Proposal to Remove Forecasters from ATC Centers
from Aviation Week:
Quote:
Proposal to Remove Forecasters from ATC Centers
The Department of Commerce announced last week that it is moving forward to close the National Weather Service Center Weather Service Units (CWSUs) located at each of the 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the continental United States. These forecast units provide real- time, face-to-face weather guidance to air traffic controllers and air traffic management supervisors. The NWS has offered to send the FAA forecasts from two central units located in Maryland and Kansas City instead. The proposal was developed by the NWS in response to an FAA request to cut the cost of the CWSU program, funded by the FAA.
Under the plan approved by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who oversees the NWS, only the "lead forecaster on duty" will be available at each of the two consolidated CWSUs nationwide to provide support to 10 ARTCCs at a time. They will provide emergency support by instant messaging or telephone rather than face-to-face. Currently, each ARTCC has a dedicated forecaster on duty on-site.
Said NATCA President Patrick Forrey, "This is a foolish plan that puts cost savings ahead of safety. Quite frankly, we cannot believe such a reckless idea has gotten this far. The public needs to know that if put into place, this plan would directly and negatively affect the margin of safety for the air traffic control system."
"If the DOC's plan is implemented, air traffic controllers will no longer have the immediate expertise of an on-site meteorologist to advise them where to route aircraft experiencing difficulty when weather conditions play a critical role in that decision," said Dan Sobien, president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization. NWS forecasters at the ARTCCs routinely provide emergency assistance to aircraft that have lost instrumentation during bad weather, Sobien noted. More information is at
www.nwseo.org and
www.natca.org.
