1. Weather-in-the-Cockpit Vision
FAA Office of the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety
Hello,
I am Steve Van Trees, Manager, Avionics Systems Branch of the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Division at our HQ in Washington, DC.
Today, I will share with you the foundation of the Office of the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety’s vision for weather in the cockpit.
WEATHER IN THE COCKPIT VISION OVERVIEW:
It is important to note that the AVS vision for weather in the cockpit enables NAS developers; applicants, operators, manufacturers, and NAS users/supporters: pilots, controllers, flight service, and airline dispatch personnel, to one,
Safely conduct high fidelity interrogation of the atmosphere, and two,
Universally and simultaneously share critical safety information as it relates to the impact of weather phenomena on aviation.
Through this approach, we are confident that NAS operations will continue to evolve toward our goal of aviation safety enhancement in spite of adverse weather activity.
NCAR Cockpit Weather Workshop
Stephen Van Trees, Manager, AIR-130
August 8-10, 2006

2. Overview Purpose Justification Synopsis of Vision
Operational Concept of Use
Benefits
Implementation Issues
AVS Weather Related Documents
Summary
I’ll support the vision I’m going to share with you by elaborating briefly on the following:
THE NEED:
We will touch on some of the factors that highlight the need for weather in the cockpit. The main issue we must to address is the prevention of weather accidents and fatalities.
DATA LINK:
To get weather in the cockpit, at this time, we will rely on information flow via data link. Obviously radio communications will still constitute a significant portion of weather information exchange, however, even that way of doing business is subject to modification and improvement.
AIRBORNE SENSORS:
The vision includes using the airplane as a “node in the CNS network.” That is to say, the airplane can be used to interrogate the atmosphere and transmit weather collected data and information to other NAS users / NAS supporters for coordinated aviation safety decisions and action.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY:
Controllers, dispatchers, FSSs, and pilots, through the weather in the cockpit vision, will now speak the same language while accessing the same information on their respective displays, and using the same weather information to make coordinated collaborative decisions.
SUMMARY:
And here, I’ll wrap up and with assistance from my colleagues, briefly entertain any questions you may have.

3. Purpose
Define a Near-term Concept of Operational Use For Weather in The Cockpit
Establish a Common Understanding of Weather in The Cockpit
Provides a Foundation For Collaboration With Others in Industry, Government, Academia
Today’s Presentation is Intended To Start a Dialogue With Other Stakeholders

4. Justification Needs exists for common situational awareness between
Pilot
Controller
Dispatcher (Flight Service Station specialists in GA)
Leads to enhanced decision making and shared responsibility in making decisions related to weather

5. Shared Responsibility
Flight Service Stations
Airline Dispatch
Air Traffic Control
Pilots and Aircrews
On the issue of Shared Responsibility, emphasis must be placed on the need to insure that all components of a safe flight; ATC, the pilot, dispatch, and flight service station personnel, are uniformly aware of a given weather situation and, as a coherent group, use that awareness to insure safety.

6. Benefits Safety - Prevent Weather Accidents and Fatalities
Weather largest cause of GA fatalities in the U.S, 200 deaths annually
Weather is causal factor more than twice as often as any other factor in GA fatal accidents
Safety – Mitigate cabin injuries due to turbulence
Efficiency – Aid in Selecting Most Cost-Effective Routes
Weather is the largest single cause of aviation accidents and fatalities; responsible for approximately 200 fatalities annually. Weather in the Cockpit provides the hazard control to potentially reduce these accidents. Weather in the Cockpit is just the beginning, though, as it represents a paradigm shift in which procedures must be developed, operations monitored, and feedback provided to maximize the benefits and reduce unintended consequences.
VFR flight into IMC continues to be a major accident element even for IFR rated pilots.
The majority of these weather accidents occurred in Part 91 and Part 135 operations.
This is equivalent to the loss of 1 commercial carrier per year.
A number of cabin crew and passenger injuries are reported each year due to unplanned encounters with adverse weather. Many are preventable if there was advance warning of turbulence. Onboard sensing systems along with data link technology hold promise to help address this safety issue. This is also an economic issue for the operators in terms of workman compensation for the crew.
Data linked weather information should enhance air traffic management efficiencies by providing GPS-based, real-time data to controllers during terminal and en route operations. Processed weather data should aid crews in selecting the optimum route, altitude, and speed to meet their specific mission needs.
The criteria for the fatal weather accidents also included:
1. Weather at the accident scene was reported at IMC with the flight on other than an IFR flight plan;
2. Loss of control or spatial disorientation with weather (other than wind) a cause, finding or factor.

