C5 - Procedural Service Flashcards
A Procedural Service is…
…an ATS where, in addition to the provisions of a Basic Service, the controller provides restrictions, instructions, and approach clearances, which if complied with, shall achieve deconfliction minima against other aircraft participating in the Procedural Service.
Neither traffic information nor deconfliction advice can be passed with respect to unknown traffic.
A Procedural Service does not require information derived from an ATS surveillance system.
Therefore, due to the ability for autonomous flight in Class G airspace, pilots in receipt of a Procedural Service should be aware of the high likelihood of encountering conflicting traffic without warnings being provided by ATC.
Pilots flying in the vicinity of aerodromes, ATS routes, or navigational aids where it is known that a Procedural Service is provided, are strongly encouraged to attempt to establish RTF contact with the notified ATS provider.
A Procedural Service shall only be provided by controllers at…
…ATC units with Regulatory approval to provide such an ATS.
Controllers at ATC units that do not have surveillance information available may routinely apply Procedural Service to pilots of aircraft carrying out IFR holding, approach and/or departure procedures without the need to first elicit the pilots’ requirements.
Not all ATC units are able to provide a Procedural Service. However, Procedural Service is most commonly available from ATC units without surveillance equipment that also have notified IFR arrival, departure or en-route procedures. At such units, Procedural Service offers the greatest protection to pilots.
Subject to Regulatory approval, controllers at ATC units that are equipped with surveillance equipment may also provide a Procedural Service. This is most frequently applied to aircraft previously in receipt of a surveillance ATS where track identity may not be maintained, or when surveillance equipment is not available.
A Procedural Service shall only be provided to…
…flights under IFR, irrespective of meteorological conditions.
The controller will expect the pilot to accept levels, radials, tracks, routes and time allocations that may require flight in IMC.
A pilot who is not suitably qualified to fly in IMC shall not request a Procedural Service unless compliance permits the flight to be continued in VMC.
Pilots should be aware that under a Procedural Service, high reliance is placed on the pilot’s ability to accurately follow radial, track, route and time allocations to achieve planned deconfliction minima. Therefore, pilots who are not able to accept such allocations should not request a Procedural Service.
Aircraft do not need to be…
…identified in order for a Procedural Service to be provided.
Controllers may allocate a notified SSR conspicuity code to assist adjacent surveillance equipped ATC units in ascertaining that the aircraft is in receipt of a ATS from the particular ATS provider.
In such circumstances, the issuance of such a code does not constitute the provision of a surveillance ATS.
The controller shall provide traffic information, if it is considered that a confliction may exist, on…
…aircraft being provided with a Basic Service and those where traffic information has been passed by another ATS unit; however, there is no requirement for deconfliction advice to be passed, and the pilot is wholly responsible for collision avoidance.
The controller may, subject to workload, also provide traffic information on other aircraft participating in the Procedural Service, in order to improve the pilot’s situational awareness.
Under a Procedural Service, the controller has no ability to…
…pass traffic information on any aircraft that he is not in communication with, unless he has been passed traffic information by another ATS unit.
Traffic information provided under a Procedural Service is unlikely to be as accurate as that provided by controllers using surveillance equipment. Therefore, pilots should be alert to the potential to incorrectly correlate the traffic information to other aircraft that they have in sight that are actually unknown to the controller.
A controller shall provide deconfliction instructions by…
…allocating levels, radials, tracks, routes and time restrictions, or use pilot position reports, aimed at achieving a planned deconfliction minima from other aircraft to which the controller is providing a Procedural Service in Class G airspace.
The deconfliction minima are:
- 1,000 ft vertically; or
- 500 ft vertically (subject to regulatory approval); or
- those lateral and longitudinal criteria listed in CAP 493 as lateral and longitudinal separation standards.
High controller workload or RTF loading may reduce the ability of the controller to…
…pass deconfliction advice, and the timeliness of such information
In the event that an aircraft that requires a Procedural Service makes contact with the controller whilst already within the deconfliction minima, controllers shall…
…pass traffic information to all affected aircraft.
In such circumstances, it is recognised that controllers cannot guarantee to achieve deconfliction minima; however, they shall apply all reasonable endeavours to do so as soon as practical.
Deconfliction advice cannot be provided against…
…unknown aircraft.
The pilot shall inform the controller if he elects not to…
…act on the controller’s deconfliction advice, and the pilot then accepts responsibility for initiating any subsequent collision avoidance against the aircraft in question and any other aircraft affected.
However, the controller is not prevented from passing further information in relation to the conflicting traffic if in his opinion it continues to constitute a definite hazard.
Pilots must remain alert to the fact that whilst in receipt of a Procedural Service, they may encounter conflicting aircraft for which neither traffic information nor deconfliction advice has been provided.
Pilots must still comply with Rules of the Air with regard to the avoidance of aerial collisions and advise ATC of any deviation from their clearance in order to do so.
Additionally, the adequacy of ATC deconfliction advice relies on compliance by pilots and, in the non-surveillance environment, ATC are unable to recognise when pilot position reports are inaccurate or incorrect.
Controllers may, subject to workload, initiate agreements (as defined in ATS Principles) with pilots of aircraft under a Basic Service to…
…restrict their flight profile in order to co-ordinate them with aircraft in receipt of a Procedural Service.
However, controllers shall limit the occasions on which they make such agreements to those where it is clear that a confliction exists, and only when controller workload permits.
A Procedural Service is available at…
…all levels and the pilot remains wholly responsible for terrain clearance at all times.
However, if a pilot wishes to operate below ATC unit terrain safe levels, unless on departure from an aerodrome when climbing to the ATC unit’s terrain safe level, or when following notified instrument approach procedures, controllers shall advise the pilot of the terrain safe level and remind him of his terrain responsibilities.
A controller may provide radials, tracks, routes or time restrictions…
…for the purpose of positioning, sequencing, navigational assistance, or to achieve deconfliction minima.
If a radial, track, route or time restriction is unacceptable to the pilot, he shall advise the controller immediately.
Unless safety is likely to be compromised, a pilot shall not change radial, track, route or time restriction without first obtaining approval from the controller, as the flight profile may have been co-ordinated against other airspace users without recourse to the pilot.
Where a controller uses geographical or airspace reporting points to determine and provide lateral deconfliction between flights, the pilot shall ensure, to the best of his ability, that requested or required position reports are accurate.
