Tower ATCO's: Please Comment ...

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

Ladies/Gentlemen,

I would appreciate your comments on what appears to be becoming an unfortunately common misunderstanding. It's all about flight plans.

You all have copies of the MATS and the UK AIP. At the training stage, you all have certain rules drilled into you month after month. Rules such as: an aircraft wishing to operate a flight within Class A Controlled Airspace must file a valid flight plan. Rules such as: that when certain major changes are made to a FPL - such as a change of aircraft ident - a replacement FPL must be submitted. These rules exist for safety reasons, and I believe all here appreciate the need for them. We disregard them at our legal peril.

So my question is this. The worst happens ... you telephone your friendly local ACC to start up flight XYZ123 to Resortcity. But the Sector ATSA has bad news ... "Sorry, there is no FPL stored for this flight." What do you think should happen next in this circumstance?

Sadly, afew airfield ATCO's appear to be labouring under the misapprehension that the Sector ATSA is empowered to authorise flights to take place without a FPL in these circumstances. Let's stop and think here. Do you seriously believe that an ATSA can give you permission to launch a flight into a busy sector with no FPL in breach of aviation law? Surely not.

A Sector ATSA will inform you when there is no FPL stored for the flight you request. A good ATSA will ask you for the Callsign, Destination and 'P Time' of the missing flight, which enables the Flight Planning Section [note - not the sector itself] to send an 'RQP' message to Brussels. If a FPL has indeed been filed, this procedure should retrieve it. All the Flight Planning ATSA's I know will then endeavour to input the missing FPL as quickly as possible. On the sector itself, the Sector ATSA will either have a strip [if a FPL is held] or NOTHING WHATSOEVER if the flight is not stored. FPL's are not held on the sectors, and the facility to interrogate the Brussels Computer does not exist on sector either ... not where I work anyway. The Sector ATSA is not empowered to "invent" a FPL to resolve the problem.

My message to you is this. A Sector ATSA will never take pleasure in advising you that a FPL is not stored. Believe me, it creates alot of unwanted hassle on sector. But please understand, the ATSA is NEVER in a position to approve your flight without that FPL. We apply the rules; we cannot decide which flights to exempt from them as a goodwill gesture! I can't authorise you to drive a truck without a driving licence because I like you. I can't authorise you to travel to Florida without a passport because I don't want you to think me awkward. And I can't authorise you to launch a flight with no paperwork - these concessions are not in my gift!

So the next time this happens to you, please stop and think. Your Sector ATSA will help you locate a missing FPL if it is to be found. He/She cannot and will not ever approve a flight with no paperwork. Please don't do the "Mr. Angry" routine ("Why won't you let my flight go!! It's only a domestic flight!! I'LL RING YOUR BOSS!!!"). I know that most of you don't do this. But afew do. Remember that it just delays the FPL search process, and it will never empower your ATSA to authorise illegal flight! So let's just keep it professional and civilised and maintain goodwill and understanding between our units.

Your cooperation and constructive feedback is appreciated.

Regards, SHED.

[niknak]

It used to happen to us a lot - the mystery of the disappearing flight plan, God only knows where they all went, probably the same place as the sock that goes into the washing machine with it's partner and comes out on it's own. :p

However, it's a fairly rare occurance these days, and when it does happen, we give the sector ATSA the information you've indicated, and then call Flight Plans, who, to their credit, are pretty astute at finding the roaming flight plan and rectifying the problem. Thereafter, it's a matter of minutes before the required information is with the sector, if only they did socks.....

[vintage ATCO]

Hi Sheds, so you've had a bad day then . . . . ;) :D

Yep, I'd go with niknak, ring Flight Plans.

[Spitoon]

I guess this is the sort of problem that you get when people who work on a sector don't have aerodrome ratings or experience and those at aerodromes don't have area ratings or experience.

Hey, ho. That's progress for you.

Still, it's nice of Shed to try and resolve a problem in such a constructive fashion .... :ugh:

[almost professional]

why is it that nine times out of ten in these instances it is only manchester that does not have the flightplan details?

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

AP-

If a FPL is 'not stored' then it is not stored at Manchester, London or Scottish. The computer which distributes strips to the sectors operates on a national basis; there is only the one flight plan store.

Rgds, SHED.

[almost professional]

shed
it is still very frustrating when I have a strip, IFPS issue a slot and flow at LATCC know all about the flight but the man issuing the clearance and release does not!
ps most times the ATCA at manch is very good and helps things along but still akward explaining to the aircraft (normally a whitestar!)

[FWA NATCA]

Often a missing IFR flight plan can be traced to an improperly filed Proposed departure time.

Mike
FWA