Federal Aviation Administration

Guidelines

Guidelines

Air Traffic Procedures Advisory Committee (ATPAC)

  1. REFERENCE:  FAA ORDER 7110.76S establishes and constitutes the charter for ATPAC
  2. MEMBERSHIP: 
    1. Membership shall consist of those organizations identified in the current charter.
    2. Nominations for new membership can be made by current Committee members and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The FAA, in consultation with the committee, may grant tentative membership approval.  Representative from organizations with tentative membership can participate in Committee meetings and will be permitted to provide comments and opinions. 
  3. CONSENSUS:
    1. All recommendations and certain decisions, as outlined in the guidelines, require consensus of the member organizations’ representatives present at the meeting.  Consensus is reached when the Committee, by unanimous consent of member representatives present, agrees to move forward with a particular decision or recommendation.
    2. All persons present have the opportunity to provide input during discussions.  However, only representatives of member organizations (excepting FAA and tentative members) are part of the determination of consensus.
    3. If a designated representative is willing to move forward with a decision or recommendation but has particular comments he or she would like included in the record, these comments will be included.
    4. If consensus cannot be reached on how to proceed with an AOC after all representative have had the opportunity to speak on the topic, at the Chairperson’s discretion the discussion may be deferred until later in that meeting or a later meeting. 
    5. If consensus cannot be reached on the resolution of an AOC, and additional research or information is not forthcoming, withdrawal of the AOC should be considered.  The decision to withdraw an AOC shall be reached by consensus in accordance with paragraph 3a. 
  4. VOTING:  When voting is required, except as otherwise noted, all votes will be by a simple majority of the designated representatives from the member organization who are present at the meeting.  A member organization that expects to be absent for an anticipated vote may designate another member organization as its proxy for that vote.  The Chairman must be notified of such proxy designation prior to the vote in question.
  5. COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON:  The Chairperson shall serve as the facilitator of discussion and ensure compliance with the procedures as described herein.
    1. The Chairperson shall attend all Committee meetings.
    2. Duties of the Chairperson:
      • At the beginning of every meeting, identify each member organization’s designated representative.
      • Solicit opinions from committee members as to whether an Area of Concern (AOC) is within the scope of the ATPAC charter and rule on the appropriateness of the topics.
      • Run the meeting, including the determination of priority and time allowed for discussion of AOC’s and other committee business.
      • Ensure that all opinions on a topic are heard and remain unbiased during the discussions.  The Chairperson may not represent any organization.
      • Serve as facilitator when building consensus on decisions and/or recommendations.
      • Forward Committee recommendations for ATPAC charter changes to the FAA Administrator.
      • Contact organizations that miss two consecutive meetings to ascertain their interest in ATPAC.  In cases where an organization does not wish to retain its status in ATPAC, the Chairperson shall convey that information to the FAA Administrator.  If an organization misses four (4) or more meetings during the term of the current charter, the FAA may decide to remove the organization’s membership status. 
  6. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON:
    1. Any Committee member or alternate member of the current charter is eligible to be Chairperson.  Nominations for the new Chairperson shall be made in writing to the Executive Director and must be received by the close of the next to the last meeting of the current Charter.  Each member organization is permitted to submit one nomination for committee Chairperson.
    2. Announcements for nomination of Chairperson shall be made as the final agenda item of the next to the last meeting of the current charter.
    3. Election of the Committee Chairperson will be conducted by written ballot during the last meeting of the current charter, and determined by majority vote in accordance with paragraph 4.
    4. The term of office for the newly elected Chairperson will coincide with each new charter.  The Chairperson begins serving his/her term of office at the first meeting of the new charter. 
    5. The Chairperson can be recalled at any time during the term of office by a two-thirds vote of the Committee designated representatives.
  7. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
    1. The Executive Director shall attend all ATPAC meetings.
    2. Duties of the Executive Director:
      • Provide the Committee with information relative to ATPAC discussion issues.
      • Provide expertise and administration support to the Committee.  This support shall not be limited to Air Traffic, and may include the appropriate office of other FAA services or external organizations, i.e. NASA, NWS, etc.
      • Prepare the agenda and the minutes of all meetings and provide any other information pertinent to the function of the committee.
      • Publish minutes of each meeting in accordance with paragraph 8c.
  8. MEETINGS:
    1. Meetings will be held quarterly, usually during the months of January, April, July and October.  Normally two meetings per year – the April and October meetings – will be held at FAA Headquarters.  The remaining meetings will normally be held in other locations in order for committee members and the public to gain a national perspective on issues.  The Chairperson and Executive Director shall be jointly responsible for hotel and meeting space arrangements for the out-of-town meetings.
    2. The Chairperson and the Executive Director shall be present for all discussions on AOCs may designate another member organization as its proxy for that vote.  The Chairman must be notified of such proxy designation prior to the vote in question Cs and Recommendations.  However, in case of emergency, the Chairperson may designate an ATPAC member primary or alternate representative to act as chairperson or the Executive Director may designate an FAA employee to act as executive director.
    3. Meetings will normally begin at 1:00 PM local time on Monday and extend through 4:00 PM on Thursday.  The Chairperson will designate appropriate times for convening, breaks, adjourning, etc. 
    4. The meeting agenda shall include:
