Originally Posted by
off watch
Re your "thorny question of ROCAS"
From MATS Pt.1 :
"The Manual of Air Traffic Services contains instructions and guidance for controllers providing Air Traffic Services to cater for both routine and many emergency situations. However, nothing in this manual prevents controllers from using their own discretion and initiative in response to unusual circumstances, which may not be covered by the procedures herein."
In other words, just because it's not covered in MATS 1, doesn't mean the ATCO is wrong to say it.
off watch, MATS Part 1 (CAP493) does indeed contain the paragraph you quote - it is at Section 1, Chapter 1, Introduction, para. 1.2, viz:
1.2 The Manual of Air Traffic Services contains instructions and guidance for controllers providing Air Traffic Services to cater for both routine and many emergency situations. However, nothing in this manual prevents controllers from using their own discretion and initiative in response to unusual circumstances, which may not be covered by the procedures herein.
However it is worth mentioning that, prior to a recent revision (12 March 2009), it used to say ...
1.2 The Manual of Air Traffic Services contains instructions and guidance to controllers providing Air Traffic Services. Nothing in this manual prevents controllers from using their own discretion and initiative in any particular circumstance.
... which was far more permissive to the controller.
Clearly the revision was intended to tighten this up. So, whilst it may have been reasonable to argue that the earlier wording may have allowed some discretion to controllers to use the phrase "ROCAS" as a cautionary response whenever they felt it appropriate, the revision to the wording would now only permit this in
"unusual circumstances, which may not be covered by the procedures herein". The vast majority of times you hear "ROCAS" nowadays are not in that category. Thus the current frequent and arbitrary use of "ROCAS" simply cannot be justified by the introductory paragraph in CAP 493 that you quote.
As I have said before, the appropriate and approved use of "ROCAS" is set out in Sec.3, Ch.1, para. 21 of
MATS Part 1. Any other use (except in unusual circumstances, not covered by the procedures in CAP493) is entirely unapproved.
JD
