Ground Vs Sector

Ground Vs Sector

This blog post will compare and contrast the air traffic control position of Sector and Ground.

When a pilot is flying an IFR flight plan, he or she must be in contact with air traffic control for all phases of flight. At busier airports, these phases of flight can be broken down into a profile of Ground, Takeoff, Departure, En-route, Descent, Approach, and Landing (Fruedenrich, 2020). For all parts except En-route the airport will be the point of contact for communication. At smaller airports there may be one controller handling all parts of the plane’s movement in and around the airport (PHAK, 2016). At larger airports, individual controllers on different frequencies will talk to planes acting within their respective jurisdiction (PHAK, 2016).

Ground

An airplane at a gate, starting its engines, or taxiing will speak with the Ground controller (Montoya, 1999). The Ground controller’s job is to coordinate the movement of airplanes around the ramp and on and off taxiways and runways (Montoya, 1999). Once the airplane has reached the runway  communication is transferred to Tower control for takeoff clearance (Montoya, 1999).

                Area Controllers

Referred to as “Center,” these controllers talk to and coordinate with flying airplanes not interacting with an airport directly (Montoya, 1999). The U.S. is divided into twenty-one zones or centers (Fruedenrich, 2020). Air route traffic control centers (ARTCC) oversees all the traffic within its sector, including VFR traffic upon request (Fruedenrich, 2020).

Similarities

Ground and Centers are both good sources for weather. All phases of a flight profile require the pilot to transfer communication from one ATC type to another. With Centers, guard is passed from one center to the next until the descent. These centers are geographically separated from another. When Ground control passes guard to Departure it is likely that the Departure controller is sitting in the same room as the Ground controller. They may even be the same person on two different frequencies.

               

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2016) Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge 
        (PHAK). https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/

Freudenrich, C. (2020, July 30). How Air Traffic Control Works. HowStuffWorks Science. https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/air-traffic-control.htm.

Montoya, D. (1999, January 5). ATC Communications. AOPA. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/1999/january/flight-training-magazine/atc-communications.