      • approval of minutes of the previous meeting
      • Discussion of potential Safety Items, if any.
      • Old business
      • New business
      • Confirmation of location, dates, and times for subsequent meetings.
      • When required, announcements of nominations for new Chairperson.
      • When required, election of new Chairperson.
    5. The minutes of each meeting will be posted on the ATPAC web site not later than 30 days after the close of the meeting.  The minutes shall include, but not be limited to:
      • Time and place of the meeting
      • Attendees
      • A list of outstanding AOCs, including those newly introduced at the meeting.
      • A summary of each AOC discussion and Agenda item discussion, and action taken on each item.  The minutes shall NOT include references to individual committee members.  The term “member” shall be used rather than “he” or “she.”
      • A summary of presentations or reports made to the committee, Copies of handout materials may be attached or referenced, as appropriate.
      • Copies of reports, statements, or recommendations issued or approved by the Committee.
      • The schedule of planned future meetings, to the extend known.
      • Election of a new Chairperson, when appropriate.
  9. AREA OF CONCERN (AOC):           
    1. AOCs are subjects of marked interest concerning procedural matters or practices in the air traffic control (ATC)system which member organization believe need to be addressed or corrected by the FAA or system users.
    2. Safety Issue.  The sponsor may identify an AOC as a potential Safety Issue when it represents a significant problem that requires immediate response at the highest level of the FAA and demands priority for discussion by the committee.  A Safety Issue shall be given priority consideration by the Chairperson. 
      • Five minutes will be allotted to the sponsor for the presentation as to why the AOC is a Safety Issue.
      • After the presentation, by consensus, a determination shall be made on whether the AOC is a Safety Issue.
      • If the AOC is not identified as a Safety issue, it shall be assigned normal priority on the agenda.
    3. Any member may submit an AOC.  AOCs should be submitted to the Executive Director at least 30 days prior to the next scheduled meeting.  The Chairperson, in consultation with the Executive Director, will determine the order in which AOCs will be taken up and the time allotted to each discussion.  Committee members should be provided a copy of all new AOCs one week prior to the meeting.  With the exception of an AOC that has been determined to be a Safety Issue, the Chairperson may defer discussion of AOCs submitted less than 30 days prior to a meeting until the following meeting to allow members time to research the issue.  Any member submitting AOCs at the meeting should bring 35 copies and associated references.
    4. Until the first meeting at which an AOC is discussed, the status of an AOC is solely up to the member who introduced it.  After that meeting, however, the status is determined by the Committee by consensus.
    5. The status of an AOC shall be recorded as follows:
      • Action completed when the AOC is resolved by committee Consensus.  For example, an AOC may be considered Action Completed when one of the following occurs (not all inclusive):
        • FAA adopts a Document change Proposal (DCP).
        • FAA informs ATPAC that the recommendation is being
        • FAA informs ATPAC that action is being taken to establish new procedure(s).
      • Deferred when the Committee is continuing work on the AOC and wishes to keep it active from one meeting to the next.
      • Withdrawn when the Committee no longer wishes to discuss an AOC that has been under consideration.
      • Non-Adopted when recommendations are considered within the FAA and the FAA determines that the suggested action will not be in the best interest of the system.
  10.  RECOMMENDATION:
    1. A Recommendation is a definitive statement regarding an AOC that recommends that something be done to correct, refine, or change the pertinent problem.
    2. A Recommendation will be forwarded to the FAA through the Executive Director.
    3. If it is determined that a Recommendation has not been acted upon within a reasonable length of time (determined by the Committee members), the Committee Chairperson is responsible for assuring contact with the appropriate FAA office to seek response or resolution.
    4. A Recommendation may be modified or withdrawn by Committee consensus.
  11.  AD HOC COMMITTEES/WORKING GROUPS:  Ad hoc committees or working groups are comprised of a number of Committee members or alternate members who meet outside of regularly scheduled meeting times to work on projects, as directed by the Committee.  The product of the ad hoc group will be presented to the full Committee for their preview at the next scheduled meeting.
  12.  NUMBERING AOCS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS:  Each AOC will be recorded and numbered in numerical order as introduced during the meeting.  For example, AOCs presented during the 107th ATPAC meeting will be numbered AOC 107-1, AOC 107-2, etc.  Recommendations will be numbered sequentially under the AOC from which they stem.
  13.  AGENDA ITEMS:  There are two categories of Agenda Items (Closed AOC and Item of Interest):
    1. When an AOC is adopted/adopted with modification by the FAA, ATPAC may still have an interest in the subsequent actions related to the closed AOC.  When this occurs, the subject AOC will become an Agenda item.  Agenda item updates will be provided/scheduled by FAA as progress occurs.
    2. An Item of Interest may be identified as and Agenda Item to enhance the awareness of ATPAC members.  Members may suggest Agenda Items to the Chairperson.  Briefings or updates of Agenda Items will be scheduled at the discretion of the Executive Director, based on availability of experts in the subject area. 
    3. A member may request that an item be scheduled as an Agenda Item, e.g., requesting a speaker/presentation regarding research projects whose outcome may influence existing or future air traffic procedures or air safety improvements of interest to the Committee.  Briefings often provide a dual benefit, such as;
      • Information provide by the researcher or organization may be useful to ATPAC in its deliberations regarding the modification, elimination, or creation of air traffic procedures as it relates to technology improvement, and
      • The combined expertise and background knowledge of the ATPAC permits a broad range of feedback to the researcher.
    4. A member may request facility tours to introduce membership to new technology or procedures be added as agenda items.

Page Last Modified: 01/05/11 12:40 EST

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