Core ATS & ANSP Basics
Organization responsible for safe, orderly, efficient movement of air traffic in an airspace.
What is an ANSP (Air Navigation Service Provider)
Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast; aircraft broadcasts position and other data.
What is ADS-B?
System-generated representation of an aircraft’s position/movement on an operational display.
What is a track?
Minimum distance controllers must maintain between aircraft to ensure safety.
What is separation?
Intake framework: Who / What / When / Where / _____.
What is Impact?
The umbrella term for services provided to support aircraft operations, including ATC, surveillance, communications, and navigation.
What is ATS (Air Traffic Services)?
Satellite-received ADS-B that extends surveillance into oceanic/remote/polar regions.
What is space-based ADS-B?
Track remains displayed using predicted movement after updates are temporarily lost.
What is coasting?
When the minimum required separation is breached.
What is Loss of Separation (LoS)?
Customer phrase: “We’re seeing delayed updates.” (Translate to the technical term.)
What is latency?
Facility type that provides control service over en route traffic (often broken into sectors).
What is an ACC (Area Control Center)
Geographic area where surveillance information is available.
What is coverage?
Track disappears entirely from the operational display (opposite of coasting).
What is a track drop / track loss?
Control method used when surveillance systems are unavailable; relies on reports and procedures rather than radar/ADS-B display.
What is procedural control?
Customer phrase: “Aircraft disappeared.” (Translate to the technical term.)
What is track drop / track loss?
A defined airspace region for which flight information and alerting services are provided.
What is an FIR (Flight Information Region)?
Delay between aircraft transmission and the operational display.
What is latency?
Two or more representations of the same aircraft appear on the display.
What is a duplicate track?
Alternative procedures used when normal systems/services are unavailable.
What are contingency operations?
Customer phrase: “We’re getting intermittent coverage.” (Translate to the technical term.)
What is reduced/intermittent coverage?
FAA term meaning a facility is completely unable to safely provide published ATC services.
What is ATC-0?
The controller has positively identified an aircraft on the display.
What is radar contact?
A track appears on the display where no real aircraft exists.
What is a ghost track?
In incidents, the most important thing Tier 1 must capture besides symptoms: the operational effect/capability degraded or unavailable.
What is the impact?
Customer phrase strongly indicating operational impact: “We can’t separate / we’ve switched to procedural.” What should Tier 1 do?
What is escalate immediately?