectrum of the aviation and scientific communities.
Among the participants were panellists from leading civil avia-
tion administrations as well as other government and industry
bodies and a number of university research centres. Various
discussions focused on scientific findings, methodologies used
to assess the impact of aviation emissions, and technological
developments, operational measures and market-based
options geared to mitigate the effects of aviation on local air
MONTREAL CONVENTION quality and global climate. A concluding panel discussion
Bosnia and Herzegovina deposited its instrument of looked at possible approaches to deal with aviation emissions.
accession to the Montreal Convention of 1999 during a The colloquium focused on the outcome of the latest meet-
brief ceremony at ICAO headquarters on 9 March 2007, ing of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection
bringing the total number of parties to the Convention to (CAEP), which agreed, among other things, on provisional
76. Shown on the occasion are Milenko Misic, Ambas- emissions trading guidelines that will be examined by the 36th
sador of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Ottawa (left) and Session of the ICAO Assembly this fall (see “Experts propose
Denys Wibaux, Director of the ICAO Legal Bureau. guidance on how to include aviation in emissions trading
scheme,” ICAO Journal Issue 2/2007, pg 29).
26 ICAO JOURNAL
Generally, colloquium participants expressed broad support
for the leadership role played by ICAO in addressing the prob-
lem of emissions and other environmental issues, while pointing
out the need for action by the entire aviation community. More
information on the ICAO Colloquium on Aviation Emissions,
including video clips of some of the presentations, is available
at the ICAO website (www.icao.int/envclq/clq07). ■
NUMBER 3, 2007 27
Bosnia and Herzegovina assumes World’s airlines post higher profits
responsibility for airspace The scheduled airlines of ICAO’s 190 member States posted
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina assumed full an estimated combined operating profit of 2.9 percent of
responsibility for the airspace over its territory on 20 April 2007, operating revenues in 2006, a significant improvement over
when control was officially transferred from the European the 1 percent recorded in 2005.
Force (EUFOR). The transfer took place at the ICAO European Expressed in U.S. currency, operating revenues for 2006
and North Atlantic Office in Paris with the signing of a protocol are tentatively estimated at $452.4 billion, up approximately
by the Commander of EUFOR and the Minister of Transport 9.5 percent over 2005, with estimated operating expenses at
and Communication of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a ceremony $439.5 billion, some 7.5 percent higher than the preceding
that was attended by high-level officials from NATO, year. Yields, expressed in terms of operating revenues per
Eurocontrol, the European Commission and ICAO. tonne-kilometre performed, rose from 80.2 cents to an esti-
The ICAO regional office played a role in drafting the proto- mated 83.5 cents, while operating expenses increased from
col, whose signing signalled the last step in a process that 79.3 to an estimated 81.1 cents. (A tonne-kilometre is a com-
started 10 years earlier, following the signing of the Dayton bined measure of passenger, freight and mail traffic which
Agreement. The Minister of Transport and Communication also takes into account the distance flown.)
expressed Bosnia and Herzegovina’s appreciation for ICAO’s The net financial result — excluding the reorganization
support in establishing a functioning civil aviation administra- expenses of some U.S. carriers — is provisionally estimated
tion and for its ongoing assistance with implementing the pro- to be a profit of about 0.6 percent of operating revenues, an
visions of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. improvement over the loss of about 1 percent in 2005.
The full transfer of responsibility for the airspace above The positive operating results came in spite of average jet
Bosnia and Herzegovina, a phased process that began in fuel price increases of about 12 percent over 2005, which
2000 with the opening of its upper airspace to civil air traffic, itself saw dramatic increases in the average fuel price (some
means the country now has the obligation to provide air nav- 49 percent higher than 2004). Airlines adopted several offset-
igation facilities and to implement standard systems needed ting measures to the escalating price, including specific fuel
for conducting international aviation operations. surcharges and related provisions, as well as reductions in
More information on the recent transfer of Bosnia and controllable expenses, especially distribution costs and gen-
Herzegovina airspace control, in particular video clips and eral overheads. This led to a reduction in unit costs of around
documents related to the signing of the protocol, is 3.4 percent. Yields increased by 4 percent, more a reflection
available at the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office of the fuel surcharge and exchange rate differences than real
website (www.paris.icao.int/). ■ strength on the pricing front.
It is estimated that airlines of four of the world’s six statis-
tical regions achieved, on aggregate by region, a positive
operating result, thereby contributing to the overall operating
and net results shown by the industry in 2006. The major
improvement was in the performance of North American car-
riers, where a combination of capacity management and
increase in traffic and fares led to a return to profitable oper-
ations ($7 billion in operating profits in 2006, compared to a
marginal $200 million operating loss in 2005). Other regions
thought to have achieved positive results were Europe,
Asia/Pacific and the Middle East.
