NTSB Issues Recommendation A-17-024 to FAA on Air Traffic Controller Training

The National Transportation Safety Board, identified by reference number DCA15SR001, has issued Recommendation A-17-024 to the Federal Aviation Administration. This directive urges the agency to review and revise its air traffic controller training protocols. The new training must provide scenario-based education that is relevant to the controller’s specific facility type and location. It should include real-world examples demonstrating the value of both fair-weather and adverse-weather pilot weather reports, known as PIREPs, to weather forecasters. Furthermore, the recommendation highlights how location inaccuracies and common collection and dissemination errors, such as the consolidation of multiple PIREPs, adversely affect the usefulness of these reports to all National Airspace System users.