Undertrained staff jeopardize ATC operations

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has, in a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) plea filed by an employee, Anoop Kumar Gupta, posted with its Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) wing, admitted that many technicians who maintain complex landing and communication equipment at the air traffic control (ATC) towers had not been trained on the new generation equipment.
These technicians are attached to the CNS wing of AAI and are required to attend to malfunctioning landing system and radars.
The Authority has admitted that it was unable to meet the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) standards framed in 1994, which mandate that personnel entrusted with maintenance “should undergo periodical on-the-job checks at least once a year and refresher course at least once in three years.” The AAI has admitted that the only training that all CNS employees have undergone was the “Ab-initio training after recruitment where principles of operation of all CNS equipment are covered.”
People familiar with the developments in the CNS department spoke to Mint on condition of anonymity, saying less than half the staff was properly trained. The CNS wing is entrusted with the maintenance of equipment such as the Instrument Landing System, which provides precise guidance to an aircraft approaching a runway, radars and VHF Omni Range, which helps planes flying at the same altitude maintain lateral distance.
24/06/07 K.P. Narayana Kumar & Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Categories: Airports Jun 2007, Safety Jun 2007