The 'missing link' in aviation safety under scrutiny

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is planning to discuss and examine the status of what are known as Air Traffic Safety Electronic Personnel (Atsep) in South Africa. Atseps are the engineering technicians responsible for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of ground-based air traffic navigation aids and communications equipment.

Atseps have been the forgotten, or missing, link in the aviation safety chain. Not only the general public, but also the aviation industry and regulators, have thought of aviation safety as involving pilots, air traffic controllers and aviation technicians and mechanics (who maintain, repair and overhaul the aircraft, their avionics and engines).

"For a long time, there has been a lack of oversight regarding these Atsep technicians," pointed out SACAA senior manager: air navigation services Sandile Maphanga. "For a long time, ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] has had a system of oversight for aviation technicians. But there has been no oversight of the technicians looking after the navigational aids – hence the concept of the 'missing link'."

ICAO is the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing global civil aviation. It is an agency of the United Nations Organisation. Although, worldwide, concern about the status of Atseps has been growing for at least 15 years, it is only in the past five years that ICAO has really taken up the issue.

ICAO has decided that national regulators can develop their own regulations covering ground-based navigational aids and Atseps, appropriate to their own national and regional circumstances. "But, so far, the focus has been on the equipment, not the people," he explains. "The Atseps themselves have pushed to be included, as well, so as to ensure the integrity of the system."

"Here, in South Africa, we're still in the drafting stage, drafting a proposal to include Atseps in our regulatory framework and standards," he reported. "One proposal is to license them, but that must be debated. We haven't reached that point yet. As SACAA, we still have to consult with the relevant stakeholders."

Most Atseps in South Africa are employed by the country's air traffic management agency, Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS). The South African Air Force also has some. A number of companies that manufacture and service ground-based air navigation and communications equipment also have a number of in-house Atseps, to look after their own systems. And the SACAA has a few, serving as inspectors.

"Regulating Atseps is a complex process," explained Maphanga. "We're starting from the ground upwards. It will involve changing the regulatory framework, which requires government approval. So it will take a few years – but, hopefully, less than five years."

Maphanga participated in, and addressed, the seventh International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations Africa regional meeting in Johannesburg. ATNS  was the host organisation.