VATUSA
Virtual Air Traffic Simulation - USA Division
Introduction to Emergencies
Over the radio, Jay McCombs tried hard to understand the slow, slurring words muffled among the blaring sirens sounding in the background. The radio was poor, and the pilot difficult to understand, leaving only unintelligible transmission and uncontrollable noise to be heard.Controllers at Cleveland Center were now faced with the complex and difficult task of deciphering the message if they had any chance of finding a solution. The critical diagnosis that was to come would make all the difference in securing the safety of the Kalitta Learjet, KFS66.
The events unfolded on July 26, 2008 when McCombs accepted the hand-off of KFS66, which appeared to have a stuck mike creating incomprehensible transmissions. Unclear to those in the Center, however, was that the co-pilots arm was all the while moving violently and uncontrollably on the other end as the captain worked hard to hand fly the aircraft.Through the help of another pilots translation, Jay learned that the aircraft had declared an emergency. The plane was quickly changing altitude and McCombs immediately began to suggest closer airports, only to receive no reply.
Amid the chaos to translate the captains words, fellow controller Stephanie Bevins turns on the receiver so that she can now hear the pilot with her own headset. As she thinks through the symptoms in her head, she concludes that he must be hypoxic, a serious condition involving lack of oxygen due to pressurization problems. She knows immediately that they must descend the aircraft.Following Bevins initiative, McCombs begins bringing the aircraft to the lowest altitude available in order to alleviate the possible oxygen deprivation. Unable to answer questions, the pilot is only able to respond to direct commands that the controllers now begin to voice. Descend and maintain, they repeat.
Remarkably, the captains inability to turn on autopilot requires him to have to work in order to fly the airplane, keeping him conscious and the plane airborne. The pilots words gradually become more understandable, and around 11,000 feet, he returns to normal and confirms that he had, indeed, been suffering from hypoxia. Without Bevins and McCombs, there is no telling what would have happened. Bevins diagnosis made all the difference to the fate of the passengers, and without McCombs, the necessary actions to solve the problem would not have been taken to get the aircraft down safely. Various individuals were involved in the assistance of KFS66, clearly stated by McCombs who says that the entire area (Area 5) worked extremely well as a team.
Seeing that this is amazing story embodied by unusual and startling circumstances, it is clear why this case study has not only been chosen as an Archie winner, but also as a classroom teaching aid at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute in Oklahoma City.
The above video is a prime example of the life saving assistance that an Air Traffic Controller provides to an aircraft that has declared an emergency. In this section you will learn exactly how a pilot declares an emergency and what your responsibilities are as an Air Tra traffic Controller. Lets begin by looking at the VATSIM Policy in regards to emergencies.
VATSIM Policy
From The VATSIM Code of Conduct – § CoC 8-2003 B(8)
"Pilots are permitted to declare in-flight emergencies. If for any reason, air traffic control requests the pilot to terminate the emergency, then the pilot must do so or log off of VATSIM. PILOTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SIMULATE A “RADIO FAILURE†CONDITION BY ENTERING A TRANSPONDER CODE OF 7600. IN ADDITION, PILOTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SIMULATE, IN ANY MANNER, AN UNLAWFUL ACT WHILE LOGGED ONTO THE VATSIM.net NETWORK INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DECLARING A HIJACK BY STATEMENT UTILIZING EITHER VOICE ORTEXT OR BY ENTERING A TRANSPONDER CODE OF 7500."
From The VATSIM Code of Conduct – § CoC 9-2003 C(9)
"Controllers should not carry on private conversations between themselves, pilots or other individuals on the active communication frequency, the ATC channel on ProController© or on the “guard†frequency (121.50). This interferes with providing ATC services to other pilots. The guard frequency should only be utilized in cases of emergency and under no other circumstances. Controllers are encouraged to use private chat boxes for carrying on private conversations."
Declaring an Emergency
There are two ways in which a pilot can declare an emergency. Voice/Text and via a squawk code.
VOICE
- Mayday - The international radiotelephony distress signal. When repeated three times, it indicates imminent and grave danger and that immediate assistance is requested.
- Pan - The international radio-telephony urgency signal. When repeated three times, it indicates uncertainty or alert followed by the nature of the urgency.
The term "Mayday" means the aircraft requires immediate assistance, where as the term "Pan" indicates an urgent situation. In a practical sense, a pilot may state, "Pan" if he was showing a high oil pressure (a sign of possible future engine failure), yet it may become a "Mayday" situation if that engine were to suddenly stop.
SQUAWK CODE
- 7700 - This is the general emergency squawk code.
- 7600 - This is the squawk code that indicates that the aircraft is experiencing a radio failure. Due to the nature of VATSIM, this will never happen.
- 7500 - This is the squawk code that indicates an aircraft is being hijacked. If a pilot is squawking this code, they will be automatically disconnected from the servers.
Handling the Emergency
Your job as an Air Traffic Controller is simply to provide whatever assistance the pilot needs to get the aircraft on the ground safely. You should remember that due to the emergency aircraft having priority, that you should be considerate of the other pilots on your frequency. Always remember that at any time you may ask the aircraft to disconnect from the network.
