Eurocontrol Starts New Air-Ground Communications Safety Initiatives

Eurocontrol, together with a number of industry stakeholders, has launched a series of new initiatives meant to reduce the incidents of improper voice communication usage by pilots and controllers in an effort to increase safety.

The initiatives address a range of communications issues that contribute to hazardous situations, including runway incursions, altitude "busts" (going through a cleared to flight level), call-sign confusion, undetected simultaneous transmissions, radio interference, improper phraseology, and prolonged loss of communications.

As a part of the effort, in the next few months, European national authorities will began regular flight crew proficiency checks that cover air-ground communications safety issues, and monitor the adherence by both flight crews and air traffic controllers to ICAO standard phraseology, procedures and best practices.  The Implementation of this activity will continue over the coming year and a half, and should be in place at all pertinent venues by the end of 2007.

The group has prepared a very comprehensive list of recommendations as part of its overall report: "European Action Plan for Air Ground Communications Safety," one of which was to adopt the use of CPDLC (controller-pilot datalink technology).

Besides Eurocontrol, other prominent members of the group include the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) and the European Regional Airlines Association (ERA).  05-24-2006.

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