The FAA recently announced that they will put air traffic controllers back in the skies to view life “on the other side of the frequency” almost a decade after it was killed by Sept. 11 security measures.
This action, of course, is welcomed news for all air traffic controllers who want to be the best at their craft. There is perhaps no better way to experience the service that you provide than from the users point of view.
Familiarization flights, or fam flights, involve having controllers fly in the cockpit “jump seats” of commercial jets so they can become acquainted with the pilots’ workloads and responsibilities, and ultimately become better at their own.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, a former airline pilot himself, says the program benefits both controllers and pilots. I cannot agree with him more. Between the years 1992 and 2001, I have had that privilege of embarking on many such flights.
In a recent helicopter flight around the island where I work, I was given the task of communication with the control tower while the pilot monitored the transmissions. The flight lasted only 30 minutes, but the experience was invaluable since the two-way dialogue helps both parties understand the work environment that the other is operating in.
I’m not sure if the program is alive and well in other parts of the world, but fam flights became a casualty of September 11, 2001 in the USA when terrorists stormed the cockpits of four jetliners.
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