Safety risks of new air traffic control system
航班叫停非等閒 空管系統有隱患
文章日期:2017年1月6日

雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】SOME flight information, including the call letters and flight speeds of some aircraft, was missing for 26 seconds in the new air traffic control system yesterday afternoon, forcing the Air Traffic Control Centre to stop handling outbound flights for 15 minutes so as to prepare for all possible contingencies.

audio 1

新航空管理系統,昨午有26秒未能顯示航班部分資料,包括航班的呼號及飛行速度,航空管制中心暫停處理離港航班15分鐘,以策萬全。

audio 1

The new air traffic control system in question, namely the Autotrac 3, was acquired from Raytheon Company, based in the United States, by the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) for $1.5 billion. However, the new system has run into a number of issues since it went into full operation in the middle of this month. Whistle-blowers from inside the CAD raised doubts about the safety of the new system, citing a number of cases in which a flight went "missing" for 12 seconds, a so-called "doppelganger" of an aircraft appeared on the radar screen, and double images appeared. Lawmaker Jeremy Tam, citing a whistle-blower, even claimed that after the full implementation of the new system, there was once a private jet flying close to the sea surface at an altitude significantly lower than normal. Another incident involved two passenger airplanes which were flying very close to each other, which, fortunately, did not result in an accident.

audio 2

民航處耗資15億元,向美國雷神公司購入新空管系統Autotrac 3,於本月中全面啟用,惟接連傳出事故。有民航處內部人士爆料,質疑新系統安全問題,包括有航班在雷達「消失」達12秒,以及雷達顯示屏出現所謂「鬼機」及雙重影像。立法會議員譚文豪更引述爆料人士,指新系統全面啟用後,曾有私人飛機貼近海面低飛,遠低於正常飛行高度,又有兩架客機飛得太近,間距不足,幸未釀成意外,云云。

audio 2

As answered by the CAD, issues like double images, "doppelganger" and "vanishing" airplanes happened every now and then in the old system, and are common in the air traffic control systems of other places as well. Related to factors like the topography, weather and temperature, such issues are all "foreseeable", which air traffic controllers are fully capable of dealing with. As for the cases of a private jet flying at an inappropriately low altitude and two planes flying too close to each other, they might not have been related to the system itself. They might have been due to the fact that air traffic controllers were not fully familiar with the new system, and did not notice that an airplane had started flying at a low altitude suddenly and that two planes were flying too close to each other. According to the CAD, in these two incidents, the positions, altitudes and distances of flights were displayed correctly in the new system, which raised an alert when two planes were flying too close.

audio 3

正如民航處的回覆,雷達出現重影、「鬼機」和飛機「消失」的情况,在舊系統以至外國空管系統時有發生,主要受地勢、天氣及溫度等影響,都是一些「預知情况」,空管人員絕對有能力應付。至於有私人飛機不當低飛、客機飛行間距不足,也未必跟系統有關,可能是空管人員未熟習新系統,未有及時留意有飛機急降或靠得太近。根據民航處的說法,這兩宗事件,新系統均有正確顯示飛機位置及高度距離,並在客機距離不足時發出警示。

audio 3

But yesterday afternoon, the new system was unable to fully display flight information for 26 seconds, which was different from the "foreseeable situations" mentioned above. What happened yesterday was without doubt a "non-foreseeable" situation that was completely different in nature. Simon Li, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, said that the incident might have resulted from failures of the flight data processor while it was backing up flight data automatically. In other words, it was a fault of the system, and there is no evidence that it was caused by mishandling or misjudgement on the part of air traffic controllers. The CAD has demanded that senior officers of the contractor explain the matter in person in Hong Kong, submit a report within 48 hours, and put forward a solution to prevent similar incidents from happening. Such a demand is necessary.

audio 4

惟有別於上述「預知情况」,昨午新系統無法全面顯示航班資料達26秒,無疑屬於「非預知」情况,事態本質截然不同。李天柱表示,相信是航班數據處理器自動將資料存檔時出問題,導致今次事故。換言之,這是系統存在漏洞缺失,無迹象顯示與空管人員操作失當或判斷錯誤有關。民航處要求承辦商高層親自來港跟進事件,並於48小時內提交報告,提出解決方案,以免同類事件再發生,實屬必要。

audio 4

There are different views concerning the new air traffic control system within the CAD, with some frontline staff arguing that the new system is not well-designed or convenient to handle. However, according to NATS, an overseas independent consultancy commissioned by the government to provide an evaluation, the new system is safe. Air traffic control requires a high degree of professionalism, and should be founded on professional advice. It should be determined by the professionals whether the incident is sufficient proof that the new air traffic control system contains serious safety risks. Since aviation safety allows no margin of error, it is important to maintain transparency. The CAD has set up an expert group and invited people including representatives of air traffic controllers to provide opinion when the new system is being assimilated. This is a step in the right direction that encourages the free airing of views. Furthermore, the Transport and Housing Bureau should contact NATS in order to understand why it failed to discover the related problems when the new system was being tested and address the matter appropriately as soon as possible.

audio 5

民航處內部對新空管系統一直有不同意見,有前線人員認為新系統未夠妥善,操作欠方便,但政府委聘的海外獨立顧問「英國國家航空交通服務公司」(NATS),在評估後確認新系統安全。航空交通管理高度專業,須以專家意見為依歸,今次事故是否足以證明新空管系統有嚴重安全隱患,應交由專家判斷。航空安全不容有失,開誠布公最重要。民航處成立專家小組,邀請包括空管人員代表在內的人士,就新系統磨合期出現的情况提供意見,是廣開言路的正確做法。另外,運房局亦應聯絡NATS跟進,了解為何未能在系統測試階段發現相關問題,及早妥善處理。

audio 5

明報社評2016.11.30

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

Frieda Kwok

Senior Lecturer

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/KWOK,_Frieda_Yuk-yin-110.html

蔡維玉

講師

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/CHOI,_Wai-yuk-322.html

【Bilingual Editorial】