Looking to the future, slowing growth in real yields and lim-
ited scope to achieve further reductions in costs will affect
carriers already faced with low operating and net margins. On
the positive side, buoyant economic conditions and success-
FELLOWSHIP FUNDS ful efforts to stimulate traffic should sustain above average
A group of States has made a donation of over U.S. traffic growth, especially by carriers in Europe and Asia. The
$19,000 to the recently established Assad Kotaite Gradu- expected positive impact of open skies agreements between
ate and Postdoctoral Fellowship Fund. The ABIS Group — the U.S. and Europe, India and China, and other liberalization
comprised of Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, the agreements, should see the industry maintain traffic growth
Netherlands and Switzerland, presented the donation at and profitability in the coming years. ■
ICAO headquarters on 29 May 2007. Shown at the presen-
tation are (l-r): Ricardo J. Heighes-Thiessen, Director of the
ICAO Technical Cooperation Bureau; Lionel Alain Dupuis, Number of fatal airline
Representative of Canada on the Council of ICAO; Silvia accidents decline in 2006
Gehrer, Representative of Austria on the Council of ICAO;
ICAO’s annual analysis of aviation safety and security data has
ICAO Secretary General Dr. Taïeb Chérif; Daniel Ruhier,
revealed that 2006 witnessed 13 fatal accidents and 755 pas-
Alternate Representative of Austria on the Council of ICAO;
senger fatalities in scheduled air services worldwide, and 16
and ICAO Council President Roberto Kobeh González.
acts of unlawful interference causing two deaths and 27 injuries.
28 ICAO JOURNAL
In 2005, member States reported 712 passenger fatalities as a ICAO Council appointment
result of 17 accidents, and six acts of unlawful interference in
Vergniaud Elyseu Filho has been
which three persons were killed and 60 were injured.
appointed Representative of Brazil on
The safety statistics, based on preliminary information
the Council of ICAO. Mr. Elyseu Filho’s
compiled from 190 Contracting States, are related to com-
tenure commenced on 1 January 2007.
mercial air transport aircraft of more than 2,250 kilograms
Mr. Elyseu Filho graduated in 1970
(4,960 lb) take-off mass, and reflect only those accidents
with a degree in law from Mackenzie
resulting in passenger fatalities.
University, São Paulo. He subse-
ICAO’s analysis of aircraft accidents (which does not include
quently studied law at institutions in
those related to acts of unlawful interference) unveiled that
both Brazil and Europe, including the
despite an increase in passenger fatalities, the accident rate in
University of São Paulo, where he
2006 rose only marginally to about 0.0193 fatal accidents per V. Elyseu Filho
(Brazil) specialized in public law, The Hague
100 million passenger-kilometres flown, compared with a rate of
Academy of International Law, and
0.0191 in 2005. The marginal rate increase reflects growth of
the Faculté Internationale pour L’Enseignement du Droit
around 5 percent in the volume of passenger-kilometres.
Comparé (FIEDC) in Strasbourg. He graduated from the
Non-scheduled operations experienced 13 fatal accidents
Brazilian Diplomatic Academy in 1976 and joined his coun-
in 2006, compared with 18 fatal accidents in the previous
try’s Ministry of External Relations the following year.
year. The number of passenger fatalities related to non-
After serving in the Division of International Acts (Treaties)
scheduled operations also decreased, to 81 from 249, in
and subsequently in the Western European Division, in 1981
2005. Accident rates for non-scheduled transport could not
Mr. Elyseu Filho was appointed as Second Secretary at the
be estimated because of the lack of comprehensive traffic
Embassy of Brazil in Stockholm, Sweden. He returned in1985
figures for such services.
to Brazil to serve as Advisor and Deputy Head of the Division
During 2006, 16 acts of unlawful interference included four
of Science and Technology, and went abroad again in 1989
unlawful seizures or attempted seizures, three attacks on avi-
as the First Secretary of the Brazilian Mission to International
ation facilities, three acts of sabotage or attempted sabotage,
Organizations in Vienna.
