Civil Aviation Authority

Apart from the extreme example of manned space missions, air travel is probably the most heavily monitored and regulated mode of transport on earth. Although statistics show that most people suffer serious and fatal injury as a result of motoring accidents, this is because at any one time, there are far, far more people on the roads than there are in the middle of an airplane journey.

Safety in aviation unsurprisingly attracts much more attention because the dangers are more obvious and, when something does go wrong, the effects can be disastrous and headline grabbing especially if an accident occurs over a heavily built up area.

It goes without saying therefore that those involved at the sharp end like airline pilots and air traffic controllers have to go through stringent selection procedures to make sure that they have the right temperament for the job well before they even start technical training.

Sadly for them but sensibly for the rest of us, it's largely a case of many being called but only a few being chosen. Yet, like an army on operations, the frontline troops who make it through the selection process have huge back-up behind the scenes.

In the UK, most of this back-up is provided by the CAA, the Civil Aviation Authority and passengers using air travel are effectively in their hands from the minute they arrive at the airport to the minute they leave it after their return. This almost comprehensive responsibility is not purely concerned with the airworthiness of aircraft and their crew. The organisation also runs the ATOL scheme which ensures that passengers can get home in the event of an airline suffering financial collapse.

The effort that goes into maximising passenger safety is based on the cumulative experience and knowledge gained from the circumstances causing past accidents.The result is that only 130 air accidents were recorded worldwide in 2010 compared with 200 in 2001when there were significantly less flights made and passengers carried.

Here in the UK, the CAA is widely regarded as one of the best regulators in the world and it is frequently consulted by its younger counterparts overseas. Over the years it has built up a rigorous roster of checks involving the medical condition of pilots and flight engineers, the qualifications of aircrew, air traffic controllers and maintenance engineers and the state of the country's airports.

It looks into everything from the flight simulators used to train pilots, potentially dangerous goods carried as luggage or freight and what it likes to call " Human Factors". These include things like pilots being affected by stress and fatigue or unruly behaviour by passengers.

Away from large-scale commercial aviation, the CAA is also responsible for such esoteric areas as flying displays, civilian parachuting, hot air balloons and airships.

Port Alfred-based 43 Air School has added a new training course to its growing list of facilities, namely training air traffic controllers for which it has established and recently opened its new Air Traffic Services Training College on the campus that will provide students with the highest level of instruction according to SACAA regulations and in accordance with ICAO standards.

With the approval of the schools Air Traffic Services Aviation Training Organization (ATS ATO) license granted earlier this year, 43 Air School became the first privately-owned ATS ATO in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Air Traffic Service Assistant (ATSA) and aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) courses offered by 43 Air School will be complemented by the introduction of the Aerodrome Control Course, Approach and Area Procedural and Radar courses in 2011.

Simulator training on the Aerodrome Control course will be provided utilizing a state-of-the-art Bar log 360 degrees aerodrome simulator, which is currently being installed at the facility ready for the start of the first course early next month.

The generic "operations airport" of the simulator is somewhere in the "deep Karoo" .The graphics are considered "awesome "and very realistic. It is built in a circle with 12 "out-stations" (simulated aircraft flying at varying speeds etc) and one instructor/student station in the middle of the circular simulator.

Brian Van Hout, who heads up 43 Air Schools ATC training, was previously in charge of ATC training in the SAAF.

ATS Training will be provided by the schools professional team of instructors under the leadership of Van Hout, whose experience includes both military and ICAO colleges. Colectively, 43 Air Schools ATS Instructors have an average of 25 years operational and instructional ATS experience in both the civilian and military environments. The ATS College makes use of staff which includes: two Grade 1 designated examiners; a Grade 1 instructor and four ground school instructors.

The worldwide need for ATCs has never been greater with many ATS facilities operating with staff levels below the accepted norm. In the USA alone, in order to meet the predicted shortages, the FAA will be training in excess of 17000 new controllers in the period to 2018.

Commenting on the new service, a 43 Air School spokesman told World Air news: "Our unique environment allows us to expose student ATCs to a variety of aspects found in aviation. Students ATCs are afforded the opportunity to either experience the world of the pilot at the controls of one of our aircraft while interacting with our experienced ATC personnel, or as a passenger listening to the interaction between pilot and ATC while enjoying the flying experience.

"The environment also lends itself to the regular interaction between ATC students and aircrew, both qualified and under training.

"Our ATS College has trained and qualified eight SACAA-licensed AFIS operators who are utilized in our control tower at Port Alfred and, until recently, the control tower at Bhisho. These AFIS operators handle in excess of 7000 aircraft movements monthly at Port Alfred," he said.

Once having joined the ranks of the Air Traffic Control profession, the students will be part of a worldwide team that is responsible for safely guiding thousands of aircraft through the international airspace system every day.

A comprehensive curriculum that integrates classroom instruction and simulator training will prepare students to be certified by their respective regulators as Air Traffic Controllers. Standard courses for the training of ATC personnel have been designed in order to offer a training program me which conforms to SACAA and ICAO course guidelines.