News

The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA), which operates the Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) on Grand Cayman and the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (CKIA) on Cayman Brac, is proud to recognise Air Traffic Controller Supervisor Joshua Burke (CKIA) for recently attending the Air Safety Support International (ASSI) Air Traffic Services (ATS) Assessor/Examiner Course in St. Maarten in March 2023. Joshua was trained to be well versed in the practical, oral and written requirements needed to be a Licensed ATS Assessor/Examiner in the Cayman Islands.

The course content was derived from the ASSI training manual as well as various International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements (OTAR) documents that set the standards for Air Traffic Services. The overall objective of all the practical exercises was to monitor and ensure Trainee Air Traffic Controllers were able ‘to provide a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of traffic using standard (ICAO) procedures, liaison and radiotelephony phraseology’.

This five-day course required three end-of-course examinations based on all the mentioned documents, manuals and materials presented during the course. The pass mark for the exams was 80% or above. To receive a certificate of successful completion, Joshua had to pass the practical, written and oral exams, which he successfully did and was commended by the instructors and peers for his attention to detail and documenting. Examiners observe and analyse the performance of Air Traffic Controllers during live operations sessions to assess their adherence to standard procedures and guidelines. This course qualifies Joshua to evaluate trainee air traffic control officers (ATCOs) and recommend them to be licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI).

The ASSI ATS Assessor/Examiner’s course evaluated Joshua’s ability to display the personal qualities and professional standards required to develop into a competent ATS Assessor. To become a qualified ATS Assessor/Examiner, Joshua had to be able to:

1. Provide a satisfactory short introductory brief to ATC Trainees

2. State the aim of the simulation session and the standards expected

3. Monitor the Controller’s performance

4. Observe adherence to standard procedures and phraseology

5. Taking adequate notes

6. Provide a debrief, identifying and correcting any errors

7. Evaluating the overall Controller simulation session

After the successful completion of the ATS Assessor/Examiner course in St. Maarten, Joshua then had to complete two ATS Assessor/Examiner check rides under the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and in accordance with the OTARs. This was completed during his annual refresher training at Advance ATC in Valdosta GA back in May of this year.

“We commend Joshua for his incredible hard work and congratulate him for all of his success in becoming a Licensed ATS Assessor/Examiner. We are proud to have such a dedicated and committed Air Traffic Controller Supervisor on our team and look forward to what he will achieve next,” said CKIA Airport Manager Miguel Martin.

Joshua now has the additional rating of ATS Assessor/Examiner for both CKIA and ORIA added to his ATC License along with his current rating as an OJT Instructor, making him one of only two controllers with these ratings in the Cayman Islands.