STL ATC User Meeting

The St Louis Air Traffic Control facilities hold a users meeting each month to review problem areas and to update users of any changes in facilities or procedures. Members of the Safety Department attend this users meeting as well as the St Louis runway incursion meetings. If you have any questions about STL ATC or have a safety concern about STL ATC operations, please forward your concern to the Safety Department. The Safety Department representative attending the monthly meeting will make your concerns known.

During this months meeting, St Louis ATC requested that we forward the following information to our crews:

1. When an ATC transmission is blocked by another aircraft, aircraft telling ATC that the transmission was blocked only makes the situation worse. ATC is expecting an acknowledgement from the addressed aircraft. If ATC does not receive the acknowledgement, they will repeat the transmission. Your blocked statement can delay the retransmission of information.

2. If another aircraft mistakenly takes your clearance or message, inform ATC. The controller can then fix the problem.

3. Always use the company call sign as well as the flight number. This gives the controller assurance that he is addressing the correct aircraft.

4. Challenge a clearance that does not sound correct. If you are holding short of Runway 30L at taxiway G and ground control tells you to cross Runway 30L at taxiway E, question the clearance.

5. St Louis TRACON will move to its new facilities on February 23, 2002. Immediately after the move LDA approaches may not be available for up to two weeks while the PRM radar equipment is relocated.

6. EMB145 Crews. On departure from STL, ATC needs speed before altitude. They would like to see a 250 knot climb below 10,000 feet and 320 knot (TWA climb speed) above 10,000. STL ATC knows that the EMB145 will not climb at that speed. They ask that EMB145s maintain at least 280 knots in the climb.