Complaints Mounting Since Lockheed Took Over FSS
Long hold times.
Disconnects. Lost flight plans. That certainly doesn't sound like
the flight service system of the future... but the Aircraft Owners
and Pilots Association says, except for isolated areas, that has
been the present state of affairs.
AOPA reports pilots in some locations may experience problems as
Lockheed Martin and the FAA consolidate and modernize the flight
service station (FSS) system. In the meantime, the pilot advocacy
group has been taking member complaints directly to Lockheed for
answers.
"This is not the level of service pilots expect," said Andy
Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs, during
a meeting with company officials on May 3. "Lockheed and the FAA
must live up to the standards they set."
Many of the problems are due to computer glitches. On the
afternoon of April 29, for instance, a Lockheed server crashed --
shutting down all three data centers or hub stations for seven
minutes. A backup system didn't activate, which meant it had to be
started manually, causing a bigger delay. Lockheed says that
problem has been fixed.
Software glitches also resulted in lost flight plans and other
problems. The company says those problems have been taken care of,
too.
Because of all the computer problems, Lockheed has been using
the FAA's backup system in addition to its new, much-touted "FS21"
system. This means the briefer has to enter information twice,
creating longer briefing and hold times.
Still, there are human factors to consider as part of the
transformation. Fifty-eight of the 61 stations (Alaska keeps its
present three) are being consolidated into the hubs at Leesburg,
VA; Fort Worth, TX; and Prescott, AZ. There will be 17 satellite
stations throughout the country.
Before each facility is closed, half of the flight service
specialists leave for two weeks of training. Once a facility does
close, the other half go in for training. This means four weeks of
localized disruption where you might experience longer hold times
or calls being routed to distant stations.
There is also a learning curve with the new system. So far, 402
specialists out of 1,040 have been trained on the new system; all
training is expected to be completed in August, reports AOPA.
Lockheed says it still has 44 stations to consolidate and bring
into the hub system. Although it's occurring rapidly and on
schedule, it's not happening in a geographically uniform way.
Instead of having a call transferred to the next closest station,
it goes to the next available briefer who might be all the way
across the country.
Lockheed plans to have all the stations connected to the hubs
and running FS21 by July, which AOPA says should provide an overall
improvement in quality. In the meantime, AOPA recommends pilots who
experience problems with Lockheed's service to report it on the
company's website (at the FMI link below.)