7. Synopsis of Weather-in-the-Cockpit Vision
“Enable flight deck weather information technologies that allow pilots and aircrews to engage in shared situational awareness and shared responsibilities with controllers, dispatchers, Flight Service Station specialists, and others, pertaining to preflight, en route, and post flight aviation safety decisions involving weather.”

8. Now you might say, we have plenty of weather in the cockpit now, what more do we need? The need exists to insure that all those involved with insuring safety of flight have, comprehend, interpret, and communicate critical information regarding weather hazards in a manner that prevents accidents.
If I am looking at this in my cockpit, is there any assurance that it is accurate ? Is there any assurance that it replicates the perspective of a controller or FSS briefer ? Is there any assurance that they can help me, the pilot, avoid the hazards ?
Do I, as a pilot, feel that I can handle more risk because I have tools like this in my cockpit ?
DEPICTION: Map Page Arc view TFRs, NexRad, Satellite Mosaic and Front lines

9. Operational Concept of Use
Cockpit-oriented Operational Concept Of Use
Focuses On Certification Design Requirements, Flight Technical Standards, Training, and Procedures, and Weather Information
Tied Together By a Network-centric Enabled Operation Such As SWIM
SWIM – System Wide Information Management, which will be described more later

10. System Wide Information Management (SWIM)
Private & Public Sector Ground-based Users Access Data
Weather Data
Integrators
Weather Data Sources
Air Carrier
AC # 1
(In flight)
Broadband & R/R DL
Air carrier
AC # 2
(On ground)
Gate link & R/R DL
General Aviation AC: Ground & In-flight Updates
SWIM **
(Secure Internet)
** - Only pre-approved and authenticated users allowed access

11. Sample Weather-in-the-Cockpit Scenario
Here’s one example of how a system can operate.

12. Implementation Issues
Use of Airborne Data Sensors
Development of Weather Products
Training and Human Factors Considerations
Integration of Weather Data from Multiple Sources
Determine What Weather Information is Needed By Each Group of Decision Makers

13. Airborne Sensors and Comm Links
Airborne Turbulence Detection System
TAMDAR - Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting
MDCRS - Meteorological Data Collection and Reporting System
TAPS – Turbulence AutoPIREP System
Systems use both airborne sensors (cross link) and data link
Airborne Turbulence Detection System - Airborne Weather RADAR with Tubulence Detection Capability [TSO-C63c]
TAMDAR – Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting, A team lead by NASA designed the TAMDAR sensor which allows aircraft flying at altitudes below 25,000 feet to automatically sense and report atmospheric conditions. Observations are sent by satellite to computers on the ground, which process and distribute up-to-date weather information to forecasters, pilots and those who brief pilots. TAMDAR measures humidity, pressure, temperature, winds, icing and turbulence with the help of location, time and altitude provided by built-in Global Positioning System technology.
MDCRS – Meteorological Data Collection and Reporting System, ARINC's Meteorological Data Collection and Reporting System (MDCRS) is designed to support improved weather forecasting, particularly for upper-air wind and severe weather. First developed for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) in 1991, the system collects and organizes up to 28,000 real-time, automated position and weather reports per day from participating aircraft. The data is then forwarded to the NWS World Area Forecasting Center in Maryland, USA, where it's used as input for their predictive weather models.
TAPS –NASA's Turbulence Auto-PIREP System (TAPS) takes the reporting job out of the pilot's hands. Its turbulence encounter reports are generated automatically, immediately displayed on computers on the ground and received in the cockpits of other aircraft. The system is still undergoing development and testing.

14. Weather Data Link Product Development & Evolution
Text to Graphics (Today’s “First generation”)
Weather Trending and Probabilistic Products
Fully Integrated Electronic Moving Map, Weather, Terrain, Obstacles, and Traffic Displays
Depictions Present Both Permanent and Temporary Change Data To Crews in an Intuitive, Easy To Comprehend Manner
When properly equipped, pilots using data link may reduce workload and radio traffic. However, when either the pilot is unable to assimilate all of the information in a manner that improves safety of flight or, the data linked information is such that it is not readily understood, data link’s value quickly plummets.
The Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 7, outlines many aspects of FAA expectations for weather products and their utilization in general as well as those that may be data linked to the cockpit.
The standards, evaluation, and certification of the products is one key area where we will apply ourselves.
And, obviously, when done right, that is mitigate or eradicate the shortcomings of data link technologies and the use of data link products, we will realize the attendant safety benefits.

