Commission Sensitive

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) New York Air Route Center (ZNY)
Type of event: Introduction to interviews
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Special Access Issues: None
Prepared by: Geoffrey Brown
Team Number: 8
Location: FAA New York Air Route Center, Rokonkomo, New York
Participants - Non-Commission: Alfred Johnson, ·FAA General Consul

Basic introduction to the air traffic system as controlled by ZNY:

Mike McCormick, the Air Traffic Manager of the facility, greeted Conunission staff and offered an
overview of the operation at ZNY, and a tour of the facility.

According to McCormack ZNY is both a domestic and oceanic operation. He noted that these two task sets
are related but distinct - related in that they share resources, but distinct in that they have separate physical
layouts and their approaches to air traffic control rely on different modes of communicating with aircraft.
ZNY is the third busiest air route center in the United States but it covers the smallest domestic airspace.
ZNY is highly condensed, and many of its sectors control aircraft in the climbing or descending periods of
flight. This factor makes ZNY different then typical cruise level flight controls.

McCormack explained 6 systems of distribution at ZNY: Sections A-F.

A through D are domestic. This space covers New York New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New York Tracon
handles Newark Airport, and is generally capped between 17k and 19k ft.

Sections E and F are oceanic, andcover a quarter of the northern Atlantic airspace. The oceanic sections
also work often with the Portuguese Islands, Canada and the United Kingdom. Section E handles the
Caribbean, and Section F handles the North Atlantic. The Oceanic areas all have warning areas and thus
coordinate often with the military.

American Airlines Flight 11 (AA 11) was never intended to pass through ZNY airspace. United Airlines
Flight 175 (UAL 175) was. Airplanes can file and fly whatever is most advantageous to their travel on any
given day.

Individual variables are used to choose an aircraft's route, and often the winds make the highest difference
to what route is taken. This is especially the case early on in the day. The Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs)
know what the preferential routes are. Wind and weather are the only real variables, and there is some level
of predictability.
Sectors have the responsibility to hand off (a complete transfer of communication, transponder frequency
and air traffic control) an aircraft to the sector it is traveling into, or to point out (a verbal communication of
an aircrafts position) an aircraft to a sector that an aircraft may be traveling through for a short period en
route (clipping). Air traffic controllers are responsible for all aircraft in their sector whether they emit
primary beacon code or are emitting a transponder code. A handoff and a point out are terms used for radar
operators. In the oceanic sectors airspace control is performed by verbal communication to the pilots, and
there are no hand offs or point outs. A controller will normally do an automated handoff. A point out is
generally only used if the controlled aircraft is going to clip someone else's airspace for a short period of
time, and thus it is not necessary to transfer communication. There are such things as automated point outs
but generally not used here. .

Kennedy Sector at ZNY is both a high and low position, and covers airspace from surface to unlimited. It is
unique to NY sector. For the most part, only sectors to the west own all airspace to the grown. In the east
Tracons usually cover lower altitudes.

ATCs at ZNY mostly stay in the same areas, but can bid to be moved to new areas. Generally an ATC will
begin and end their career as ZNY employees.

ZNY does not have super high or ultra high areas since most aircraft that travel through ZNY are usually
climbing or descending. All the domestic airspace covered by ZNY could fit in one of Salt Lake City's
super-high areas.

Within one facility untracked data blocks can be "forced" to different sectors, but they cannot be
transferred, forced, to another facility. Full data blocks can be forced but for primary targets the
information needs to be keyed first. On the receiving end the controller must key for the proper display for
that information. .

ZNY holds that it did not receive very much help from Boston regarding AA 11 and UAL 175 on 9/11.
ZNY looked in through their own sector areas to locate the primary. ZNY vectored an aircraft to pass over
the target and that is where ZNY received their information. The position was not a transfer from Boston.

There was a temporary wall on 9/11 that blocked access from the control center to the cafeteria. Area F
now has new sectors, and can watch what is being handled by Area E. The flight data unit is has not
changed. Areas A through to the TMU are all about the same, but since 9/11 additional land lines with
direct coordination to NEADS and CONNOR have been added as well as: Telcon hotline with dens,
CONNOR phone patched into VICs, and added recordings to the MOS desk. All TMU lines were taped on
9111, as well as the TMCs, STMCs, and OMIC lines. The only phones that were not taped and still are not
taped are phones on the area supervisor desks. Since 9/11 internet access is now available at the watch desk
of the OMIC. Headline news is broadcast from the NOMINAS area.

ZNY now has the ability to coordinate with NEADS, especially over use of airspace with Giant Killer in
the Whiskey areas.

Regarding the Otis Air Force Base scramble ofFl5s, McCormack noted that they "Just came into our
airspace. Were aware of them, and knew more military aircraft came in over the course of several days."

Under other official circumstance ZNY would have both accident packages for AA 11 and for UAL 175,
since both accidents occurred in ZNY airspace. Cleveland Center has the package for United Airlines
Flight 93 (UAL 93).

At one point all three flights, AA 11, UAL 175, and UAL 93 were in ZNY airspace.