The FAA has taken a step closer to upgrading the nation's air traffic control system. A commercial jet in Hartford, Connecticut, has landed without radar to guide its approach to the runway. Instead, the pilots and air traffic controllers used satellites. It's part of the FAA's FAA's NextGen project  to replace the nation's aging radar system for managing air traffic. Joining us with a progress report is Vicki Cox, Senior Vice President for NextGen and Operations Planning at the FAA.

FAA said Tuesday that pilots authorized by air traffic controllers to taxi onto runways and await takeoff clearance will be instructed to "line up and wait" rather than "position and hold," effective Sept. 30.
The new terminology, which was recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board, conforms to terminology used internationally under International Civil Aviation Organization guidelines.
A safety analysis conducted by FAA's Air Traffic Organization Terminal Services determined that adopting the phrase "line up and wait" will eliminate confusion, particularly among pilots who also fly overseas, and further reduce the risk of runway incursions.

Onboard systems intended to keep airliners from colliding in midair have been triggered more than 45 times this year in the skies over Washington as air traffic controllers have made dangerous mistakes at a record-setting pace.
With 38 officially reported errors this year, the controllers who guide planes to and from the region's airports already have exceeded annual error totals for every year since their facility began operation in 2003.
"More than 45 such events have been documented this calendar year" in which the avoidance alert systems have been triggered in the airspace controlled by the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), according to an internal FAA summary.

 
You make a statement, it is read the wrong way, or the response is preposterous. This sort of scenario happens everyday, often harmless. But in aviation, it’s a recipe for disaster. There are hordes of regulations and best practices to mitigate againgst such threats, but sometimes, one may slip through the crack. read more

Responding to a spate of midair near-collisions in recent months, the Federal Aviation Administration wants to bring pilots and air-traffic controllers together to voluntarily share information after such events.
The goal of the initiative is to obtain a more complete picture of what led up to such dangerous incidents and how to prevent them.
The model program is intended to "more accurately identify potential hazards and develop more robust mitigation strategies" without seeking to punish either controllers or pilots, according to agency documents.
"Merging the perspectives" of both groups and jointly analyzing data about mistakes, according to the FAA, may help "enhance the understanding" of the incidents.

To err is Human. Unfortunately, to err repeatedly is also human. It’s one of our deadliest weaknesses as humans, with matching consequences in some cases. Of course in aviation, we can’t just sit around and wait for the next human to screw up. Let’s therefore see what happens and how to manage human error.. Read More

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association spent $171,000 on federal government lobbying in the second quarter on issues including pay and funding for air traffic control and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The union for air traffic controllers also lobbied on the consolidation and realignment of air traffic control facilities. Besides Congress, the union lobbied the FAA, the Transportation Department and the White House.
Other issues for the traffic controllers were staffing levels, retirement, collective bargaining rights, whistleblower protections and taxation of health care benefits. The controllers have argued that they are understaffed, although the FAA has argued that it has replaced controllers who left.
The union also lobbied on prescription drug reform.

Spain's air traffic controllers agreed to the deal their union leaders had forged with the government last week, pulling a key sector of the crisis-hit economy further back from the brink of a strike.

The initial deal has been supported by a wide majority of controllers, said a spokeswoman for their union USCA, which has threatened to take action since the government ended talks in February and pushed through changes to pay and working hours.
"We think the deal (with the government) is the minimum we would accept...not very positive at all, but 90 percent of our members accepted it, so they think we have done a good job," the spokeswoman said.
USCA and Spain's state-owned airports authority AENA hope to reach a definitive collective bargaining agreement on salary and conditions before the end of the year, the union said in a statement.

An air traffic control problem has hit hundreds of flights using northern European airspace.
Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were among the countries affected.
The problem was centred on the Eurocontrol radar system, based at Maastricht in the Netherlands.
Eurocontrol later confirmed the system had returned to normal capacity, but said the backlog of flights would mean delays continuing into the evening.
Eurocontrol said "equipment problems" affected its air navigation services for flights in airspace above 7,500m (24,600 ft).
About 700 flights have been affected, said Europe's air traffic control system.
The UK reported some delays to flights into and out of the country, but said no major problems had been experienced.

Spain's air traffic controllers say they have reached an agreement with aviation authorities that will likely avert a threatened strike.
Maite Merino, spokeswoman for controllers' union USCA, says if the accord is accepted by members next week as expected, the union will rescind a strike call approved Aug. 3.
Details of the agreement with aviation agency AENA were not immediately available.
The dispute centres on a decree that increased controllers' work hours and shortened rest breaks during shifts. But it started last February when the government restricted overtime and thus cut pay that was as high as €350,000 a year.