The NAS, facts and fantasies
Just the facts, Maam :
FACT : The sky is very large.
FACT : Aircraft are very small (compared to the size of the sky).
FACT : The random chance of a mid-air collision decreases with the
cube of the distance away from the airport.
FACT : The
primary mid-air collision risk mitigator in the enroute environment is the :
Big Sky Theory
NB : Whether or not a pilot maintains a vigilant look-out has no bearing on any of the above factors.
NB : Whether or not a pilot listens to a particular air traffic control radio frequency has no bearing on any of the above factors.
NB : Whether or not a pilot talks on a particular air traffic control radio frequency has no bearing on any of the above factors.
NB : Whether or not an aircraft has TCAS or ADSB fitted has no bearing on any of the above factors.
FACT : In order to further reduce the chance of a mid-air collision airline aircraft are required by regulation to be fitted with TCAS II.
FACT : TCAS II systems are commercially available to anyone who wants one.
FACT : VFR aircraft in class E airspace are required by regulation to carry
and use an altitude-encoding transponder so that they are conspicuous to TCAS equipped aircraft.
FACT : TCAS equipped aircraft are aware of the position of nearby transponding aircraft.
NB : Whether or not a piece of airspace is within any kind of air traffic control radar coverage has no bearing on any of the above factors.
NB : Whether or not a third-party air traffic control service is aware of the position of VFR traffic has no bearing on any of the above factors.
FACT : VFR aircraft have been flying unannounced in class G airspace since the AMATS changes of 1991 – in many places sharing the airspace with airline aircraft.
FACT : For over a decade IFR aircraft in class G airspace have not been given traffic information on VFR aircraft, and VFR aircraft in class G airspace have not been given traffic information on other VFR aircraft.
FACT : Since the AMATS changes of 1991 there have been
zero mid-air collisions in the enroute environment. (Despite the dire predictions of the flight service officers’ trade union at the time.)
FACT : In areas of high traffic density (like the terminal area around an airport) it’s important that
pilots know where the other aircraft are.
FACT : TCAS and ADSB allow the
pilots to know where the other aircraft are.
FACT : It is very easy for pilots in the terminal area near to an airport to avoid a mid-air collision by using a combination of the airport traffic radio frequency, TCAS, and looking out the window.
FACT : Pilots have been required by regulation to look out the window in order to avoid a mid-air collision for many decades : Refer
CAR 163A.
FACT : Whether or not a third-party air traffic control service knows where the aircraft are is largely irrelevant as long as the
pilots know where the aircraft are.
Here’s a few popular fantasies :
FANTASY : See and avoid is the
primary means of avoiding a mid-air collision in the enroute environment.
NB : The
Big Sky Theory is the
primary risk mitigator with TCAS the secondary risk mitigator.
FANTASY : There is a class of airspace known as
“commercial airspace”.
FANTASY : The companies that operate RPT flights
own the sky, and in particular the
“commercial airspace”.
FANTASY : Australia would be a better place if all the airspace was class A.
FANTASY : The RPT pilot unions represent the interests of airline passengers.
FANTASY : The RPT pilot unions have a mandate to speak on behalf of airline passengers.
FANTASY : Someone on the ground must always know where all the planes are.
FANTASY : An aircraft cannot fly safely if it is outside air traffic control radar coverage.
FANTASY : An aircraft cannot fly safely unless the pilot is in radio contact with air traffic control.
FANTASY : The more you talk on the radio the less chance there is that you will be involved in a mid-air collision.
FANTASY : NAS will create a need for more air traffic controllers.
FANTASY : Civil Air (the air traffic controllers trade union) would never disingenuously wave the safety flag to deliberately scare the public when the union is faced with an industrial relations issue.
FANTASY : The world would be a better place if there were more air traffic controllers.
FANTASY : VFR aircraft must be positively separated from VFR aircraft in class C.
FANTASY : IFR aircraft must be positively separated from VFR aircraft in class D.
FANTASY : Air traffic controllers need to know where all the VFR aircraft are in class E.
FANTASY : The owners and operators of regional airports know what goes on above their airport’s obstacle-free surface.
FANTASY : All pilots of private category flights are PPLs.
FANTASY : All pilots of private category flights have a death wish.
FANTASY : All private pilots are incompetent.
FANTASY : All pilots of small aircraft are incompetent.
FANTASY : The only reason a pilot would fly VFR is because they don’t have an instrument rating.
Comment :
In my view the proposal to change some of the existing Australian class G (that uses ICAO class F procedures) to class E is two (or perhaps one) step(s) in the
wrong direction. I don’t believe it’s needed - it’s simply over servicing and will lead to unnecessary delays and expense. It’s a solution in search of a problem.
But in my view the proposal to change some of the existing class C to class E is two steps in the
right direction because it will reduce unnecessary delays and expense.
If the proposal were to change existing class C to genuine ICAO class G then that would be four steps in the right direction (ICAO-G = no service, no charge, no delay).
Class G = Good enough for me.
But if the general public demand that airline jets operating between capital cities be positively separated from other IFR aircraft then :
Class E = Good enough for everyone.