Analysis of Controller-Pilot Voice Communications from Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center

Final report; July 2017PDFTech ReportDOT-VNTSC-FAA-17-13DOT/FAA/TC-17/44Air traffic controlAirlinesData communicationsFlight crewsHuman factorsHuman information processingVoice communicationMissouriJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)Lennertz, TracyCardosi, KimYost, AlanBisch, AlisonJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Aviation AdministrationNTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThe implementation of Controller Pilot Datalink Communications (CPDLC) in domestic en route airspace is a key enabling technology in the Next Generation Air Transportation System. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to implement en route CPDLC in 2019 in Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZKC). Here, we examined routine controller-pilot communication in ZKC airspace to provide insights into anticipated benefits of CPDLC implementation and to inform a baseline of communication measures to be used for a post-implementation comparison. While the realized benefits will depend on the level of equipage and actual implementation, these findings highlight some of the anticipated benefits of CPDLC implementation. The analysis showed that frequency changes due to transfer of communications were the largest category of pilot and controller transmissions and the majority of readback errors. The second most common controller instruction was an altitude change. Both of these can be conveyed via CPDLC in the initial en route implementation. Using CPDLC for the most common transmissions will reduce frequency congestion, allowing more time for users to access the frequency and reducing the probability of step-ons and blocked transmissions