Inherently
Governmental

If a Government can claim any mandate, it is the mandate to protect the SAFETY and SECURITY of its citizens.

What Is Inherently Governmental?

An "inherently governmental function" is a function that is so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by Government employees.

SAFETY & SECURITY for SALE!!

The FAA is preparing to sell Aviation SAFETY & SECURITY to the lowest bidder.

Their bottom line: �Who can do the job cheaper?�

The FAA has decided Flight Service functions are not inherently governmental.

Flight Service Functions.

Weather

NOTAMs (Notices
to Airmen)

Emergency Services/Search & Rescue

Security

Weather Functions

Gather, interpret and relay critical weather information to pilots.

Provide recommendations and alternatives to ensure a safe flight.

Monitor changing conditions and provide up-to-the-minute weather to airborne aircraft.

Collect and disseminate Pilot weather reports.

Work with National Weather Service to update weather forecasts.

Notices to Airmen.

Compile, formulate and disseminate NOTAMs.

Relay information on:

Critical outages.

Airspace restrictions.

Airport/runway closures.

Procedural changes.

Service changes.

Emergency Services.

Provide assistance to pilots in trouble. (Lost, hazardous weather, equipment failures, etc.).

Initiate search and rescue procedures for overdue or missing aircraft.

Provide services to air ambulance flights.

Work with local authorities to expedite rescue operations.

Security.

Advise pilots of military training activity

Assist pilots avoid security sensitive areas

Assist the military:

Flight planning

Weather

Assist DEA with flight tracking

Who Benefits?

Primarily: Pilots and Crew.

Secondly: Passengers and Cargo , ensuring their SAFETY & SECURITY.

Thirdly: Citizens living and working beneath the flight path.

Comparison.

Like the fire department protects homes surrounding a fire, Flight Service protects the public from weather related accidents.

Ensuring pilots overhead are able to avoid hazardous weather.

To Contract Or Not To Contract?

A Contract employee OR a Government employee can be dedicated.

Difference is the employer.

Employees can only perform with the tools provided.

Like the Post Office, a Contract Flight Service would be a monopoly looking to make a profit.

The Employers � Driving Forces

Government

Funded from taxes

Driven by safety

Congressional Oversight

Answerable to the Taxpayer

Contractor

Paid for services

Driven by profits

BOD Oversight

Answerable to the Investors

Funding

Fee for service works at gas stations but, in aviation, the alternative to getting service can be disastrous.

Even with the present system, weather continues to be the single largest contributing factor to aviation accidents.

User fees would cause more pilots to fly with incomplete information.

Profits

Government seeks to do the job with minimum risk to safety.

Contractor must balance �acceptable risk�� against profits � �Risk/Benefit Analysis.�

Combining positions to save salaries.

Inferior equipment to save expenses.

Consolidate facilities to save overhead.

Oversight

FAA is overseen by Congress - answers to the taxpayers.

Contractor - answers to its investors, who are in it to make money.

If a contractor loses money, services will be cut and fees will be raised to satisfy investors.

Foreign Examples

Airservices Australia � Controllers went on strike because of:

Poor working conditions

Unsafe scheduling

Low wages

National Air Transport Services, Great Britain � Requesting additional funds from Parliament

Increased user fees

Foreign Examples Cont�.

NavCanada.

Closing Flight Service Station at Buttonville Airport, Toronto, Ontario, Canada�s busiest GA airport.

�It is cheaper to operate out of London Ontario.

Australian Service

Weather briefings are automated and provided by zones. Pilots indicate which zones they will fly through and receive an automated briefing for each zone.
No human discussion available

European Service

Europe � Weather briefings limited to country of origin and weather radar not available for surrounding countries. Service provided over a system similar to our 900 services at a rate of $3-4 per minute.

Canadian Service

Canada � The latest to switch to a contract service, is slowly being whittled away as NavCanada seeks to lower costs and increase profits.

Foreign Pilot�s Recommendation!

Pilots from all three areas say �Don�t do it in the US�

Only the rich fly private planes in Europe

Students come to the U.S. to learn to fly because it is affordable

Recreational pilots come to the U.S. to fly because it�s affordable

ATC Privatization Will Hurt GA

Safety will suffer for profits.

Accident rates will increase.

Insurance costs will rise.

Cost for services will rise.

GA WILL SUFFER.

Has the FAA Helped GA?

Consolidation?

Limited access to face-to-face briefing.

Reduced FS Controllers from over 4000 in the late �70�s to less than 2400 today.

