雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】TESTS conducted by the Civil Aviation Department on Autotrac 3 (AT3), a new air traffic control system, have left the management and frontline staff responsible for safety assessments clearly divided as to whether the system is one hundred per cent safe. While the staff say AT3 may even "jeopardise safety", the Department's principal officials, including Norman Lo Shung-man, head of the Department, insist that even if there are problems, the problems have been or can be solved, and that the system will come into operation in the first half of next year.

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民航處測試中的新航空管理系統Autotrac 3（AT3），管理層與參與檢測前線人員就系統是否百分百安全，有明顯分歧。前線人員甚至提出新系統存在「jeopardize safety」（危及安全）的說法，民航處高層、包括處長羅崇文則堅持即使有問題，已經解決或可以解決，新系統將於明年上半年運作，云云。

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The Department's safety assessors are concerned about the safety of AT3 in at least three respects. First, the Air Traffic Management Standards Office, an in-house division in charge of safety assessments, submitted a report to the management in July this year, pointing out that "the reliability of the new system during crises is low". In answer to questions in this regard, a spokesman for the Department said the report did not use terms such as "dangerous" or "not recommended for use", and that more than 90 per cent of the issues and concerns it raised have been effectively dealt with. Clearly, within the Department, there are different safety assessment standards for the new system. The frontline staff say the reliability of AT3 is low, but does that mean it should not be used? The management believes that, as the assessment report makes no use of terms such as "dangerous" or "not recommended for use", AT3 is safe to use, but is it? As outsiders, we cannot answer these questions since there is not enough information to go on.

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民航處內部對新系統的安全質疑，至少有三方面。首先，民航處參與安全評估的「航空交通管理標準組」，今年7月曾向上層提交報告，指出「新系統在危急情况下的可信程度低」。就此，民航處發言人指出報告並無使用「危險」或「不建議使用」等字眼，又說提出的意見和關注事項，超過九成已經修正及有效處理。情况顯示，民航處內部對新系統是否安全可用，有不同評估標準。職方所謂可信程度低，是否等於新系統不能用？管方以評估報告沒有危險、不建議使用等字眼，認為就符合安全可用，是否恰當？有關這兩種情况，外界都沒有足夠資料判斷。

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But there are two other issues raised by the safety assessors which the management has failed to clarify satisfactorily. One of them is that, according to the assessors' report to the management, the system failed to execute an order after the input of data in a test conducted by the end of July. The assessors called this a "catastrophic failure", saying that the system crashed during the tests, and recommended a new round of tests in accordance with the tender agreement. The management, however, refused, and in mid-August declared that AT3 had passed the necessary tests.

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不過，檢測人員透露另外兩種情况，管方顯然未能圓滿解答。一方面是檢測人員向上層報告在7月底一次測試輸入數據時，系統並無執行指令，檢視人員認為是「catastrophic failure」（災難性故障），形容系統在測試中「癱瘓」，建議根據招標合約，測試從頭做起，上層不同意，並核准測試在8月中通過。

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The system's failure to execute orders during a test is definitely a serious incident, and the Department should, according to the tender agreement, conduct safety tests all over again for 31 days running. The public cannot but wonder why, with no good explanation, the Department has refused to do this.

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新系統在測試時不執行指令，肯定是嚴重事故，民航處理應按合約規定，從頭開始連續31日測試，可是現在民航處捨此不由，那就應提出充分理由，否則難免引起內部以至公衆猜疑。

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And then a label overlap problem raised by the Air Traffic Management Standards Office has yet to be solved. The overlapping of flight labels can pose a risk to aviation safety.

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另一方面則是「航空交通管理標準組」提出的標籤重疊問題，仍未解決。航班標籤重疊有可能增加航班安全風險。

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The countdown to the official launch of the new system is on, yet within the Department opinions over its safety are divided and even conflicting. The frontline staff have openly expressed their worries to arouse public concern, while the management with great assurance is getting ready to put the system into operation by the middle of next year. It is a basic responsibility of the government to ensure aviation safety, since any negligence in this respect may result in the loss of hundreds of lives. The government must not stand aside and look on at the disagreement between the Department's management and frontline staff, but should step in and get to the bottom of the matter to protect Hong Kong's reputation for aviation safety.

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新空管系統日漸接近投入使用，民航處內部對新系統的安全不僅分歧，甚至對立。前線人員公開憂慮，要喚起公衆關注，管方則顯得信心滿滿，正在向新系統明年中啟用操作。航空安全是政府的基本責任，因為稍有疏失就是涉及數百人的生命安全，政府對民航處管方和職方的爭拗，不能置若罔聞和袖手旁觀，而是要弄清楚事實，保持香港航空安全的令譽。

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明報社評2015.09.08

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Jason Chan

Lecturer, HKCC

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/details.php?id=75&lang=eng

焦妮娜

香港理工大學專上學院講師

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/JIAO,_Nina-108.html

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