Vanquishing the V/PD

3rd Quarter 2012

A quarterly publication from the

Safety Section

Federal Aviation Administration Airports Division

Western-Pacific Region

This publication is directed primarily towards airport management to be disseminated to

all levels of personnel working at your airfield. It does not matter how large or how small

your airfield or how tight your budget may be, this information must be made available to

your people by whatever means. Vanquishing the V/PD can be accomplished through a

solid partnership between the FAA and airport management. The responsibility of

making sure that the proper safeguards are in place; however, lies squarely on the

shoulders of the airport management. Please use this information and all that follows as a

guide by which to produce a safer environment at your airfield.

A good driver training program goes much deeper than a quick review of the airport

rules and regulations prior to the issuance of an access control card. A good driver

training program consists of a tiered curriculum designed to facilitate safe operations in

the movement area and a process by which those operating in the non-movement area can

identify their boundaries and avoid straying into the movement area. Additionally, a

good driver training program should include annual and recurrent training.

An excellent source of information regarding development of a driver training program is

Advisory Circular 150/5210-20, (Change 1), Ground Vehicle Operations on Airports.

http://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/

The Advisory Circular Includes: A generic ground vehicle access program training

curriculum and a sample ground vehicle operations training manual.
While developing your ground vehicle training program special emphasis should be

placed on a few, select topics:

 The identification and understanding of runway holding position markings and

non-movement area boundary markings.

 The importance of establishing Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT)

communications.

 Understanding that an ATCT clearance onto a runway is specific and not implied.

 Situational awareness.

 Emphasizing a zero tolerance approach to surface incidents and runway

incursions through a weighted set of consequences. In other words, the more

serious the infraction, the more serious the consequence.

Additional training should include vehicle and pedestrian control and supervision:

 Proper pedestrian and vehicle escorting procedures by those who provide access.

 The fixed base operators’ role in vehicle and pedestrian control.

 Vehicle operator and pedestrian recognition and avoidance of the movement area.

 Tenant self-policing.

Recognizing and addressing the unique issues at your airport is the key to a thorough

driver training program:

 Tailor your driver training program to reflect the design of your airport.

 Educate tenants on airfield “hot spots”.

 Review past V/PDs and runway incursions at your airport and strive to correct the

root causes.

 Change procedures if they are not working.

 Discuss “lessons learned” from past mistakes.

 Discuss the human factors issues of operating on the airfield (complacency,

confusion, situational awareness, hearing, understanding and following

clearances, etc.).

One Golden Rule that is a must for every driver training program is “When in doubt,

don’t go out”. In other words, if you are not sure of your clearance, do not move until it is

clear.

A solid driver training program is the foundation by which safe operations are taught in

and out of the movement area.

Column written by:

Steven Oetzell

Lead Airport Certification Safety Inspector, AWP-620.6

Reproductions of this, past and subsequent issues of Vanquishing the VPD are available

on FAAWebsite:

http://www.faa.gov/airports/western%5Fpacific/airports%5Fresources/newsletter/