In 2023, more than 1,200 inspections of air navigation aids and procedures were carried out, ensuring the safety of Brazilian air traffic
Air Force Agency / DECEA, by Denise Fontes and Major Aviator Rodolfo
Since 1959, February 21 has marked the first in-flight inspection carried out in Brazil with a national crew and aircraft. It’s been 65 years since this historic achievement, and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) unit that has continued the mission is the Special Flight Inspection Group (GEIV), located in Rio de Janeiro and subordinate to the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA).
The GEIV is responsible for checking, measuring and analyzing the quality of signals from assistance equipment and approving air traffic procedures. The work carried out by the Group is essential for the quality and safety of air navigation and meets the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
To fulfill its mission, it relies on highly qualified and trained professionals: inspector pilots, system operators and flight mechanics, and has laboratory aircraft equipped with the gauging instruments essential for in-flight inspections.
“GEIV’s work is essential to guaranteeing the safety and efficiency of air navigation for every flight that crosses Brazilian airspace. Today, thanks to the training, dedication and competence of the members of this Group, we can say that our air navigation aids and procedures operate in accordance with international standards,” says DECEA’s Director General, Air Brigadier Alcides Teixeira Barbacovi.
In 2023, GEIV carried out more than 1,100 flight hours and inspected more than 1,200 aids and procedures on national and international missions. The check aims to ensure the flight safety of aircraft, from take-off to landing, especially in adverse weather conditions.
Brazil is a world leader on the air navigation scene, recognized for carrying out some of the best and most thorough in-flight inspections. And this technology, combined with the professionalism and high quality of the work carried out, is GEIV’s trademark, imprinted in the reliability and precision of the air navigation aids.
“In-flight inspections guarantee the safety of air navigation for the millions of people who use our airspace. Whether it’s inspecting an aid on a farm or an aid at a busy aerodrome, the GEIV carries out flight inspections not only in Brazil, but also in neighboring countries. That’s why this is the moment to pay tribute to all those who, over the course of 65 years, have contributed to flight inspection and, consequently, to the safety of our country’s air navigation,” says GEIV Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Carlos Marins Pedroso Filho.
History
Flight inspection in Brazil began in 1956, after the Air Traffic Control Project (CONTRAF) was signed. The country’s first operational flight inspection crew was formed in 1958, when the first laboratory aircraft was acquired.
The first flight inspection on national territory, with a FAB aircraft and crew, was carried out on February 21, 1959, with the aim of verifying the suitability of the Itaipuaçu site, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), for the installation of electronic equipment used in air navigation.
Photos: DECEA *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***