Southern Region Aviation Meteorology
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Southern Region Aviation Meteorology |
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| Operation Pathfinder: Establishing a Path Toward Improving Regional Aviation Weather Services Through 2005 |
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Table of Contents
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Adverse weather conditions, especially those associated with thunderstorms, contribute significantly to disruptions in air traffic operations within the National Airspace System (NAS). The effects extend to all sectors of the flying community (air carrier, commuter, corporate, and general aviation) and take the form of delays, re-routes, trip cancellations, and most importantly, a reduced margin of operating safety. When coupled with the dramatic growth being experienced throughout the industry, hazardous weather encounters are severely taxing an already overburdened traffic management system. Worse, projections are for industry growth to outpace improvements to the traffic management system over the next five years. Naturally, nothing can be done regarding when and where hazardous weather occurs. However, further improvements in the accuracy and timeliness of NWS forecasts of the weather's development, movement, and dissipation will aid critical air traffic management decision-making; thus, increasing the overall safety and efficiency of the NAS. Progress toward achieving a more weather-responsive air traffic system is reliant upon a joint NWS and FAA commitment that places increased emphasis on aviation weather forecasting. The FAA, as the regulatory agency, is actively working toward establishing more definitive requirements for weather forecast information. These requirements, in the form of a "weather needs" document, are currently under review. Once mutually agreed upon and finalized, the contents of the document will provide a starting point from which the NWS can launch appropriate initiatives aimed at satisfying these new requirements. This regional aviation services implementation plan (entitled "Operation Pathfinder") serves as a road-map for effecting an overall improvement in the NWS' provision of aviation weather services and, more specifically, a step-by-step methodology for navigating the requirements-driven initiatives. The plan is fueled by the challenge to keep pace with a rapidly changing aviation community and advancing technological environment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guidelines for Developing the Plan The various components of the implementation plan reflect the efforts of a team of regional aviation experts. The team was established to consider the best approaches to satisfying the aviation goals outlined in the Southern Region Implementation Plan for Vision 2005 (see Appendix) and shaping an improved regional aviation services program. In doing so, members considered many paths to success with the challenge of ensuring that these paths were consistent with the overall broader-scale aviation goals for the NWS. A significant challenge in preparing the aviation services implementation plan was a consideration of future trends and impacts. The team, to the best of their ability, attempted to envision what the needs of the aviation community would be over the next five years. Additionally, they attempted to assess what changes or advances might occur with regard to various external factors, most notably technology. Similarly, it was important to consider future strengths of and challenges to the NWS. The proposed improvements identified in the implementation plan must be consistent with both the projected short-term and long-term capabilities of the agency. Elements that are thought to pose a moderate or greater risk of adversely impacting the agency should undergo rigorous testing prior to implementation. |
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| Enhancing the Regional Aviation Services Program The aviation services implementation plan focuses on four major initiatives toward enhancing the regional aviation services program:
In fact, there is a certain degree of interdependence among the initiatives. For example, attaining the goal of improving the accuracy and efficiency of our forecast system will depend greatly on how much emphasis is placed on the training initiative. To ensure appropriate accountability and track progress toward the accomplishment of each initiative, a leader, or leaders, has/have been assigned. Descriptions of the initiatives, along with their associated tasks, target dates, and resource needs, follow. Again, because of the interdependence of the various initiatives, work on many of the associated tasks may be concurrent (reflected in the plan as similar target dates). As such, it is envisioned that the leaders will opt for establishing "task teams". |
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On Course | Thumbs Up | Precision Approach | Earn Your Wings Operation Pathfinder Home | SR Home |
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| National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters 819 Taylor St. Room 10A46 Fort Worth, Texas 76102 |
Last Modified: May 1, 2001 |