80s-Era Software Will Provide Additional Separation Control

The Federal Aviation Administration will be monitoring the use of a new -- well, sort of -- runway display software package now being implemented at Memphis International Airport.

Officials say the FAA will have enough controllers trained on the software by July 2 to resume flight operations that have been suspended since April 16 due to issues raised on a routine traffic pattern used by controllers when the wind is from the south that poses a potential risk for collision, as well as being contrary to FAA rules.

By the end of July, all controllers are expected to be proficient in the software's use which will help them make better aircraft separation decisions concerning intersecting runways, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

The software, Converging Runway Display Aid, was developed in the 1980s by MITRE Corp., a federally-funded, nonprofit organization that operates research centers for the Department of Defense, FAA and IRS. CRDA has been used at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport since 1990, and is also in use at Philadelphia International Airport.

FAA spokesperson Laura Brown confirmed the agency will be watching MEM to "see how it goes." If this trial is successful, things will return to normal, which is sure to be wonderful news to FedEx.

As ANN reported, when aircraft land on runway 18L or 18C from the north, they pass over Runway 27; if an airplane is on 27 or its taxiways, it creates a potential safety hazard.

FedEx wholeheartedly disagreed, however. A spokesman for the Memphis-based cargo hauler said, "We've followed these arrival procedures for 20 years and know its safe or we wouldn't be flying them," according to WREG Memphis.

The FAA instituted a staggered flight plan that allowed more room between landing aircraft. The agency admitted capacity could be affected. Sources note efficiency in moving a high volume of planes through an airport is a "major" financial concern. Controllers contend the landing patterns were placing 'dollars above lives'.

The move reportedly cost FedEx 20 landings an hour for an efficiency reduction of about 23 percent.

Successful use of CRDA means FedEx and others will get full use of three MEM runways again.

"It is a smart solution that is important both to the health of the airport and the airlines that operate there, and we look forward to its successful implementation," said FedEx spokesman Maury Lane.

"Right now, we think it's probably going to be a good solution," said Larry Newman, Air Line Pilot Association spokesman. "But we think it is going to be a technical challenge because Memphis has two intersecting runways."

Not everyone thinks CRDA is good for MEM. A controller, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Commercial Appeal the software is not a complete fix -- as it will not produce wake turbulence separation for smaller aircraft.

Then there is the potential a pilot could fly directly into the path of an aircraft landing on north-south runway 18R if a landing is aborted on east-west Runway 27, as the system does not cover 18R on the west side of the airport, the controller said.

The landing procedure in question was only used when the wind was out of the south, and pilots were limited to VFR conditions.

FMI: www.mscaa.com, www.mitre.com