and one in-flight attack. ■
Mr. Elyseu Filho was appointed Deputy Head of the
Division of Disarmament and Sensitive Technologies in 1993,
Pilots and lawyers underscore and became Deputy Head of the Division of the United
need to protect safety data Nations in 1997. The following year he was assigned to the
Embassy in Bonn, Germany, where he served as Counsellor
A meeting of Brazilian pilots, lawyers and jurists in Sao Paulo
in charge of political matters. In 2000 he was named
in early May, held in conjunction with the 2nd Forum for
Counsellor at the Embassy of Brazil in the United States. He
Brazilian Civil Aviation Development, examined the issue of
left Washington, D.C. in 2004 to become Head of the Division
safety data protection, and called for Brazilian legislators to
of Science and Technology in the Ministry of External
introduce measures to properly protect such data. ICAO gave
Relations. Prior to joining ICAO, Mr. Elyseu Filho served from
a presentation to the meeting on legal guidance with respect
mid-2006 as Deputy Consul General of Brazil in Montreal. ■
to ICAO Annex 13; the guidance is intended to assist States
to enact national laws and regulations to protect information
gathered from safety data collection and processing systems
(SDCPS), while allowing for the proper administration of jus-
tice. The group also heard presentations on this topic by rep-
resentatives of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’
Associations (IFALPA).
In recent years, technological advances have led to an accel-
erated development of safety data collection, processing and
exchange systems that generate information used to implement
corrective safety actions and proactive, long-term strategies, but
increasingly such information has also been used for disciplinary
and enforcement purposes, and admitted as evidence in criminal
proceedings (see “Guidance material addresses concerns about
protection of safety information,” ICAO Journal Issue 6/2006, pp
26-28). The pilots and lawyers meeting in Sao Paulo — members AGREEMENTS SIGNED
of the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency, Flight Crew ICAO Secretary General Dr. Taïeb Chérif and Jean-
Members Union, Airlines Union and the Brazilian Air and Space Christophe Chouvet, the Representative of France on
Law Society — expressed concern about this trend and urged the Council of ICAO, recently signed two agreements
their government to provide legal protection for SDCPS. Among on cooperation between France and ICAO. The agree-
other things, the pilots and lawyers suggested that Brazil estab- ments provide for the secondment of experts to the
lish an independent accident investigation and prevention safety ICAO Secretariat to perform duties related to the Orga-
board, and that further consideration be given to the new legal nization’s strategic objectives.
guidance contained in Annex 13. ■
NUMBER 3, 2007 29
ICAO Council appointment
Francesco Paolo Venier has been
appointed Representative of Italy on the
Council of ICAO. Mr. Venier commenced
his tenure on 19 February 2007.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Mr. Venier graduated with a degree in
political science from the University of
Padua in 1981, and entered the diplo-
matic field for the Government of Italy
in 1990. After serving in the Office of
F.P. Venier
(Italy) the Secretary General of the Italian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was
appointed in 1992 as First Secretary of the Embassy of Italy
in Guatemala. He became Political Counsellor at the
Embassy of Italy in New Delhi, India in 1996.
In 2000 Mr. Venier returned to Rome to serve as Chief of
the Mediterranean and Middle East Desk in the Directorate
General for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. He later was named Chief of Staff at the
Directorate General for Development Cooperation.
Mr. Venier became the First Counsellor and Deputy Head
of Mission at the Embassy of Italy in Jakarta, Indonesia in
2003. He was also in charge of the Economic, Commercial
and Aid Section of the Italian Embassy. In 2006 he was
named the Consul General of Italy in Montreal, a post that he
continues to hold in addition to performing his duties on the
ICAO Council. ■
30 ICAO JOURNAL
Bustling aerotropolis would be allocated to each body on the basis of mutual agreement.
The way forward. As the body coordinating the cost recovery for
continued from page 23
air navigation services in Tanzania, the CAA is in the process of
of airports, the effect can be seen in the typical price reduction assessing the cost for the provision of such services with the goal of
of consumer goods in some airport shops immediately after revising charges. The Tanzania Meteorological Agency will partici-
they have been privatized. pate in this process, anticipating that new cost recovery charges will
Privatization also usually provides access to non-traditional be based on both the current and forecast levels of traffic.
sources of capital for financing airport infrastructure and devel- In the meantime, the TMA strives at improving the quality of
opment of services. aeronautical meteorological services through the modernization of
Globalization is the removal of trade boundaries, something its equipment and through improved internal, regional and interna-
that will facilitate the creation of an aerotropolis. Once such tional communications using high-speed data links. The agency is
boundaries are broken, enhanced competition resulting from a also focused on the further development of human resources. ■
liberalized market ensures sufficient economic advancement to
facilitate the emergence of the aerotropolis.
