Jean-Cole 8.2 ATC Entities

 

    There are several entities in air traffic control but the two I will be talking about are the Approach and Departure Control and Air Route Traffic Control. Approach/Departure control has their first duty of dealing with the traffic that wants to land at the airport and depart it. Once departed, the controller can hand the aircraft off to the next control facility if they are in IFR conditions or if they are in VFR and want flight following to their destination. When an aircraft wishes to land, the controller's duty is to make sure that it is clear for them to land and keep the approach clear for the aircraft first in line. They also need to make sure that the pilots know information such as wind, altimeter settings, and visibility. Once the aircraft has landed and cleared the runway, they can get transferred to ground control to taxi to their destination. 

    The next entity ARTCC is very essential and is one of the busiest duties to have. It has 22 facilities across the U.S. and hundreds of sectors. In the stations, they are filled with computer monitors that display the sector that they cover. They provide flight following to aircraft to monitor them and keep everyone separated and safe. The controllers have important information such as identification, altitude, airspeed, and heading. In IFR conditions everyone has to stay 1,000 feet apart and you fly an odd heading when flying east and an even heading while flying west. The controllers have to transfer the aircraft to other sectors and make sure that they get to the destination stated in their flight plan. Once the aircraft gets close to their airport, then they are transferred to Approach and Departure Control so that they can land. 

References

Kern, R. M. (2020, January 1). Air Route Traffic Control. AVweb. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/faa-regs/air-route-traffic-control/.