LOOP News

11 JUL 07: 'TRANSPONDERS MAKE AIRSPACE SAFER'

THE CAA and NATS have been busy trying to convince UK pilots that flying outside controlled airspace could be safer by making better use of transponders.

The CAA says a new procedure by NATS allocates transponder codes to aircraft receiving an air traffic service from 'London Information'. Although the Flight Information Service Officers providing the service have no radar, the unique code allocated can be seen by other radar controllers and tells them that the aircraft in question is currently on the London Information frequency.

This enables controllers to pass any relevant safety information to the aircraft, such as warnings of impending airspace infringements or navigational advice and assistance if an infringement has occurred.
Since the procedure started last November, 11 potential airspace infringements have been prevented by the new system and seven actual airspace infringements have been more speedily resolved, claims the CAA.

Steve McKie, NATS Division of Safety, said: "In each of these cases a potentially serious incident has been averted by a radar controller spotting the risk and contacting the Flight Information Service Officer. They have then passed the information on to the pilot, enabling appropriate action to be taken to avoid the infringement or to clear controlled airspace in the safest manner.

A separate survey by NATS at Glasgow showed that over 40% of aircraft receiving a service were displaying no Mode C transponder information.

Phil Roberts, chair of the CAA's Airspace Infringements Working Group, said: "The London Information procedure clearly shows the safety benefit in selecting Mode C on a transponder if it is available. Unfortunately the data from Glasgow shows that many pilots are simply not doing so.
"There is no justifiable reason for not selecting Mode C when it is available. A commercial aircraft's collision avoidance system will provide a significantly enhanced separation if it receives Mode C data and the extra information available on a controller's radar screen may allow them to prevent a serious incident.
"Fears that the CAA will use Mode C data to prosecute any infringing pilot are simply misplaced and the statistical data shows this clearly."
W: www.caa.co.uk

RT GUIDE
A QUICK reference guide for commercial pilots on radiotelephony (RTF) phraseology has been released by the CAA and NATS.

Karen Skinner, a safety expert at NATS, said: "Established protocols and standard phraseology are designed to protect against communication errors. Good RTF discipline is a significant factor in enhancing safety in our skies."

The guide is available as a printed checklist and also online as an interactive version. It provides details of the exact phraseology to be used by pilots throughout all stages of a flight - from start-up to approach and landing. A separate section deals with emergency communications.
Further versions of the document are planned to address the needs of airside drivers and General Aviation pilots.
W: www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413Supplement.pdf

CHART UPDATES
A FREE internet newsfeed of VFR Chart updates is available from the CAA website. It includes information on all chart amendments, including changes to frequencies, aerodrome details, obstacles, navigation aids, airspace boundaries and Visual Reference Points.

The CAA VFR charts website will continue to list all the changes and also contains numerous other resources. These include information on chart publication dates and stockists, a VFR Guide, a number of downloadable VFR Guide supplements, generic printable VFR legends for both the 1:500,000 and the 1:250,000, a What's New and an FAQs section, a user feedback facility, a VRP co-ordinate data file and pdf versions of Type A and PATC charts.
W: www.caa.co.uk/charts

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11 JUL 07: 'TRANSPONDERS MAKE AIRSPACE SAFER'