An aerotropolis need not necessarily be built near a major hub air- Multi-crew pilot licence
port. The potential for an aerotropolis would lie primarily in the air- continued from page 16
port’s location, and secondly on whether a nearby aerotropolis exists
in a neighbouring country. Taking account of these factors, airport same imagery, thus enhancing crew coordination, situational
planners can begin building an aerotropolis gradually. Aside from the awareness and call-out procedures. At this early stage of the pro-
local attractions, in particular the uniqueness of the environment, the gramme, motion capability is not a requirement.
absence of similar facilities in neighbouring countries would be sig- The flight simulator training device used in Phase 3 (Intermediate)
nificant as demand for such facilities rises around the world. must represent a specific turbine-powered multi-engine aeroplane
The aerotropolis venture has yielded exponential increases in type that requires two-pilot operation. The device must be certified to
job opportunities for the local population, and an influx of foreign a standard equivalent to JAR/FAA Level B, which means that it has
exchange. Therefore this concept, which has been tried and tested, to be capable of simulating full daylight operations while providing
should be on the minds of any airport and urban development plan- each pilot with a continuous cockpit-wide minimum collimated view
ner, particularly in tourist destinations. A fitting example is Miami, through 180 degrees horizontally and 40 degrees vertically. The
which experienced a boom in airline passenger traffic following the Phase 3 device, which must incorporate air traffic control (ATC) sim-
opening of the nearby Walt Disney World theme park. ■ ulation, is also required to provide a motion cue.
The simulator used in Phase 4 (Advanced), the final phase of
the training programme, must be fully equivalent to a Level D
Tanzanian meteorological services or Level C flight simulator training device. This calls for an
continued from page 11 enhanced daylight visual system and ATC simulation.
One outstanding issue to be addressed concerns instructor qual-
The outcome of this work was the publication of a document on ification. Although not explicitly mentioned in the revised Annex 1
the principles of determining the cost of aeronautical meteorologi- or PANS-TRG, instructors assigned to provide training in an MPL
cal services for en-route and terminal air navigation. The document course need to be specially qualified for this role. In Europe, for
highlights relevant aspects to be used internally to determine the instance, this question has been addressed by requiring that all
cost of providing aeronautical meteorological services. Among MPL instructors complete an MPL instructor’s training course. The
aspects that it found must be taken into account are the investment objective is to ensure that instructors are able to comply with a com-
expenditure including maintenance, operating and administrative petency-based approach to pilot training and assessment. Among
costs, and the expenses related to training. The allocation of such other things, the two-day course deals with the integration of the
costs between aeronautical and non-aeronautical users must also be threat and error management framework throughout the training
considered, as well as the allocation of aeronautical meteorological process. It finishes with an assessment of the candidate instructor
services costs to the en-route and airport components. and a certificate for successful applicants. For instructors involved
In developing its own document, the TMA used relevant ICAO in the basic, intermediate or advanced phases of the MPL course,
manuals as reference, in particular ICAO’s Policies on Charges for some experience in multi-crew operations is also a requirement.
Airports and Air Navigation Services (Document 9082), the Airport Training for the MPL qualification is likely to be offered in all
Economics Manual (Document 9562) and the Manual on Air parts of the world. In Europe, for example, the MPL programme
Navigation Services Economics (Document 9161). Also referenced has already been introduced. However, compared to ICAO Annex 1
was WMO Guide No. 904, Aeronautical Met Services Cost Recovery. and PANS-TRG, the new Joint Aviation Requirements (JAR-FCL-1)
The charges currently levied for both air navigation and airport are more prescriptive in certain areas, specifically with regard to the
landing and parking have been in effect for many years without qualification of MPL instructors, the definition of the flight simula-
review. Although there have been new infrastructure and technolog- tion training devices to be used in the different training phases, and
ical developments, no significant change has been made to match the the simulation of the ATC environment in the third and fourth phas-
operating costs. However, following a costing exercise which came es of the training programme. Also spelled out are the particulars of
up with higher amounts than what could be recovered from airlines the contractual agreement between the flight training organization
at the time, the Tanzania Airports Authority, CAA and TMO made conducting the MPL course and the airline intending to hire the
interim arrangements whereby a portion of the recovered costs graduates, as well as a requirement for monitoring implementation
NUMBER 3, 2007 31
of the programme through an advisory board composed of repre-
STAY CONNECTED! sentatives from aviation authorities, airlines, approved training
organizations and pilot associations.
This at first glance is a very positive development. The only possible
drawback is that the prescription of stricter standards by one authority
may lead to different qualities of MPL training found around the world.
Among other examples of MPL implementation, the Australian
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has drafted amendments to
its regulations and relevant civil aviation advisory publications to
cater to the new programme. The consultation phase is under way
and final amendments are expected to be adopted in November
2007. In China, the General Administration of Civil Aviation
(CAAC) is in the process of amending its regulations in order to
implement the new training programme. A number of other coun-
tries are involved in a similar process.
Several ongoing and future activities are expected to support the
implementation of the new training regime. For example, a proof-of-
concept initiative was launched by ICAO in January 2007 (see box on
page 15) with the objective of facilitating the collection of relevant data
that can assist national aviation authorities in implementing MPL and
also for preparing necessary updates to PANS-TRG. A conference on
the proof-of-concept results is expected to be held in 2009 or 2010.
