14 September 2007
The CAA is to enact a recommendation made in a recent AAIB (Air Accident Investigation Branch) Bulletin that it “should instigate the use of a suitable prefix, for use in civil radiotelephony, to signify a student pilot, flying solo.”
The accident referred to in the <a href=’http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/cms_resources/Cessna%20F150L,%20G-BABB%2007-07.pdf’ target=’_blank’>Bulletin</a> occurred when a student pilot was asked by ATC to break off from a final approach and orbit in the nearby area; sadly, he lost control of the aircraft and crashed in a park, killing himself and destroying the aircraft.
The news about the new arrangements comes in an <a href=’http://www.ais.org.uk/aes/pubs/aip/pdf/aic/4P123.PDF’ target=’_blank’>AIC (83/2007, Pink 123)</a> and an ATSIN (Air Traffic Services Information Notice).
In effect, any student pilot flying solo is to introduce the prefix ‘student’ before the aircraft callsign when making initial contact with an air traffic service unit, whether it’s an ATC centre, an aerodrome unit, AFIS or air ground. The unit should acknowledge this by including the ‘student’ prefix in their reply. Thereafter, the unit should not require reminding of the student’s status, should take that status into account when passing instructions clearly and should not ask the student to do anything which is reasonably beyond the capabilities of a pilot who does not yet hold a licence.
CAP 413, the radiotelephony manual, will be adjusted to reflect these changes. However, the changes themselves come into effect immediately.
