Pilot deviations and a new FAA reality

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 09 Oct 2004 15:08:08 GMT, "Chip Jones"
wrote:

Folks, I see at *least* one pilot deviation a week working traffic in my
small slice of the NAS. I don't report them unless separation is lost,
because I was trained under the "no harm, no foul" mentality. Pilots
help
controllers, controllers help pilots, and the NAS ticks along like an old
clock. I'm not changing the way I do business, but I wanted you to know
that other controllers might, in order to cover themsleves against
antagonistic Management.

Can you provide a pointer to the specific FAA Order that mandates that
ATC report all pilot deviations?


That order is FAAO 7210.56, "Air Traffic Quality Assurance." Here's a
link: http://www.faa.gov/ATpubs/ATQ/INDEX.htm

Buried deep within this tome, which 90% of line controllers have likely
never even heard of, is paragraph 5-1-2, which reads:

" 5-1-2. SUSPECTED EVENT
a. In order to maintain an effective Air Traffic System, it is
imperative that we identify all deficiencies within our system and take
appropriate corrective actions necessary to fix any associated problems.
Operational errors and deviations are reported for just that reason, so
those problems (either systemic or individual) can be corrected to enhance
system integrity. The identification of operational errors and deviations
without fear of reprisal is an absolute requirement and is the
responsibility of all of us who work within our system.

b. Accordingly, it remains Air Traffic Policy that any
employee who is aware of any occurrence that may be an operational error,
deviation, or air traffic incident (as defined in paragraph 4-1-1,
Definitions), immediately report the occurrence to any available supervisor,
controller-in-charge (CIC) or management official.

c. Employees' shall verbally provide the preliminary
information, of which they have knowledge, when requested by the supervisor,
controller-in-charge (CIC) or management official to make an initial
determination as to whether an investigation is warranted. This phase is
meant only to determine the need of an investigation and is not
investigatory. Therefore, Union representation is not required at this
time."


The key words in 5-1-2 are in the word group
"air traffic incident", which is defined in 4-4-1 to include pilot
deviations. Pilot deviations are defined in this order as "the actions of a
pilot that result in the violation of a Federal Aviation Regulation or a
North American Aerospace Defense (Command Air Defense Identification Zone)
tolerance."

Thus, if you bust your altitude at 3 in the morning, with no traffic within
100 miles of you, I am apparently supposed to turn you in for a pilot
deviation (failure to adhere to clearance), or else risk formal
discipline...



Chip, ZTL