An international working group was formed in June 2006 by
ICAO for the purpose of updating ICAO Document 9625, the
Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulators. This
focus on flight simulation technology was undertaken at the urging
of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in light of the
need for a more precise definition of the different types of flight sim-
ulation training devices required for each phase of the MPL course.
With assistance from the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS),
the objective of the ICAO working group is to establish qualifica-
tion standards for the approval of all flight simulator training
devices on a worldwide basis. This is a major endeavour aimed at
reversing an existing situation whereby the technical capabilities
of simulators determine how these devices are used in training.
Once global standards for such devices are in place, the required
simulator fidelity and technical complexity will be defined by train-
ing needs. The newly formed group intends to publish an updated
and expanded Document 9625 by the end of 2008.
Yet another supporting activity has been initiated by IATA,
which is convinced that the MPL represents the state-of-the-art ab
Connected via an undergroud passage, initio airline pilot training programme. Through its own global ini-
tiative, and for the benefit of its member airlines, IATA intends to
the InterContinental Montreal is now
spearhead the worldwide standardization and harmonization of
connecting you to the world. MPL implementation. This initiative, which it is undertaking in
Complimentary High Speed Internet in close coordination with ICAO, will include the establishment of a
all guestrooms for ICAO delegates working panel. Panel members will represent airlines, training
providers, aircraft manufacturers, regulators and pilot associations
— in short, all MPL stakeholders from all corners of the globe. ■
Multilateration technology
Do you live an InterContinental life? continued from page 14
32 ICAO JOURNAL
tioning — technological evolution also characterizes surveil- Taking this process a step further, one might expect that in
lance, with multilateration and ADS-B expected to eventually the future many of the world’s air traffic support services will be
replace radar in most, if not all, aviation applications. provided by private organizations under exclusive agreements
But such transformations are in fact the normal state in air traf- with national or regional ATM authorities. The aforementioned
fic management, and we can anticipate still more fundamental system provides a scalable network backbone to enable these
changes in the way aviation is conducted as the 21st century types of surveillance service models, with clear benefits to all
unfolds. Elements that were formerly regarded as being exclu- stakeholders of air navigation services. ■
sively government-owned and operated, such as the traditional
flag carrier, have already been widely privatized, and corporatiza-
tion and privatization are spreading to other areas. Air traffic con- Proof-of-concept initiative
trol, for example, is being transformed in a similar manner, as continued from page 15
demonstrated by the growing number of privatized or partially
privatized ANSPs. Along with this development, the provision of implementation, will prove crucial to the further develop-
ATC-related supporting services is beginning to change. In a sig- ment of guidance material. A letter issued by the organiza-
nificant step in this direction, the U.S. FAA recently announced tion in June 2007 provides States with specific guidelines
that its nationwide ADS-B surveillance service — which it for gathering these data in a harmonized manner. The
describes as the critical “backbone” of its Next Generation Air dataset definition was achieved through a cooperative effort
Transportation System (NGATS) — will be provided by a private involving ICAO, State regulators, the airline industry and
industry contractor. Under the FAA contract, the selected organ- pilot representatives.
ization will be responsible for the design, production, installation, Standardized forms have been developed for collecting pre-
support and ongoing maintenance of over 500 ADS-B ground- cise information in four specific areas. In addition to details about
based transceivers across the United States. In a break with the State regulations and the oversight of MPL licences, the forms
past, the FAA will not own and operate the surveillance system; request information on each MPL training programme offered
its sole commitment, along with the operators that will benefit by an approved training organization, the performance of each
from the system, will be to pay for the service. Yet another exam- trainee, and the initial operational evaluation of each MPL holder.
ple of this trend was the FAA’s transfer of the staffing and opera- The identity of individual trainees will be protected by designat-
tion of many of its airport control towers and its general aviation ing an identification number for tracking individual records for
flight service briefing activity to the industry. the purpose of analysis.
NUMBER 3, 2007 33
ICAO anticipates receiving information on State regulations ICAO phraseology have misunderstood “taxi to holding posi-
and oversight of MPL licences by October 2007. The evaluation tion” as meaning “taxi to position and hold,” and proceeded to
of other MPL data is expected to commence in late 2008. ■ line up on the runway. These similarities in phraseology have
the potential for catastrophic consequences.
Report analysis. The decision by the pilot of the Cessna 172
Incident report to take off after being instructed to taxi to position on the run-
continued from page 19 way, and the manner in which ATC and administrative proce-
dures are applied at the Quebec tower, played a significant role
pilot or a pilot with little experience; in the risk of collision.
