Former Official Says Agency Seems To Be "Going In The Wrong Direction"

Is the FAA encouraging planes to fly unacceptably close together? A new method of gauging the risk of midair collisions has drawn critics, who say the new system recently implemented by the FAA could conceal the actual danger of airplanes flying in close proximity to one another.

According to USA Today, under the old method an incident would be classified as high risk, if two aircraft at the same altitude came closer than five miles from one another -- the minimum distance allowed by regulations -- and were flying head on, forcing one or both pilots to take evasive action. The new system would classify such an encounter as low risk, as long as the two planes came no closer than four miles.

The FAA says the new classification will cut the number of incidents considered high risk by half, simplifying the reporting process. The most minor incidents wouldn't be counted at errors at all -- which will serve to decrease overall error totals by about 25 percent.

Last year, the FAA counted 1,104 operational errors, of which 610 were deemed high-risk under the old system.

As you might expect, the plan has its critics. At the top of that list is the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

"It's going to make them look like geniuses when really they've done nothing," said NATCA vice-president Bryan Zilonis, who helped draw up the old system. "You improve safety by reducing operational errors, not recategorizing them."

Tony Ferrante, director of the FAA's Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service, rebuts the new system is designed to encourage controllers to bring planes in closer to the limit, without fear of being cited for a proximity violation, to improve capacity at congested airports. The new classification allows controllers to direct planes within 4.5 miles of one another without a violation.

Ken Mead, former inspector general for the Department of Transportation, says he fears the FAA is encouraging less restrictive separation standards, without properly reviewing the safety implications.

"Do you want planes coming that close together or not? If you don't, then you ought to say that," Mead says.

Former FAA official George Donohue agrees with Mead's assessment. "It seems to me that they are going in the wrong direction," he said.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org