Increased areas of responsibility so less specific area knowledge.

Short staffing = longer delays.

FAA�s solution? No Help!

More Failures�.

AWOS/ASOS

Less information than human observations.

Paying for augmentation because the machine is not sufficient for �busy� airports.

�Looks� straight up for the ceiling and at an 18 inch �tube� of air for visibility.

FAA�s solution? No Help!

More Failures Cont�.

NOTAM�s

The limitations of the NOTAM system have been obvious for years - no solution in sight.

Too much data with limited sorting capability.

A single brief (DEN-ORD) can include 55+ pages of NOTAM�s (Model 1 holds 55 pages)

TFR�s often vague and poorly defined.

FAA�s solution? No Help!

Still More Failures�

SUA/ISE � Inflight Service Enhancement.

FSS Controllers not given access to radar data showing aircraft location in relation to weather.

The technology is available to allow Flight Watch to give precise headings to avoid hazardous weather, yet the FAA is dragging their heels in providing the equipment.

FAA�s solution? No Help!

And more�..

OASIS � FSS Computer upgrades.

Model 1 became unsupportable in the mid to late �90

OASIS is presently installed in two facilities and is working fine.

The last installation is not scheduled until 2005 at the earliest. (Budget cuts will cause delays.)

FAA�s solution? No Help!

The FAA�s the Solution?

The FAA would like to sell it all to a private contractor.

Put your Safety & Security in the hands of the lowest bidder.

Instead of addressing the
problem, we�ll pay a
contractor to take it away.

The ostrich approach to
fixing the system.

What Do You Want?

Let your representatives know that Aviation Safety and Security ARE inherently governmental.

Let the FAA and Congress know that they can�t sell GA to the lowest bidder.

Tell Congress to make the FAA responsive to ALL the users� needs � not just the air carriers�.

Flight Service Is There for YOU

Only you can keep it there.

Contact your representatives and let them know what you want.

www.congress.com will give you names, email and regular mail addresses for your representatives, based on your zip code.

It�s up to YOU!

What Can You Do?

Contact the White House

Contact Congress

Contact AOPA

Contact the FAA

Contact your State DOT

How Can I Support Aviation Safety & Security

Tell the FAA what you think about this idea.

It hasn�t worked elsewhere, we don�t want it here.

Support Aviation
Safety & Security

Tell your State DOT, Congress, and the White House, �Aviation Safety and Security are NOT for sale in the U.S.�

Stop the A76 Study.

Declare all Air Traffic Control Functions Inherently Governmental.

Fully fund much needed OASIS equipment.

Staff AFSS facilities to meet demand.

Support Aviation
Safety & Security

Tell AOPA

To fight the sale

--

They represent

YOU.

Brought to You By:

National Association of Air Traffic Specialists

Representing the Air Traffic Controllers
of Flight Service

www.naats.org

www.congress.com
For political addresses/ fax/email information


	If a Government can claim any mandate, it is the mandate to protect the SAFETY and SECURITY of its citizens.


	An "inherently governmental function" is a function that is so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by Government employees.


	The FAA is preparing to sell Aviation SAFETY & SECURITY to the lowest bidder.
	Their bottom line: �Who can do the job cheaper?�
	The FAA has decided Flight Service functions are not inherently governmental.


	Weather
	NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen)
	Emergency Services/Search & Rescue
	Security


	Gather, interpret and relay critical weather information to pilots.
	Provide recommendations and alternatives to ensure a safe flight.
	Monitor changing conditions and provide up-to-the-minute weather to airborne aircraft.
	Collect and disseminate Pilot weather reports.
	Work with National Weather Service to update weather forecasts.


	Compile, formulate and disseminate NOTAMs.
	Relay information on:
		Critical outages.
		Airspace restrictions.
		Airport/runway closures.
		Procedural changes.
		Service changes.


	Provide assistance to pilots in trouble. (Lost, hazardous weather, equipment failures, etc.).
	Initiate search and rescue procedures for overdue or missing aircraft.
	Provide services to air ambulance flights.
	Work with local authorities to expedite rescue operations.


	Advise pilots of military training activity
	Assist pilots avoid security sensitive areas
	Assist the military:
		Flight planning
		Weather
	Assist DEA with flight tracking


	Primarily: Pilots and Crew.
	Secondly: Passengers and Cargo , ensuring their SAFETY & SECURITY.
	Thirdly: Citizens living and working beneath the flight path.