• the low probability that an air safety investigation would Given that the controller was transmitting on the ground and air
be initiated; frequencies before the Airbus A320 took off, the pilots of both air-
• air safety had not been compromised; and craft were able to hear what was being said to the other aircraft. In
• listening to ATS tapes might reveal errors of phraseology. reality, the Airbus A320 crew was not aware that the Cessna 172
Confusion over similar phraseologies. The investigation identified was on Runway 30, and the pilot of the Cessna was not aware that
similarities between the phraseology used by controllers in Canada the A320 had been cleared for take-off on Runway 24. Since the
and the United States to clear an aircraft onto a runway to hold or captain of the Airbus and the Cessna pilot were bilingual, the use
wait, and the ICAO phraseology used to clear an aircraft to hold of both English and French by ATC did not contribute to their fail-
short of a runway. Although this issue was not shown to have played ure to be aware of the situation. They were either inattentive to
a role in this occurrence, these similarities in phraseology have the external communications or preoccupied with piloting tasks. In
potential to degrade the safety of the air transport system. The use any event, even if they had known that the Cessna 172 was on
of the word “position” in Canada and the United States is associated Runway 30, the A320 crew could not anticipate the unexpected
with a position on a runway, whereas the same word in ICAO take-off of the Cessna. For his part, the Cessna pilot would not
phraseology indicates a holding position short of the runway. have taken off if he had been aware that another aircraft had been
North American crews operating in parts of the world where cleared for take-off on the crossing runway.
ICAO phraseology is used may confuse the term “taxi to hold- When the controller realized that the Cessna 172 had taken
ing position” with “taxi to position.” This confusion could result off without clearance, he immediately attempted to contact first
in a crew taxiing onto an active runway when they had been ACA513, then the Cessna 172. Since the transmit function had
cleared to a point short of the runway. In a letter dated 25 April been disabled by the controller, the aircraft could not receive
2003, ICAO stated that flight crews from States unfamiliar with his instructions. The stress generated by the suddenness of the
34 ICAO JOURNAL
occurrence likely diminished the controller’s effectiveness in The general picture to emerge from the study is that explic-
responding properly to the emergency. It is possible that the it, joint safety objectives have not been formulated at the air-
lack of simulation of emergency situations and equipment fail- ports studied, although there is consultation across the indus-
ures in ongoing training contributed to his inability to solve the try and more or less coordinated safety actions are undertaken
problem he was confronted with. It was the vigilance of the at all airports.
Airbus A320 captain and his effective management of an emer- At one airport studied, a start has been made to strengthen
gency situation that prevented the situation from getting worse. joint safety management by adopting common safety objec-
Although the controller, who was also the duty supervisor at the tives. The airport operator is the driving force behind this initia-
time of the incident, had the authority to combine control positions tive because it recognizes that it can achieve its own strategic
and authorize controller breaks, his management of the work goal of zero serious injuries only by working with other stake-
schedule contributed to the incident. Sufficient tower staff (count- holders. By means of consultation, and through the stipulation
ing the supervisor) was available to operate both control positions of safety measures in contracts, the airport operator has been
separately. Had the ground position not been combined with the encouraging other parties to adopt its own safety goals.
air position, the air controller would not have deactivated the trans- As mentioned above, all of the airports provide for consulta-
mit button of the air frequency in an effort to solve a problem tion and shared decision-making regarding any safety issues
thought to originate with interference between the airport and facing the airport community. At some airports, specific com-
ground control frequencies. The aerodrome/ground controller’s mittees have been designated to focus solely on safety, and at
intervention to stop the Cessna from continuing its take-off roll others safety matters are discussed in more general forums.
would most likely have been successful. The most common form of consultation takes the form of run-
Investigation findings. The report presented three findings way committees and ramp or apron committees. These bodies
as to causes and contributing factors: typically meet monthly or sometimes quarterly to discuss opera-
1. The Cessna 172 took off without clearance from Runway 30, tional matters that have come up, including safety concerns. In
causing a risk of collision with the Airbus A320. most cases, the committees are attended by the local operational
2. The controller instructed the Cessna 172 to taxi to position on managers of the parties concerned, or their delegates.
Runway 30, but did not instruct it to wait and did not advise that At most airports union representatives participate in the
the Airbus A320 was taking off on Runway 24. The controller did committee meetings so that they can be involved in any deci-
not anticipate that the Cessna 172 might take off without clear- sion-making from the outset. This participation is valuable, as
ance, causing a risk of collision with the Airbus A320. early involvement of the union helps prevent labour disputes
3. Given that the controller deactivated the transmit button for from arising. In addition to local consultative bodies on aviation
the air frequency, neither the Airbus A320 nor the Cessna 172 industry safety, in some cases there also exist national forums;
could hear the controller’s instructions to abort take-off. however, specific consultation on safety from a strategic per-
The investigation resulted in the following findings as to risk: spective appears to be rare at any level.
