ATC

The FAA is soliciting designs for control towers at regional and municipal airports that will answer the need for sustainable aviation solutions. “For communities large and small, the air traffic control tower is an icon. We want architects and engineers from every corner of the country to help build the safe and sustainable towers of […]

“In instrument training, if you’re not doing something, you’re missing something,” Chris said. Chris was my new instructor, assigned to me for my instrument training. I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, until one quiet night we were flying along, and the instructions from the air traffic controller, who called out numbers like […]

Alaska Airlines and Airspace Intelligence have signed a multi-year contract for a “first-of-its-kind partnership to optimize air traffic flow using artificial intelligence and machine learning.” In a news release, Alaska Airlines said the partnership will use, “Flyways AI … that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to assist dispatchers in making flight operations more […]

On May 23, 2021, a scheduled Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, was diverted as it transitioned the airspace over Belarus, and instructed to land at Minsk. Belarus’ air traffic control informed the pilots of a bomb threat—the purported reason for the diversion, though the flight was quite near its destination already—yet once […]

The Canadian Air Traffic Control Association (CATCA), the union representing all Canadian air traffic controllers in the country, recently raised serious public safety concerns that could result from the anticipated control tower closures and service reductions being suggested in an ongoing NAV Canada system review. CATCA said in a news release, “Despite prior assurances from […]

When new student pilots first begin training, one task that can cause trouble is speaking to air traffic control over the radio. It takes practice and experience to learn the specific phraseology used on aviation communication frequencies, and many students can experience “mic fright” when it comes time to answer ATC instructions or properly communicate […]

The media team at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, first reported the story of how a civilian air traffic controller—Wendy Smith—working in Kirtland Tower saved the six-person flight crew of an Air Force CV-22, and avoided a $90 million accident. Cassidy is a 12-year veteran controller at Kirtland. “They were taking off on a […]

Based on the demands of the current marketplace—as in much reduced air traffic as a result of the worldwide pandemic—Nav Canada is considering reducing the number of air traffic controllers it employs at a handful of locations. In a news release, Nav Canada referred to the review as a method to “streamline the nation’s ATC […]

All too often, pilots think air traffic controllers are just voices in their headset handing out instructions designed to keep them separated from other nearby aircraft—and also to annoy them, some pilots might add. But when pilots fly themselves into danger, or find themselves in charge of a malfunctioning airplane, grabbing the mic and calling […]

A court in the Russian Federation recently handed down prison sentences of between five and six years to three air traffic controllers for their roles in an October 2014 accident at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. The court said the controllers violated Russian safety rules for transportation by allowing a Falcon 50 to strike a snowplow during […]