Unmanned Airspace
• Kylie Bielby
The FAA is launching Phase 2 of its BEYOND program and inviting additional participants to help integrate drones into the national airspace system. The initiative will examine operations at airports, in controlled airspace and across borders as drone activity expands.
ATC
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A solar storm or degraded signal quality can quickly push an aircraft’s navigation performance below the minimum required for an approach. Pilots must recognize the loss, reassess the procedure and take appropriate action to preserve safety when navigation capability no longer supports the published operation.
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The FAA is launching Phase 2 of its BEYOND program and inviting additional participants to help integrate drones into the national airspace system. The initiative will examine operations at airports, in controlled airspace and across borders as drone activity expands.
High activity
The FAA is moving to dismiss two air-traffic controllers who allegedly left their shifts early before an Air Canada Express aircraft collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in March, according to people familiar with the matter. The collision was fatal.
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The FAA is seeking to dismiss two air traffic controllers who allegedly left LaGuardia before an Air Canada Express aircraft collided with an airport fire truck on March 22, killing both pilots. The controllers are among roughly a dozen employees facing action in a timecard-fraud inquiry.
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The Marine One crew failed to establish reliable communication with Reagan National’s tower before departing from the Ellipse, contributing to a loss of separation with an Envoy E-170 on Aug. 4, the NTSB said. The FAA has since relocated radio equipment to address coverage problems affecting the departure location.
Cologne Airport is tightening approach and departure procedures after a Ryanair Boeing 737 encountered a military drone during an armed forces exercise. The incident has prompted closer coordination between civil aviation operations and military activity around the airport’s runways.
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson is calling for chronic air traffic controller shortages at Sydney Airport to be addressed, saying flight delays affected around 60,000 passengers in July alone. The disruption highlights the operational and customer impact of persistent capacity constraints in Australia’s busiest aviation market.
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A new manufacturing facility for digital voice switches could give the FAA greater flexibility to shift air traffic control resources as staffing needs change. The technology is intended to support more dynamic allocation of controllers and help address persistent workforce constraints across the system.
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