1. The ATC Manual of Operations does not clearly define crite- Most of the joint safety actions formulated and carried out at
ria for numbering aircraft in the departure sequence. the airports studied are of an operational nature. The officials
2. Some controllers in the Quebec tower misunderstood the interviewed agreed that the greater the strategic consequences
operation of some functions of the radio console. of actions for those affected, the harder it is to implement such
3. Canadian and U.S. phraseologies used to clear an aircraft onto a measures. The cost of taking action is often the biggest obsta-
runway are similar in wording to ICAO phraseology to hold an air- cle. For quite a long time the majority of the airports studied
craft short of a runway. Those similarities open the door to misinter- have been contemplating modifying their taxiway and runway
pretation by crews with potential for catastrophic consequences. systems to promote safety and maintain capacity, but a final
Other findings: solution is still not in sight.
1. The absence of simulation of emergency situations and equip- In most cases there is some form of joint safety monitoring
ment failures in ongoing training contributed to the controller’s through the exchanges of periodic safety reports. ATS entities
inability to solve the problem that he was confronted with. and airlines, in particular, exchange information systematical-
2. A review by the TSB of Nav Canada’s evaluations revealed ly at the corporate level. This information is always in aggre-
that the division responsible for Nav Canada’s evaluations did gate form, however. None of the organizations shares its raw
not realize that some controllers were not complying with stan- safety data or details of specific incidents, and none of those
dard practices and procedures. interviewed thought that exchanging raw data would have
Safety action taken. The report describes several safety added value.
actions taken by Nav Canada as a result of the incident. The While individual organizations perform their own analyses
complete final report, including safety action taken, is available and the outcomes are shared and discussed, there is still no
at the TSBC website (see box on page 18). ■ multidisciplinary, joint analysis of the information at the airport
level. Usually the airport operator is regarded as the logical col-
lector and manager of safety information for the entire airport
Airport safety systems community, a situation that requires airports to set up a system
continued from page 21
for the early detection of potential safety risks and to be pre-
as well as the manner in which this is accomplished. Joint safe- pared to take well considered action to manage these risks.
ty management concerns how well the airport and all other Risk analyses are performed by individual organizations at
stakeholders manage and improve safety together. virtually all of the airports. These analyses are generally limited
NUMBER 3, 2007 35
to those parts of the aviation process for which the specific ATB Director appointed
organization is responsible, and other parties, if necessary, are Folasade Odutola (Nigeria) has been
kept informed. An exception is risk analyses for runway incur- appointed Director of the ICAO Air
sions: these are performed in a multidisciplinary, collaborative Transport Bureau (ATB) for a four-year
manner, but no standardized methods of risk analysis are used. term. Ms. Odutola commenced her
The problem with this approach is that some part or another of duties on 7 May 2007.
the system is not subjected to risk analysis because no one feels Ms. Odutola holds a master’s degree
specifically responsible for it, or the party that is responsible does in air transport engineering from
not yet use risk analysis. This situation mainly presents itself at air- Cranfield University in the United
ports where the operator does not assume an overall responsibili- Kingdom, and a bachelor of science
ty for airport safety or treats safety as an operational issue. (honours) degree in aeronautical engi-
Folasade Odutola
The general picture that has emerged from the above find- neering from the University of Glasgow.
ings is that joint safety management is only partially realized A chartered engineer from the British Council of Engineers, she
at most of the airports studied. Joint decision-making takes has accumulated 30 years’experience in the field of civil avia-
place at the operational level, and collaborative action as well tion, including responsibilities at the executive level.
as safety monitoring is formulated primarily through the Prior to her appointment to ICAO, Ms. Odutola served from
exchange of information, but joint safety management at most January 2004 as the Rector/Chief Executive Officer of the
airports remains primarily reactive (see accompanying figure, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, an ab initio training
page 20). institute located in Lagos. She became head of the college
Although a collaborative proactive system has not yet been after serving in progressively responsible positions in Nigeria’s
implemented at the airports studied, there is a trend at one air- civil aviation regulatory system for over 20 years, culminating
port towards the establishment of a joint safety system with com- in her appointment as Director, Airworthiness and Operations
mon safety targets because of the development of strategic tar- Standards. During 2005-06 she chaired a task force on the
gets by the nationwide aviation industry. These strategic targets verification of the status of aircraft and the operational compe-
have compelled individual organizations to coordinate their safe- tencies of commercial aircraft operators in Nigeria.
