ATC System

Question 1

What is the primary purpose of ATC?

Answer 1

The primary purpose is to prevent a collision between aircraft operating in the system and to organize and expedite the flow of traffic in a manner that is: safe, orderly and expeditious.

Question 2

What is duty priority?

Answer 2

First priority is given to separating aircraft and issuing safety alerts.
Second priority is to provide support to National Security and Homeland Defense.

Question 3

What is duty priority (Part II)?

Answer 3

Good judgment shall be used in prioritizing all other duties based on the requirements of the situation at hand, or when encountering situations for which there is no written procedure.

Question 4

What is procedural preference?

Answer 4

Automation procedures are used in preference to non-automation procedures when workload, communications, and equipment capabilities permit.

Question 5

Describe operational priority.

Answer 5

Air traffic control service to aircraft is provided on a “first come, first served” basis as circumstances permit, except the following:

-Aircraft in distress
+Have the right-of-way over all other traffic
-Civilian air ambulance flights
+Priority is also provided to military air evacuation flights and scheduled air carrier/air taxi flights, when verbally requested
-Search and Rescue (SAR) aircraft performing a SAR mission
-Presidential aircraft
-Flight Check aircraft
-Special military and civilian operations
-Diverted flights
+Ensure that aircraft that have already had to divert to another airport due to weather or
other phenomena do not incur an additional delay

Question 6

What are additional services?

Answer 6

Additional services are to be provided to the extent possible. Additional services are advisory information provided by ATC which include, but are not limited to, the following:

Traffic advisories
Radar vectors, when requested by the pilot, to assist aircraft receiving traffic advisories to avoid observed traffic
Altitude deviation information of 300 feet or more from an assigned altitude as observed on a verified (reading correctly) automatic altitude readout (Mode C)
Advisories that traffic is no longer a factor
Weather and chaff information
Weather assistance
Bird activity information
Holding pattern surveillance

Question 7

What factors limit additional services?

Answer 7

Volume of traffic
Frequency congestion
Quality of radar
Controller workload
Higher priority duties
Pure physical inability to scan and detect those situations that fall in this category

Question 8

True or False:

Additional services are optional for the air traffic controller.

Answer 8

False. Additional services are not optional for the controller; they are required when the work situation permits.