La OACI impulsará medidas para prevenir la fatiga de los controladores aéreos

Los controladores aéreos no disponen en la actualidad de protocolos de la administración que prevengan su fatiga.

La metodología basada en datos que ya permite a las aerolíneas adaptar los riesgos relacionados con la fatiga se aplicarán dentro de unos años a los controladores después de que responsables de seguridad de la OACI dieran el visto bueno al plan durante la reunión mantenida en diciembre en su sede de Montreal.

Las nuevas normas y métodos recomendados (SARPS) y textos de orientación sobre el apoyo a la ejecución y supervisión de los sistemas de gestión de riesgos de fatiga (FRMS) para las operaciones aéreas identifican claramente los componentes necesarios para un FRMS eficaz. La OACI es consciente de que los principios FRMS pueden aplicarse a todo el personal de seguridad crítica, no sólo al personal de vuelo y tripulación de cabina.

“En respuesta a esta y a todas las solicitudes de la industria, estamos dirigiendo nuestra atención a la elaboración de disposiciones para apoyar enfoques eficaces de gestión del riesgo de fatiga de los controladores aéreos, un grupo de profesionales que no disponen de ella en la actualidad“, afirma la Dra. Michelle Millar, una técnico especialista en rendimiento humano de la OACI.

OACI coordinará durante el próximo año una reunión entre el personal de su grupo de control de tráfico aéreo para comenzar a trabajar en una propuesta de algunos proyectos de SARPs.

“Esta reunión incluirá una amplia representación geográfica de todas las partes interesadas, incluidos los reguladores, proveedores de servicios y los controladores de tráfico aéreo, y el objetivo será tener una propuesta preliminar para la consideración de nuestra Comisión de Navegación Aérea a principios de 2014. Se espera que el Consejo de la OACI pueda tener una propuesta para finales de 2015 “, afirmó la Dra. Millar.

Está previsto acompañar esta propuesta con material de orientación detallado para los proveedores de servicios de navegación aérea así como con enmiendas al Manual de Gestión de Riesgos para los reguladores. Los estándares de los proveedores complementarán los materiales ya existentes a disposición de los operadores aéreos.

La fatiga del piloto es un factor que contribuye cada vez más a los accidentes e incidentes de aviación. Sumada a los repetidos incidentes del año pasado en los que algunos controladores de Estados Unidos se quedaron dormidos forzó a que la Administración Federal de Aviación (FAA) a cambiar sus prácticas de programación para minimizar la fatiga del controlador, tras un informe del Consejo Nacional de la Seguridad en el Transporte (NTSB) que demostró que la fatiga había había contribuido a un accidente.

Una encuesta realizada durante el seminario mostró que mientras que la mayoría de los proveedores utilizan ciclos predefinidos de trabajo / descanso , los controladores suelen preferir los ciclos dinámicos. La incorporación de objetivos de reducción de la fatiga sin embargo se suele percibir a menudo como una reducción de la eficiencia operacional, aunque se deja que los controladores gestionen las tareas y los descansos por si mismos.

“Entre 2009 y 2011, el mundo se despertó con un problema del que la industria de la aviación no ha sido consciente: la fatiga del controlador de tráfico aéreo”, afirma Alexis Braithwaite, presidente y director ejecutivo de IFATCA. “Los principales medios de comunicación han revelado varios casos de controladores que se dormian en el trabajo y la CNN anunció que hubo al menos nueve incidentes relacionados con la fatiga entre febrero y abril de 2011″.

“Los proveedores de servicios de navegación aérea están bajo más presión que nunca para comprender e implementar las últimas políticas y recomendaciones de prevención de la fatiga. Si lo consiguen, será clave para la mitigación de los riesgos de la fatiga del controlador”.

http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2013/01/icao-to-call-time-on-controller-fatigue/

 

FUENTE: Air Traffic Management.NET

Publicado en: Controladores aéreos • Internacional • Legislación • Portada • Seguridad Aérea

Ejemplo a seguir por otros paises

Resolución del honorable congreso de los EE.UU.

 

H. Res. 1401

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

July 27, 2010.

