John van Hoogstraten’s second book, From Control to Cognition, is an interesting surprise in that it is highly accessible to different audiences, rather than being reserved for experts. John fell into air traffic control (ATC) by luck, in South Africa, back in 1988. The book starts there, in the training centre and tower. It then jumps back in time, to the early days of aviation, building parallel timelines between aviation and ATC.
The book examines how changes in aviation like the increase of traffic, the jet age and supersonic flight each impacted air traffic control. John also examines cases where ATC evolved because of accidents, like those in the Grand Canyon and Tenerife. He mixes global events with his personal history, illustrating what it takes to be an air traffic controller: the ability to build and maintain a mental picture of the traffic and its evolution.
In some cases, tower controllers on less busy airfields still work in the same way John began: with paper strips, a pen and a radio. The book then follows his career in en-route control, with a specific touch: mixing surveillance-based and procedural airspace between South Africa and Botswana. The storytelling combines explanations that everybody can understand, framework evolutions and personal anecdotes, making it an easy read. His description of the smells in a control room brought back some personal memories, even if I always was on the technical side and never an air traffic controller myself.
The perspective on the profession and colleagues is sometimes a bit partial, but this is natural, coming from someone with 38 years of experience in the domain. If I had to write a book about ATC engineers, I would likely also shed a positive light on my own tribe.
The change from control to management explained
In recent decades, the industry changed from air traffic control to air traffic management (ATM). I lived through this change myself and, as John puts it, this was not an abrupt change but rather a smooth, progressive one. But what was it exactly? It is not easy to explain and this is where the book excels, bringing clarity to this important transition and its impact.
The book ends with a deeper discussion of how technology changed some fundamental aspects of the job of air traffic controllers, such as building the picture. Human factors play an important role and John insists that the final decision will always be made by humans, especially when unexpected situations happen, which cannot be planned by an operation manual. He also examines the value of unspoken, unwritten rules and ways of working, he hopes will be maintained even when senior controllers leave the workforce.
A book for everybody with an interest in ATC
From Control to Cognition makes the history and future of ATC available to everybody. If you were ever asked what air traffic control is, why it matters, how it is done and by whom, but had a hard time explaining it, this book will definitely give you a few ways to do it. And if you are a professional working in this system but never really thought about its past and origin, you will find interesting elements.
Finally, if you are into drones and advanced air mobility and struggle with understanding why aviation is so cautious or why regulators are so demanding, this book will give you some keys to a better understanding.