ty decisions at the strategic level with the rest of the industry. Ms. Odutola has been involved in various air transport
Ambitious goals require these organizations to play a more cen- activities, including the handling of air transport licensing and
tral role in the improvement of joint safety management. commercial matters, and has participated in meetings con-
In summary, the study revealed that the more stakeholders cerning bilateral air service agreements. She is a Fellow of
become involved in the aviation process as a whole, the more the Royal Aeronautical Society.
likely they are to participate in a collaborative safety manage- Since commencing her career in 1977, Ms. Odutola has
ment system. A first step is to have a consultative structure in attended several technical and management courses covering
place at the airport, which makes it possible to formulate risk various topics such as air transport economics, performance
management measures at the tactical and strategic levels and enhancement, management for directors and chief executive
thus address safety systematically. officers, and the management of training courses. ■
At airports where the operator takes overall responsibility for
system safety, the elements of a joint safety management sys-
tem are the most elaborated. At these facilities, the operator has ICAO MEETINGS
set up a safety-monitoring system for the entire airport commu-
nity, covering all aviation activities. ASIA/PAC Air Navigation Planning and
Implementation Regional Group (APANPIRG/18)
The airport operator also plays a primary role in promoting a
3 – 7 September 2007, Bangkok
collective approach to safety issues. Driven by its strategic
interest, the operator develops tools to further improve safety, Airport Economics Panel (AEP/6)
thus pressuring its aviation partners to work safely. It may be 10 – 14 September 2007, Montreal
prompted to adopt a safety oversight system that covers avia- High-Level Meeting on a Comprehensive Regional
tion activities as well as occupational health and safety. Where Implementation Plan for Africa (AFI Plan)
contractual relationships permit, the airport operator can 17 September 2007, Montreal
require suppliers to adopt a systemic approach to safety. ICAO Assembly 36th Session (A36)
The civil aviation authority can help establish joint safety man- 18 – 28 September 2007, Montreal
agement by encouraging the airport operator to take overall
responsibility for airport safety as part of the airport certification Machine Readable Travel Documents
(MRTD/3) Symposium
process. Most operators view the certification process as a good
1 – 3 October 2007, Montreal
incentive to raise the level of their own safety organization.
For some, airport certification has been the primary reason AFI Planning and Implementation
to develop a safety management system, but for the leading air- Regional Group (APIRG/16)
port operators, it is nothing more than the next step in a 5 – 9 November 2007, Rwanda
process that is already initiated. For these airports, certification Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP/21)
can be an extra push in the direction of a risk-oriented and 5 – 16 November 2007, Montreal
proactive joint safety management system. ■
36 ICAO JOURNAL
IN THE
SPOTLIGHT ...
VOLCANO WATCH
The third meeting of the International Airways Volcano Watch Operations
Group (IAVWOPSG) was held at the ICAO Asia/Pacific Office in Bangkok
from 19 to 23 March 2007. The meeting, which was attended by 18
experts from seven States that host volcanic ash advisory centres as well
SECURITY WORKSHOPS as by relevant organizations, reviewed IAVW-related provisions in ICAO
An airport security workshop was held at ICAO headquarters from Annex 3 and in air navigation plans. In addition to addressing a number
16 to 20 April 2007. The workshop, whose participants are pictured of issues related to the operation, implementation and future of the
above, was designed to provide States with the necessary training and IAVW, the IAVWOPSG agreed on the need to evaluate the feasibility of
tools in order to develop and implement airport security programmes at rationalizing the issuance of volcanic ash advisories and warnings in
the international and domestic levels. Another security-related workshop, order to increase system efficiency and promote safety.
focused on national quality control, was held at ICAO headquarters
from 28 May to 1 June. It attracted participants from Botswana, Ghana,
Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Romania and Zimbabwe.
DEPOSIT BY BELGIUM
Belgium deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention FRANCE BESTOWS TITLE ON FORMER COUNCIL PRESIDENT
on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection during Dr. Assad Kotaite, President Emeritus of the ICAO Council, has been named
a brief ceremony at ICAO headquarters on 16 April 2007, bringing by France “Grand Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite,” one of the highest
the total number of parties to the Convention, in force since 1998, French orders, in recognition of his eminent services to ICAO and to
to 132. Shown on the occasion are Godelieve Van den Bergh, Consul international civil aviation. The presentation was made by Jean-Christophe
General of Belgium in Montreal, and Denys Wibaux, Director of the Chouvet, the Representative of France on the Council of ICAO (at right),
ICAO Legal Bureau. in a ceremony at ICAO headquarters recently. At left is Monique Kotaite,
the former Council President’s wife.
#LEAR SKIES AHEAD
www.ceia.net/emd