Segment 1 Issues

 

1)      Promotion of greater education and awareness within the Flight Attendant workforce.

2)      Reinforcement of proper practices/protocols relative to turbulence communications affecting the aircraft cabin, including improved CRM, FA empowerment to make safety/service-related decisions when cabin conditions warrant, harmonization of Flight Operations/Flight Attendant Manuals on turbulence policies (including codification and prescribed actions), and injury prevention.

3)      Operational limitations due to turbulence forecasting and advances currently underway.

 

Segment 2 Issues

 

1)      There is a continuing need for more PIREPS and the timely distribution of them. What can PIREPS provide that automets can't, and vice versa? What is the right mix?

2)      FAA and NWS explain their intentions, including funding profile, regarding TAMDAR.

3)      A briefing is requested on the AUTOMET business plan and what will happen in FY 06 regarding TAMDAR data.

4)      Explain efforts to get PIREP information into the forecast models and to the forecasters for validation, including improvements to controller automation to simplify PIREP entry.

5)      Request that airlines to be reimbursed for 100% of communications costs for all data provided to MDCRS.

6)      Request that airlines and Government finalize development of MDCRS Management Team Work Effort.

 

Segment 3 Issues

 

Focus on the issue of Flight Standards operating in parallel with AWRP so that new forecast products may be made available to pilots as soon as they are approved for operational use by the  AWTT process, i.e., without restrictions. CIP and FIP should be examples of what has not been accomplished, with specifics on what is being done now and what and when pilots will be able to get the benefits of the icing research in flight. Also, what is being done now to enable National C&V to be approved unrestricted when it goes operational, and what is its schedule to reach operations. The most important issue is moving new weather products to un-restricted operations, i.e. which things are necessary to provide approval for pilot use in the cockpit (evaluations, guidance materials, examiner standardization docs, etc).

 

Segment 4 Issues

 

Weather Information for Air Traffic Management (ATM) Decision Support

*      Priority #1: Reinstate a mechanism within the CDM process for addressing weather related issues.

*      Priority #2: Focus on weather products development/improvement for the terminal area to increase airport capacity

*      Priority #3: Focus on development/improvement of weather products to increase en route airspace capacity.

Introduce CCFP application procedures using a weather risk assessment instead of a traffic impact model. CCFP 2006 should focus on convective tops forecasting.

Effort Lead -Tom Fahey

 

 

Segment 5 Issues

 

Reduce Operation Limitations due to weather forecasts and observations.

*      Priority #1: Airline Operation Centers (AOC) access to Integrated Terminal Weather (ITWS) info.

*      Priority #2 FAR 121.655 Applicability of Reported Weather Minimums. Reword to require the surface visibility, not the tower visibility, be controlling for VFR and IFR takeoffs and landings and for instrument approach procedures on all runways of an airport, when the reported visibility in the main body of the hourly report is less than 4 statute miles.

*      Priority #3: Introduce a web based database for current active winds shear alerts & add WSP generated alerts to the current Terminal Weather Information for Pilots (TWIP) distribution system.

*      Priority #4: FAR 121.619 fuel load for alternate when CIG &VIS forecasted below 2000ft &/or 3mi lowered to 1000/1.

*      Priority #5: FAR 121.621 Alternate Airport for Destination: Flag Operations. Eliminate the time limitation of 6 hours on IFR -no alternate operations.

*      Priority #6: FAR 121.645 requires an additional 10% fuel load for flag operations lowered to 5%

*      Priority #7: RVR web site. Add a Summary page wl at a glance status. Add details for all Level A airports.

Work Efforts: ITWS Access: Rick Curtis; Prevailing Visibility: Dave Fleming

Wind Shear Database & WSP Alerts added to TWIP: Tom Fahey

FARs 121.619121.621 & 121.645 Effort Leads-OPEN; RVR Web Site: Randy Baker