"Hazardous weather is a leading cause of aviation accidents-with more than 100 general aviation fatalities per year due to weather." - Federal Aviation Administration’s ARA NEWS Bulletin Board.
Movement of aircraft through the air creates the force that makes planes fly. Changes in weather conditions (winds, temperature, moisture, etc.) have significant effects on aircraft performance, regardless of aircraft size. Some changes are extremely hazardous and should be avoided at all costs.
Air Traffic Controllers, working in Flight Service Stations (FSS), compile and interpret vast amounts of data and charts daily, to provide detailed weather briefings to pilots both before and during flights, helping them avoid or escape hazardous weather situations.
Over the last 10 years, as aviation travel increased, the FAA deliberately allowed FSS staffing levels to decrease to what has now become critical levels; at the same time, recklessly promoting self-serve briefing. Pilots are forced, because of a lack of Controllers, to wade through pages of encoded weather and aeronautical data to brief themselves. To become proficient at interpreting weather data, takes training, experience and continued exposure. A Controller, who does not work for a month, is required to be recertified before being allowed to provide service to the public.
For years, FSS Controllers, tasked with monitoring weather patterns and movement, were available, via radio and telephone, to quickly provide safe options to pilots, in diverse situations. Without doubting the dedication and skill of pilots, one must question the wisdom of adding yet another distraction to their primary responsibility, that of safely piloting their aircraft. When an aircraft encounters hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions is not the time to require pilots to analyze and interpret pages of data looking for a safe option.
The FAA needs to quickly rebuild and maintain a strong well-staffed workforce of Controllers with the skills needed by the pilots to ensure the safety of the flying public. If they do not, the sheer weight of demand will outstrip the supply and weather related accidents will claim increasing numbers of lives.
For information on NAATS or to contact our Officers by email, visit https://www.naats.org
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