Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

In late 1999 and early 2000, STARS became
operational at TRACONs in El Paso, Texas, and
Syracuse, New York. Unlike previous FAA projects,
controllers at the two test radar rooms worked
closely with Raytheon Company and the union’s
Computer-Human Interface
workgroup to finish
developing the product
before it was to be in-
stalled at some 185 other
TRACONs.
“NATCA took
something that was
unworkable and has
brought about a piece
of equipment that the
average controller can
use with just three days
of training,” says Doug
Wicker, the project lead
in El Paso.
At the same time
controllers gained influence
at FAA headquarters, they extended their
reach globally by joining the International Federation
of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations in 1994.
Composed of group membership from more than
100 nations, IFATCA is a professional entity that
represents air traffic controller issues to the Inter-
4
Aug.
“
NATCA took something that
was unworkable and has
brought about a piece of
equipment that the average
controller can use with just
three days of training.
national Civil Aviation Organization, which sets
worldwide policies.
The union’s interest in affiliating with IF-
ATCA germinated over time. Executive Vice President
Ray Spickler and Fernando Ospina from Fort
Worth Center attended
the group’s annual meeting
in May 1989.
“The most striking
— Doug Wicker,
STARS project lead at El Paso TRACON
Jane Garvey takes over as FAA administrator. For the first time, the Senate
appoints the agency’s chief to a five-year term, ending a revolving-door
policy that had been in effect since the PATCO strike. Garvey has held a
thing to me was the commonality
of problems all
controllers are facing,”
Spickler wrote after the
gathering in Frankfurt,
Germany. “There is as
much we can learn from
them as they from us.” 7
A few years later,
Safety and Technology
Director Will Faville Jr.
attended another IFATCA
meeting and applauded
the group’s philosophy
on computer issues. While the FAA and U.S. controllers
worked on Computer-Human Interface—or
CHI—problems, IFATCA reversed the emphasis.
“They put the human before the computer,”
Faville says. “It was clear to me that we needed that
international help and support.”
Chapter 6: Spreading its Wings
number of public positions, including commissioner of the Massachusetts
Department of Public Works, director of Logan International Airport in
Boston, and acting administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
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