NATCA Says It Can Help Make It Work, But Rebuffed By
Agency
The FAA experienced some difficulty during a recent test of
its NextGen Air Traffic Control system at Salt Lake Center. NATCA,
the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, says the test was
rushed, and that the FAA needs to enlist the help of the
controllers union to bring the system online.
According to a NATCA news release, the system held its own
during light traffic on the overnight shift, but failed when
traffic volume picked up later in the morning. NATCA says its
controllers managed to prevent bigger problems, but that the FAA
has inadequately trained them on both the primary and backup
NextGen computer systems.
Called En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), the system
promises greater flexibility, a better system for controllers and
the arrival of a new "brain" for the National Airspace System that
will form a cornerstone of the FAA's Next Generation Air
Transportation System. But NATCA says the system is buggy, and that
the controllers tasked with using it do not have confidence in the
system.
When ERAM eventually failed during the test on Saturday morning,
the backup system that kicked in caused serious problems of its
own. Controllers say they witnessed the loss of information about
the aircraft they were handling on their radar scopes, forcing them
to ask aircraft, basically, "who are you and where are you going?"
NATCA says the effect of this loss of information was felt at every
FAA terminal radar facility that handles flights within the larger
"umbrella" of Salt Lake Center's airspace, which extends from the
Canadian border south to almost the Arizona border, east into
central Wyoming and west into central Nevada.
Additionally, the computer problems caused some flight delays.
Salt Lake Center had controllers at Salt Lake TRACON (Terminal
Radar Approach Control) stop all departures that would have needed
to be worked by Salt Lake Center when they reached higher
altitudes, incurring about two dozen delays from Salt Lake City
International Airport. And each of the five regional en route
centers that border Salt Lake Center felt the effect and were given
restrictions that forced them to move aircraft off of their filed
route of flight. For example, this included flights headed west
into both Las Vegas and Los Angeles (LAX), as worked by Denver
Center.
NATCA says the problems could have been averted, and still can
be before the next test, if the FAA includes NATCA in the process
and works with the union to formulate a plan for training and
contingencies. They were not specific about how that would be
accomplished. The union says that the FAA refuses to work with them
on the issue. "The FAA has been stubbornly unwilling to
collaborate with NATCA in this project's development. And now, the
FAA is finding out it is unable to successfully test and deploy
this critical new computer system without the involvement of
NATCA," said NATCA Northwest Mountain Regional Vice President Jim
Ullmann. "They have rushed forward to meet artificial deadlines
without being fully ready for this challenge. NATCA stands ready,
willing and able, as always, to help implement this system safely
and effectively. All the FAA has to do is allow that to happen. We
demand modernization that works and is safe."
NATCA is calling on the FAA to stop any further testing of ERAM
on live traffic until both parties can reach an agreement on how to
formally collaborate on this project, and gain the critical
involvement and confidence of the controllers responsible for using
this system to ensure the safety of the flying public.
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