Newsroom
NATCA Advantage: Retirement Briefing Webinars
Whether you’re building for your future in retirement, or ready to put your retirement plan into action, NATCA offers a valuable benefit to members via online retirement briefings. These briefings are a valuable resource that explains the features of the federal benefits program, including choices that can be made at retirement and the impact of…
NCF Seeking Member for its Board of Directors
The NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF) is looking to fill a position on its Board of Directors. Directors should be prepared to dedicate at least five hours per week to start. Apply by Jan. 22 by sending your resume here. “NCF can’t survive without its passionate, dedicated volunteers and is proud to have a 100% volunteer…
NATCA, Union Plus Scholarship Programs Now Accepting Applications
The NATCA scholarship fund is established for the spouses, children, stepchildren, and legally adopted children of active, retired, and deceased NATCA members with continuous membership in good standing of at least two years. These scholarships are for full-time attendance at accredited colleges and universities within the United States and its territories for an undergraduate degree…
NATCA Insider Archive
- August 25, 2021
- August 10, 2021
- July 16, 2021
- June 29, 2021
- June 11, 2021
- May 28, 2021
- May 9, 2021
- April 22, 2021
- March 29, 2021
- March 15, 2021
- February 27, 2021
- February 6, 2021
- January 16, 2021
- December 9, 2020
- November 24, 2020
- November 11, 2020
- October 28, 2020
- October 16, 2020
- October 2, 2020
- September 11, 2020
- August 22, 2020
- July 31, 2020
- July 20, 2020
- July 12, 2020
- June 30, 2020
- June 18, 2020
- May 21, 2020
- May 14, 2020
- May 7, 2020
- April 24, 2020
- April 17, 2020
- April 10, 2020
- March 3, 2020
- February 11, 2020
- February 3, 2020
- December 31, 2019
- December 9, 2019
- November 26, 2019
- November 13, 2019
- November 1, 2019
- October 16, 2019
- September 13, 2019
- September 3, 2019
- August 19, 2019
- August 7, 2019
- July 23, 2019
- July 12, 2019
- June 24, 2019
- June 7, 2019
- May 9, 2019
- April 19, 2019
- April 5, 2019
- March 21, 2019
- March 8, 2019
- February 22, 2019
- February 2, 2019
- December 20, 2018
- November 30, 2018
- November 19, 2018
- CFS Recap 2018
- October 19, 2018
- October 5, 2018
- September 21, 2018
- September 7, 2018
- August 24, 2018
- August 10, 2018
- July 27, 2018
- July 13, 2018
- June 22, 2018
- June 11, 2018
- May 25, 2018
- May 11, 2018
- April 13, 2018
- March 31, 2018
- March 16, 2018
- March 2, 2018
- February 16, 2018
- February 2, 2018
- January 19, 2018
- January 5, 2018
Press Releases
NATCA Thanks FAA ATO COO Teri Bristol for Efforts to Build Collaboration, Improve Aviation Safety
WASHINGTON – The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) today congratulates Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Teri Bristol on her upcoming retirement and thanks her for her efforts every day in working to develop and solidify collaboration between the FAA and NATCA as well as across the aviation…
NATCA Thanks Transportation Chairman DeFazio for More Than Three Decades of Leadership to Improve Aviation Safety
WASHINGTON – The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) thanks and congratulates Oregon Congressman and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Chairman Peter DeFazio, who for more than three decades has been a passionate advocate and fierce champion for aviation safety, transportation labor, and the front-line workers who power the engine that drives our…
NATCA Statement on House Passage of Landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
WASHINGTON – Rich Santa, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which represents nearly 20,000 aviation safety professionals, issued this statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA): “This bipartisan infrastructure legislation is not only great news for the country, but also very significant…
Congressional Testimony
NATCA President Paul Rinaldi’s Testimony Before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation
Hearing entitled, “Aviation Infrastructure for the 21st Century.” June 23, 2021. Watch the hearing and learn more here.
Podcasts
But Wilkins is passionate about training and developing his base of knowledge in as many different ways as he can to be prepared for challenging situations. That includes researching air safety investigations in his spare time, looking at how past NATCA Archie League Medal of Safety Award-winning controllers handled situations, watching YouTube instructional videos of VFR pilots encountering IFR conditions, and learning about the dangers of pilot vertigo in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).
“You watch a video and think, ‘well, what would I do? Would I know to say that? Would I know to think about this?’ So I really fall back on those replays,” said Wilkins, who said one of the most important things he learned from watching other Archie League Award event replays is the importance of being calm on the radio, as it helps keep the pilot calm and focused. “If I was a pilot, I would think, ‘if that was me, what would I want to know, and what would I want somebody to say to me before I did this?’ The worst thing you hear about is people getting disoriented and flipped upside-down. The likelihood of getting disoriented in clouds if you’re not used to it is pretty high.”
That was the situation a Cessna 150 pilot faced in Wilkins’s airspace as he flew in solid IFR conditions near the boundary of Kansas City Center (ZKC) airspace, between Oklahoma City approach control and Tulsa approach control. He was lost, definitely under stress, and sought help through the Guard radio frequency. He ended up talking to a Southwest Airlines pilot who was trying to figure out where he was.
Listen as Wilkins and fellow ZFW controller Chris Clavin talk about this event, for which they both will receive the Archie League Medal of Safety Award for the Southwest Region on Aug. 11, 2021.
Listen to every episode of The NATCA Podcast here:
NATCA in the Media
NSW RVP Daniels Tells Vox, ‘We Are Being Used as Pawns’ in the Game That Is a Government Shutdown
With yet another threat of a government shutdown looming as the Dec. 3 deadline approaches, Vox produced a new video detailing what a shutdown is and why it still can happen in the United States. Among the federal employees interviewed for the story was Southwest Regional Vice President Nick Daniels. He said that air traffic…
Plane & Pilot Magazine Story Details ZSE Members’ Flight Assist Which Earned Them 2020 Archie League Award
NATCA’s 2020 Northwest Mountain Region Archie League Medal of Safety Award winners are featured in the latest issue of Plane & Pilot magazine. The story, written by Bradley Sunshine, details how Seattle Center (ZSE) members Josh Fuller, Byron Andrews, Brian Hach, Ryan Jimenez, and Michael Sellman worked together for two hours to save Idaho Cessna…
Tampa Bay Times: Tampa airport’s ‘deteriorating’ control tower must be replaced, Castor says
Not long ago, the elevator and air conditioning went out in Jen McCoy’s office building. That’s a headache, but in a nearly 50-year-old facility, these things happen. What’s notable is where McCoy works: The air traffic control tower at Tampa International Airport. “Twenty flights of stairs in this kind of heat is no fun,” said…
