ACR SUGGESTS ALTERNATING MALE AND FEMALE VOICES ON ATIS REPORTS TO MAKE IT INSTANTANEOUSLY OBVIOUS THAT A CHANGE HAS OCCURRED. BELIEVES THIS WOULD SAVE THE TIME IT TAKES A CREW MEMBER TO LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE BROADCAST TO GET THE PHONETIC IDENTIFIER. FURTHER SUGGESTS REPEATING THE IDENTIFIER AFTER THE ALT SETTING WHEN RAPID CHANGES IN ATIS ARE NECESSARY.

2008-09 · NASA ASRS report 803404

Date: 2008-09 · Aircraft: Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700) · Phase: descent

Synopsis

ACR SUGGESTS ALTERNATING MALE AND FEMALE VOICES ON ATIS REPORTS TO MAKE IT INSTANTANEOUSLY OBVIOUS THAT A CHANGE HAS OCCURRED. BELIEVES THIS WOULD SAVE THE TIME IT TAKES A CREW MEMBER TO LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE BROADCAST TO GET THE PHONETIC IDENTIFIER. FURTHER SUGGESTS REPEATING THE IDENTIFIER AFTER THE ALT SETTING WHEN RAPID CHANGES IN ATIS ARE NECESSARY.

Narrative

MY FO WAS OBTAINING THE ATIS FOR BWI. NEW INFO WAS DUE OUT SOON. WHEN THE NEW INFO WAS BROADCAST; HE HAD TO WAIT FOR THE ENTIRE XMISSION TO HEAR THE NEW CODE AND TIME OF OBSERVATION TO DETERMINE ITS CURRENCY. DURING THE TIME HE WAS WAITING; HIS ATTN AND PARTICIPATION IN OPS WERE DISRUPTED. THIS ISSUE HAPPENS SEVERAL TIMES EVERY DAY. CURRENTLY; MANY STATIONS USE A COMPUTER GENERATED MALE VOICE TO BROADCAST THE ATIS. IF EVERY OTHER BROADCAST ATIS USED A COMPUTER GENERATED FEMALE VOICE; IT WOULD MAKE IDENT OF NEW DATA VIRTUALLY INSTANTANEOUS. THIS REQUIRES THE KIND OF PROGRAMMING CODE A HIGH SCHOOL COMPUTER ENTHUSIAST COULD ACCOMPLISH IN JUST A FEW MINS. IF THERE IS A RAPID SERIES OF ATIS UPDATES (SPECIAL OBSERVATIONS); AS WHEN A COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS A STATION AND THE TEMP/ALTIMETER SETTING/ACTIVE RWY CHANGE QUICKLY; A CREW MEMBER MIGHT INCORRECTLY IDENT NEW DATA AS PREVIOUSLY RPTED AND RECORDED IF IT HAS CHANGED TWICE IN A SHORT TIME FRAME (LESS THAN A MIN OR TWO). TO PREVENT CONFUSION; SIMPLY INCLUDE THE PHRASE 'ATIS INFO (ATIS IDENTIFIER)' AFTER THE ALTIMETER SETTING ON ALL ATIS BROADCASTS. THIS REQUIRES APPROX AN ADDITIONAL 3 SECONDS TO BROADCAST. THESE 2 ITEMS ARE ZERO COST AND CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IMMEDIATELY. I CAN TELL YOU THAT WITH NEARLY 24 YRS OF AIRLINE EXPERIENCE; THIS CAN RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN REDUCING DISTRS DURING HIGH THREAT OPS; AKA APCHING ANY STATION FOR LNDG. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CONSIDER THESE SUGGESTIONS.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.

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