	Like the fire department protects homes surrounding a fire, Flight Service protects the public from weather related accidents.
	Ensuring pilots overhead are able to avoid hazardous weather.


	A Contract employee OR a Government employee can be dedicated.
	Difference is the employer.
	Employees can only perform with the tools provided.
	Like the Post Office, a Contract Flight Service would be a monopoly looking to make a profit.


	Government
		Funded from taxes
		Driven by safety
		Congressional Oversight
		Answerable to the Taxpayer
	Contractor
		Paid for services
		Driven by profits
		BOD Oversight
		Answerable to the Investors


	Fee for service works at gas stations but, in aviation, the alternative to getting service can be disastrous.
	Even with the present system, weather continues to be the single largest contributing factor to aviation accidents.
	User fees would cause more pilots to fly with incomplete information.


	Government seeks to do the job with minimum risk to safety.
	Contractor must balance �acceptable risk�� against profits � �Risk/Benefit Analysis.�
		Combining positions to save salaries.
		Inferior equipment to save expenses.
		Consolidate facilities to save overhead.


	FAA is overseen by Congress - answers to the taxpayers.
	Contractor - answers to its investors, who are in it to make money.
	If a contractor loses money, services will be cut and fees will be raised to satisfy investors.


	Airservices Australia � Controllers went on strike because of:
		Poor working conditions
		Unsafe scheduling
		Low wages
	National Air Transport Services, Great Britain � Requesting additional funds from Parliament
		Increased user fees


	NavCanada.
		Closing Flight Service Station at Buttonville Airport, Toronto, Ontario, Canada�s busiest GA airport.
		�It is cheaper to operate out of London Ontario.


	Weather briefings are automated and provided by zones. Pilots indicate which zones they will fly through and receive an automated briefing for each zone. No human discussion available


	Europe � Weather briefings limited to country of origin and weather radar not available for surrounding countries. Service provided over a system similar to our 900 services at a rate of $3-4 per minute.


	Canada � The latest to switch to a contract service, is slowly being whittled away as NavCanada seeks to lower costs and increase profits.


	Pilots from all three areas say �Don�t do it in the US�
	Only the rich fly private planes in Europe
	Students come to the U.S. to learn to fly because it is affordable
	Recreational pilots come to the U.S. to fly because it�s affordable


	Safety will suffer for profits.
	Accident rates will increase.
	Insurance costs will rise.
	Cost for services will rise.
	GA WILL SUFFER.


	Consolidation?
		Limited access to face-to-face briefing.
		Reduced FS Controllers from over 4000 in the late �70�s to less than 2400 today.
		Increased areas of responsibility so less specific area knowledge.
		Short staffing = longer delays.
	FAA�s solution? No Help!


	AWOS/ASOS
		Less information than human observations.
		Paying for augmentation because the machine is not sufficient for �busy� airports.
		�Looks� straight up for the ceiling and at an 18 inch �tube� of air for visibility.
	FAA�s solution? No Help!


	NOTAM�s
		The limitations of the NOTAM system have been obvious for years - no solution in sight.
		Too much data with limited sorting capability.
		A single brief (DEN-ORD) can include 55+ pages of NOTAM�s (Model 1 holds 55 pages)
		TFR�s often vague and poorly defined.
	FAA�s solution? No Help!


	SUA/ISE � Inflight Service Enhancement.
		FSS Controllers not given access to radar data showing aircraft location in relation to weather.
		The technology is available to allow Flight Watch to give precise headings to avoid hazardous weather, yet the FAA is dragging their heels in providing the equipment.
	FAA�s solution? No Help!


	OASIS � FSS Computer upgrades.
		Model 1 became unsupportable in the mid to late �90
		OASIS is presently installed in two facilities and is working fine.
		The last installation is not scheduled until 2005 at the earliest. (Budget cuts will cause delays.)
	FAA�s solution? No Help!


	The FAA would like to sell it all to a private contractor.
	Put your Safety & Security in the hands of the lowest bidder.
	Instead of addressing the problem, we�ll pay a contractor to take it away.
	The ostrich approach to fixing the system.


	Let your representatives know that Aviation Safety and Security ARE inherently governmental.
	Let the FAA and Congress know that they can�t sell GA to the lowest bidder.
	Tell Congress to make the FAA responsive to ALL the users� needs � not just the air carriers�.


	Only you can keep it there.
	Contact your representatives and let them know what you want.
	www.congress.com will give you names, email and regular mail addresses for your representatives, based on your zip code.
	It�s up to YOU!