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Jeff
Griffith
Jeff Griffith
is
currently
the
Vice President
of the
Aviation Group
for The
WashingtonConsulting Group, Inc. He is responsible for programs in system development for air
traffic
controlandairspace management solutions. This includes developmentofoperational concepts, system architecture, procedures and training, as well as evaluation
of
operational systems.He retired
from
the Federal Aviation Administration in January,
2003.
His last positionwas Deputy Director
ofAir
Traffic
(2001
-
2003).
He was
responsible
for the
day-to-dayoperation of the National Airspace System, managing a workforce of more than 24,000people with an operations budget of $3.4 billion. He provided leadership for thirteensenior executive direct reports to insure a team approach to customer service and apositive approach in working with other government agencies.
From
1996-2001,
he was
Program Director
for Air
Traffic
Planning
and
Procedures,Operations, Airspace Management.He wasresponsiblefordevelopment, transitionandoperationof new air
traffic
control technologyandprocedures intotheU.S. NationalAirspace System.
From
1980-1996,
Griffith
served
in
various
field
and
regional management positions withincreasing levels of responsibility. All assignments were in
high
density air
traffic
operational environments. Prior to that,
Griffith
served as an air
traffic
controller andsupervisor in several air
traffic
control facilities with various levels of complexity
including
Atlanta,Tower/ApproachControl.
From
1966-1970,
Griffith
served
as an air
traffic
controller
for the
U.S.
Air
Force
at
Moody Air Force Base, Georgia and Phu Cat Air Base, Republic of Vietnam.
 
UNCLASSIFIED
COMMISSION
SENSITIVE
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
Event:
JeffGriffith,
Former FAA Assistant Director of Air
Traffic
ControlType:InterviewDate: March
31,2004
Special Access Issues: NonePrepared By: Lisa SullivanTeam:
8
Participants (non-Commission): NoneParticipants (Commission): Lisa Sullivan, Miles Kara, John Farmer, Dana Hyde,
and
John AzzarelloLocation:GSAConference Room
Background
Griffith
spent36yearsin theFAA.Heretired
from
the FAA inNovember 2002.
Currently,
he is consulting on air
traffic
management in foreign
countries
including China
and
Columbia. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in
1966
and was trained as air
traffic
controller. HespentayearinVietnam. In Januaryof1970he wasdischargedandwent
to
the FAA as controller. He as stationed in Georgia; then in 1976 he went intomanagement; in
1990,
he became the manager at Indianapolis
Center;
he managedChicago
O'Hare
for several years; he went to Great Lakes
Region;
in 1999 or 2000, he
was
selected
as
deputy director
of air
traffic
(AT-2)
-
that
was his
position
on
9-11.The operations budget was 3.5 billion dollars to operate all the ATC facilities on day todaybasis (500 plus). The director of Air
Traffic
(his
boss)
was Bill
Peacock.
PeterChallen
was the
associate; then Steve Brown; then Monte Belger; then Jane
Garvey.
15
people reported directly to
Griffith
including nine regional division managers and acouple of
staff
people.
On
a day to day basis, he reviewed the previous
day's
operations. They experienced onaverage ten break downs and problems in the system. He also
received
daily briefings
from
the Command Center on delays and
congestion,
runway
incursions-anything
that
affectedsafety.
He had meetings to go to on
budget/modernization
of the air
traffic
system - strategy
meetings
-
meetings with
the
NTSB
on
closing
out
certain recommendations
-
they wereUNCLASSIFIED1COMMISSION SENSITIVE
 
UNCLASSIFIEDCOMMISSION SENSITIVE
constantly
looking
at
more
efficient
use of
money,
and
they were always answering
to the
Congress
on
this. There
was a lot of IG
activity.
Primary
radar capabilities
The
FAA had
issued
a
paper
a
decision document
to
decommission them. However
many
there were they are very expensive to maintain. Some were 30 to 40 years old ASR
1 and 2
radar systems.
The
quality wasn't that great.
On
top of the
radar dish
is a
secondary radar.
It is
getting similar information
as the
primary radar. Secondary radar doesnotpickup
"skin
paint;"
ittakesall the
data/electronically
transmitted information
on the
aircrafts.
The
secondary radar
is
much
cheaper
for this reason. The decision was made the primary radar was no longer needed
in
some environments.
Primary
was
needed
in the
terminal environment
- a
range
of 60
miles
from the
airport
-
there
are
about
200 of
them.
The
likelihood
of a
collision below 20,000
feet
was
greaterthat vicinity.
Griffith
thought eliminating primary radar outside
of the
terminal environment would
not
compromise
safety.
The
actual decommissioning of ASR 1 and 2 models was to be enacted by turning
off
the
hi-voltage at
selected sites.
The
decommissioning
of the
models meant that
the
supply
parts and
personnel required
to
maintain
the
systems could
be
sent elsewhere.
It
wasn't
a
phase
out -
secondary radar would still
be at the
sites.
The
date
of
decommission
had not
been set as of
September
11.
NTSB had issues with the
FAA's
plan. "The NTSB was obsessed with notion that an
aircraft
without transponder would collide with
a
plane
full
of
people."
A
plane
as a
weapon,
or a
purposeful
turning
off of the
transponder,
was not
thought
of; it was
only
a
mechanical
malfunction
they were concerned about.
Inthe
last
15
years,
Griffith
doesn't recall
an
aircraft
losing transponder capability above15,000
feet.
If
radar capability
is
lost,
the
controller's response
is to
protect
the
route
from point to
point
and the
altitude.
It was
very typical
to
lose radio
for a
period
of
time.The loss of transponder was
"unusual,
but it happened". When it occurred, it was never
for
an
extended period
of
time.
If an
aircraft
lost
a
transponder
for the
duration
of a
transcontinental
flight,
that would
be
very
unusual
and it
would
be
reported
up to
HDQTs. Each facility keeps
a log
daily that
is
reported
up to
Command Center.
Relationship
with
the
Military
UNCLASSIFIEDCOMMISSION SENSITIVE
of 00

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