Whereas air traffic controllers dedicate themselves to the protection of the flying public;

Whereas air traffic controllers react to dangerous and complex situations on a daily basis, doing so in a calm and professional manner;

Whereas air traffic controllers work all day long and all year long, including holidays, to provide services to aircraft in their assigned airspaces;

Whereas, due to the highly stressful and demanding nature of the job and the total concentration required, air traffic controllers are required to take regular 30-minute breaks, work in shifts, and retire by the age of 56;

Whereas air traffic controllers perform courageous acts every day;

 

Whereas, on January 1, 2009, air traffic controller Kristin Danninger at the Madison, Wisconsin, Tower and Terminal Radar Approach Control (‘TRACON’) facility directed a new pilot back on course and above minimum altitude who had been stuck in the clouds in a small aircraft with zero visibility, successfully using her knowledge of local geography to point out a highway that led the pilot to the appropriate runway;

Whereas, on March 29, 2009, air traffic controller Troy Decker at the Salt Lake Center facility guided a Piper Aztec aircraft with an engine fire to a safe landing in Butte, Montana, providing detailed weather reports for several possible landing options;

Whereas, on April 12, 2009, air traffic controllers Jessica Anaya, Lisa Grimm, Nathan Henkels, Dan Favio, Brian Norton, and Carey Meadows at the Miami Center facility and the Fort Myers Tower and TRACON facility guided to safety a twin-engine King Air aircraft after the pilot died in-flight, assisting Doug White, an individual with limited private pilot experience in smaller aircraft, to locate the positions of controls and switches on the aircraft and to navigate the high-traffic area of southern Florida;

Whereas, on June 28, 2009, air traffic controller Ron Chappell at the Southern California TRACON facility issued a traffic advisory to a jet aircraft landing at Los Angeles after viewing another target on his radar screen that was at an unknown altitude and approaching the jet, circumstances that bore a similarity to a 1986 mid-air collision over Cerritos, California;

Whereas, on July 5, 2009, air traffic controller Louis Ridley at the Potomac TRACON facility assisted a Velocity aircraft stuck above a cloud layer to navigate through perilous mountain terrain with limited fuel remaining and, while doing so, reassured the pilot, gave detailed flight and weather information, determined the best airport for a safe approach and landing, and even had his wife, Carolyn, greet the pilot after the pilot landed in Culpepper, Virginia;

Whereas, on October 9, 2009, air traffic controllers Kevin Plante and Christopher Presley in Portland, Maine, helped guide an aircraft that had become stuck in rapidly deteriorating weather conditions by employing, with daylight waning and the aircraft near mountainous terrain, a road map to direct the pilot to Portland using several highways, lakes, and towns as guides;

Whereas, on November 14, 2009, air traffic controller Jessica Hermsdorfer at the Kansas City Tower and TRACON facility calmly helped guide back to the airport an Airbus 319 aircraft that had hit multiple birds and experienced engine trouble, directing other aircraft out of the way and assisting the stricken flight to land safely;

Whereas, on December 7, 2009, air traffic controllers Natasha Hodge and Douglas Wynkoop at the Dallas TRACON facility worked as a team to assist a confused and disoriented pilot of an experimental aircraft, redirecting other aircraft in the area and suggesting an approach into Navy Fort Worth for the pilot, which resulted in a successful landing;

Whereas, on December 20, 2009, air traffic controllers Todd Lamb at the Anchorage Center facility and Michael Evans at the Fairbanks Flight Service Station ensured a safe landing for a Cessna aircraft that was experiencing smoke in the cockpit, as Mr. Evans was able to assist the pilot in locating a narrow dirt trail which was the only safe landing spot in the area and Mr. Lamb helped a second aircraft locate the downed plane’s position;

 

Whereas approximately 15,600 Federal air traffic controllers, in airport traffic control towers, terminal radar approach control facilities, and air route traffic control centers, guide planes through the airspace of the United States;

Whereas approximately an additional 1,250 civilian contract controllers and more than 9,000 military controllers also provide air traffic services;

Whereas, from fiscal year 2001 to fiscal year 2009, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (‘FAA’) there have been 94,600,000 successful flights of United States commercial aircraft safely carrying more than 6,340,000,000 passengers;

Whereas air traffic controllers provide separation services over the entire airspace of the United States and 24,600,000 square miles of international oceanic airspace;

Whereas, as of May 22, 2010, the FAA operated 315 air traffic control facilities and the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in the United States;

Whereas, in the past 5 years, the FAA has hired more than 7,500 air traffic controllers in order to meet continuously changing traffic volumes and workload; and

Whereas air traffic controllers are facing staffing challenges, with an aging workforce and a wave of retirements: Now, therefore, be it

 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives

(1) expresses gratitude for the contributions that the air traffic controllers of the United States make to keep the traveling public safe and the airspace of the United States running efficiently;
(2) commends air traffic controllers for the calm and professional manner in which they handle air traffic, day and night, throughout the year;
(3) acknowledges the heroic actions, dedication, and quick and skilled decisionmaking that air traffic controllers employ to help avert many accidents and tragedies; and
(4) encourages greater investment in the modernization of the air traffic control system of the United States so that air traffic controllers have the resources and technology needed to better carry out their mission, both in the air and on the ground, as air travel continues to grow.