The reporter advised that the AWIS at Dubbo was not transmitting complete information resulting in the controllers not being able to pass information to pilots relating to hazardous weather information.
The reporter expressed a safety concern in relation to the transmission of weather information by the automatic weather station at Dubbo.
The reporter advised that while the weather station is still processing the weather information, due to a fault it is not transmitting the information correctly.
The reporter also advised that the weather information is not being received by controllers responsible for relaying hazard alerts to flight crews as the system is set to receive the information automatically and cannot be manually updated.
A NOTAM has been issued indicating that the METAR/SPECI and AWIS are not available. This is not correct as METAR and SPECI are available when requested but this information is not being pushed to controllers to allow them to alert flight crews to a hazardous situation.
Reporter comment: This is the scenario that contributed to the incidents at Mildura which are being investigated in ATSB investigation AO-2013-100, where aircraft diverted from Adelaide Airport, due to adverse weather, to Mildura which was also affected by adverse weather conditions. The controller in this case was unaware of the actual weather at Mildura.
Airservices is aware of the issue and has been working on a mitigation measure utilising the National Aeronautical Information Processing System (NAIPS) capability and re-configuring the air traffic management system Eurocat. This will make the necessary METAR/SPECI available to ATC to enable effective Flight Information Service (FIS) in the event of a loss of an automatic broadcast service. This will be tested following the data upgrade for the 5 March 2015 AIRAC. Following successful testing, the relevant Technical Instructions will be prepared and data upgrade will be implemented for the 28 May AIRAC.
In addition, Airservices has prepared draft changes to the Manual of Air Traffic Services (MATS) and the National ATS Procedures Manual (NAPM) and is currently undergoing consultation with stakeholders to align internal documentation with the proposed solution.
CASA has reviewed the REPCON and notes Airservices’ actions. CASA will monitor the change implementation as part of its ongoing Civil Aviation Safety Regulation CASR Part 172 surveillance programme.
After the REPCON Brief was forwarded to Airservices Australia they provided the following comments:
Consistent with our response dated 26 February 2015, Airservices has conducted testing on the mitigation measure utilising the National Aeronautical Information Processing System (NAIPS) and re-configuring the air traffic management system Eurocat. The testing was completed on 5 March 2015 where SPECls were successfully distributed to relevant controllers for 2 test aerodromes.
Following the successful test outcome, the relevant technical instructions and changes to the Manual of Air Traffic Services (MATS) and National ATS Procedures Manual (NAPM) have been prepared and are currently undergoing consultation with stakeholders. The documents are planned for publication on the 28 May 2015 AIRAC, along with the implementation of required Eurocat data changes.