ICAO Guidelines on the Use of ACAS/TCAS
'Proceed as Cleared' asked what ICAO had done about providing guidelines on action to be taken by pilots when presented with an RA. The answer is that ICAO published, several years ago, guidance material described as, 'ACAS Performance-Based Training Objectives' to supplement other material that can be read in ICAO PANS-OPS Volume 1 (Doc 8168), PANS-RAC Part X paragraph 3.1.2, and Annex 10 Volume 4.
All this good stuff was used by the JAA Operations Committee, as it was then called, to develop and publish Temporary Guidance Leaflet No 11, which is referred to in JAR/ACJ OPS 1.398.
Now, do JAA States actually require (through their national legislation) air operators whose aeroplanes are on their register to teach pilots what this TGL contains?
Well, the JAA Operations Division initiated earlier this year a State by State audit programme that requires the team, after visiting each Authority, to visit a selection of operatiors and ask a series of questions to confirm that what the Authority had told them was true. One of these questions is, 'Confirmation that TCAS/ACAS II is installed and operating in all aeroplanes that are required to have it, and that crew training reflects policies contained in TGL 11. (See Operations Manual Volume D)': and the operator is obliged to open the manual and show where this forms part of the training schedule.
What I have described above shows - I hope - that ICAO has indeed addressed the issue of training in the use of ACAS/TCAS, and that the European Nations (JAA Member States) have taken this forward and have sought to 'close the loop' by ensuring that this vital information reaches those who need to know how to use TCAS II. I'm not pretending that the system is perfect or that it cannot be improved, but I think it right that readers should know that ICAO and some authorities have not ignored this vital subject.