15. Data Link Design Considerations
Equipment and Displays with appropriate Data Link Communication Protocols
Weather Products
Appropriate Standards, Evaluation and Certification
Archiving Onboard Data For Post-flight Retrieval and Analysis

16. Strategic, Tactical, and Controlling
CBs over Iowa and Nebraska, moving NE at 20 knots, tops to FL 450.
Tactical
IMC in 5 NM; a 180 degree turn will place aircraft in VMC
Controlling
Altimeter two niner seven niner (29.79)
RVR… Trending data for last 10 minutes shows a RVR of 400 meters, Runway 12R.
CBs – Cumulo NimBus cloud type. The precursor to Thunderstorm(s)
NE – NorthEast
FL – Flight Level
IMC – Instrument Meteorological Conditions
NM – Nautical Miles
VMC – Visual Meteorological Conditions
RVR – Runway Visual Range
12R – Runway Twelve (120o) Right

17. Training and Human Factors Considerations
Important to ensure proper use of tools and that tools are human-centered principles
Design training on crew resource and risk management and aeronautical and pilot decision-making
Design software and hardware based upon common human factor functional design standards to facilitate ease of training and use
Enable to make better, more informed, tactical decisions during all phases of flight

18. Shared Responsibility
Aircraft
Cockpit / Flight Deck
Information
Flow
Shared Responsibility begins at the lowest level of operations; training.
Training for pilots is vital, and equally important is a coordinated effort for controllers so that flight crews and ATC have a consistent coherent platform for using this new information.
When shared responsibility does not exist or breaks down, accidents happen. For example, we have seen cases where pilots, FSS personnel, and ATC have gotten their messages crossed in critical weather / safety of flight decision making situations.
In one fatal event, the pilot assumed that ATC would guide him
during hazardous weather routing. ATC assumed that the pilot
would use onboard capabilities to execute safe weather routing,
when in actuality, no one was managing safe weather routing.
Another event involved thunderstorm intensity level
characterization(s) by the pilot and ATC. For example, ATC
characterized a RADAR echo as “light” while, the pilot, looking
at the same RADAR echo, different RADAR, characterized it as
“moderate.” The mishap weas, in part, due this these disparities.
To eradicate such occurrences, the vision strongly advocates an environment of
“Shared Responsibility.”
I cannot emphasize enough, the importance of all players in the aviation weather, information collection, use, dissemination, and comprehension loop, work from the “same sheet of music” to insure aviation safety.
ATM
AOC
Airline Dispatch &
Air Traffic
Flight Operations
Management

19. Design Certification Issues
Cross-FAR Part Harmonization For Crew Training and Retention
Use of Color in Displays
Electronic Flight Bags
Advanced Display Steering Group

20. Flight Standards Issues
Intuitive Cockpit Display Products
Need For Manufacturers And Private Sector “How To Use” Guidance Materials
14 CFR Part 61 Airman Training And Evaluation Standards
AIM Guidance and Advisory Circulars
Operational Approval Aspects That Ensure Quality And Timely Data is Available to Support Pilot Decision Making Process

21. FAA Guidance, Outreach, and Training
Design Approval Guidance
Weather Products and Enabling Depiction Hardware and Weather Product Software
Archiving Weather Data
Operational Approval Guidance For New Products and Non-government Vendors
Guidance For Airman Training and Airman Evaluation Criteria
FAA Safety Program Pilot Outreach Training
FAA Air Carrier Pilot Outreach On Data Link Weather

22. Collaborative Efforts Underway
RTCA SC-206 and EUROCAE WG-44 Developing Weather and Aeronautical Information Services, Data Link Standards
Efforts Supported by FAA Personnel
RTCA’s SC-206 and EUROCAE WG-44 will likely will impact SWIM architecture as it will provide metadata interchange standards

23. AVS Participation in Ring Criteria.

24. The Future Vision Enables
NGATS Weather Concept of Operations (version 1.0, May 13, 2006)
International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) vision for the Future Air Navigation System

25. Summary Presented the AVS Vision of Weather in The Cockpit
Should Be Considered a Living Document
Want Comments and Feedback From Other Stakeholders
For Success, Need Support and Collaboration of Government, Industry, and Academia
Send Additional Comments to:
Throughout today’s talk, I shared with you supporting thoughts, methods, and needs for a vision that will support the safe evolution of weather in the cockpit.
With that, I recommend that we all move forward to evolve, enable, and integrate weather in the cockpit technologies and information sharing platforms into routine NAS operations.
I welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions, and if you have additional comments later, pleasesend me those comments at the address shown..