Shortly before the end of 2010 the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, DC issued two recommendations. They concerned (a) helicopter hover performance charts and (b) operating standards for firefighting operations.

On 24th November the US National Transportation Safety Board released a final report on a fatal crash involving a transport-category helicopter caused by a bird strike. The Board said the lack of requirements for bird strike-resistant
windshields contributed to the crash, and called on the FAA to develop such requirements.

Airservices Australia has amended the compromised separation recovery component of an air traffic controller’s training, and introduced a compromised separation recovery element into its final controller field training.

The Royal Institute of Navigation has announced its first symposium on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This important symposium has already attracted much interest from around the world across the UAV community, including manufacturers, academics and user organisations.

The invited speakers will be covering a number of navigation related topics
concerning the design and operation of unmanned and autonomous aerial vehicles,
which will interest the complete spectrum of those involved professionally with the topic.

At its meeting which concluded in Hong Kong on 18th November, the Human Performance Committee of the IFALPA endorsed the findings of the Pilot Training Workshop that convened in Paris in October. The Pilot Training Workshop, which was co-sponsored by SNPL – France ALPA, VC – German ALPA, VNV Dutch ALPA and the European Cockpit Association brought together experts from 23 IFALPA member associations in five continents and was tasked to develop the Federation’s vision for pilot training.

This briefing gives an update on the Business Case for Resilient PNT prepared for the UK Department for Transport (DfT) as well as developments relevant to eLoran in national regional and international bodies over the last few months.

A pilot’s guide to staying safe in the vicinity of non-towered aerodromes

The publication of this guide was reported by ATSB on 10th November. Most aerodromes in Australia are located in uncontrolled airspace and consequently do not have an air traffic control presence. At and around non-towered aerodromes, pilots are responsible for making themselves aware of nearby aircraft and maintaining separation. This publication aims to provide pilots with an appreciation of the types of safety events that are associated with operations at non-towered aerodromes, and provide education on expected behaviours to assist pilots in being prepared for the risks.

The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the global voice of ATM, has established a Middle East Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP), Airspace User and Stakeholder Engagement Workgroup (MEAUSE) as part of a commitment to improve customer relations and implement best practices in customer relationship management.

The 2015 IAIN World Congress will be hosted by the Japan Institute of Navigation.

The IAIN Officers’ Meeting was held on October 18, 2010, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Here are the reports on ICAO, IMO and IHO meetings.

A meeting of the IAIN Officers took place at 1400 on 18 October 2010 in Session Hall II, Stadthalle, Braunschweig, Germany.

The United States is now critically dependent on GPS. For example, cell phone towers, power grid synchronization, new aircraft landing systems, and the future FAA Air Traffic Control System (NEXGEN) cannot function without it. Yet we find increasing incidents of deliberate or inadvertent interference that render GPS inoperable for critical infrastructure operations.

The threat of climate change, the global economic crisis and the resulting changes in the structure of the European aviation market have led to a renewed focus on efficiency and performance for Europe’s airports. In October 2008, ACI EUROPE and EUROCONTROL signed a collaboration to increase operational efficiencies at European airports.

This collaboration revolved around the implementation of an innovative operating practice called Airport Collaborative Decision-Making (ACDM) which allows airports into the Air Traffic Management network and vice versa.

The US National Transportation Safety Board is offering a three-day course, Transportation Disaster Response – A Course for Emergency Responders, at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia (near Washington, DC) on 16th to 18th
November, this year. This course is being facilitated with the full participation of the New Jersey State Police and is designed specifically for local, county, state and federal emergency responders, planners and managers as well as members of organizations and agencies with accident response roles.

With regard to the 14th IAIN World Congress 2012 to be held in Cairo from 1st to 3rd October 2012, the Congress website is now available at: www.iaincongress2012.org.

The abstract submission deadline for The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) International Technical Meeting (ITM) is next Monday, 4th October.

The ION International Technical Meeting (ITM)will take place from 24th to 26th January, 2011 at the Catamaran Resort Hotel, San Diego, California and will feature more than 150 technical papers presented on a diverse array of topics.

At a ceremony at ICAO Headquarters Montreal on 27th September CANSO, the global voice of Air Traffic Management, welcomed the Brazilian Department of Airspace Control (DECEA) as the latest full member of the association. CANSO members are responsible for supporting over 85% of world air traffic and through work groups, members share information and develop new policies with the ultimate aim of improving air navigation services on the ground and in the air.

The National Transportation Safety Board was reported on 23rd September as investigating a near midair collision between a commercial jetliner and a small cargo aircraft that came within an estimated 50 to 100 feet of colliding near the
Minneapolis-St.Paul Airport (MSP).

From Geneva it was announced on 16th September by CANSO further progress across Europe in reducing emissions and noise from aircraft, as part of the industry’s commitment to a sustainable future.

The European Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) Action Plan, announced at the Aviation and Environment Summit a year ago, has gained further momentum with the launch of an interactive internet map showing the status of CDA implementation across Europe.

Saab TransponderTech AB, a leading supplier of maritime Automatic Information Systems (AIS), announced on 8th September from Linköping, Sweden that it had
been awarded a contract from the China Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) to supply
an AIS network covering six major inland waterways in the People?s Republic of
China.

A reminder has been issued that the 9th International Symposium on Marine
Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, TRANSNAV 2011, organized jointly by the Faculty of Navigation of the Gdynia Maritime University and the Nautical Institute, will be held from 15th to 17th June 2011 in Gdynia, Poland.

THE DEADLINE FOR ON-LINE REGISTRATION IS 1ST OCTOBER 2010.

Comprehensive details of all ships’ routeing measures adopted by IMO worldwide
can be found in the 2010 edition of Ships’ Routeing, just published by the
organization.

Containing all the ships’ routeing measures, including mandatory ship reporting systems, adopted over the years, up to May 2010, the publication (which will be available shortly on CD and as an electronic download) is an essential reference book for administrations and seafarers.

In a briefing of 17th September from IMO reference was made to a reply letter to
the IMO Secretary-General and heads of international shipping and seafarer organizations in which United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the intolerable human cost of piracy off the coast of Somalia and its serious consequences regionally and globally.

The National Transportation Safety Board of the US determined on 14th September that the probable cause of last year’s midair collision over the Hudson River that resulted in the deaths of all nine persons aboard the two aircraft were the inherent limitations of “see-and-avoid” concept and a Teterboro Airport air traffic controller’s nonpertinent telephone conversation at the time of the collision.

Jeppesen announced on 30th August a contract with the US Navy for a six-month trial evaluation of the Jeppesen Vessel and Voyage Optimization Solution (VVOS). Jeppesen’s VVOS technology combines ocean weather forecasts, advanced computer modelling of ship performance, and sophisticated, proprietary route optimization algorithms to potentially improve the efficiency of ship navigation by reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions, improving ETAs and providing valuable data that can be used to help extend the life of a vessel, it is claimed.