DOT IG Will Study, Issue Report In Spring 2012

Federal data shows a disturbing trend - Air traffic controller operational errors resulting in a breakdown of separation minima are up 81 percent between 2007 and 2010, from 1,040 to 1,887, despite a ten percent decline in traffic. The Boston Globe reports that for the Boston region, the increase is 114 percent.

The FAA was responding to a public information request from the paper, and attributes the jump to changes in the way errors are reported and categorized. But a number of anonymous controllers and trainers instead placed blamed on causes ranging from inexperienced staffers to the training they receive from Raytheon.

Congress has asked the DOT's Inspector General to look into the matter, which is expected to take until next spring.

One anonymous source described as a long-time Texas controller sounded a little like a replay of the rhetoric which was common from his union before the FAA renegotiated controller contract's after Randy Babbitt's arrival as FAA Administrator. The controller says, "I see the close calls, and it’s frightening. I don’t feel as safe as I did five years ago."

FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac acknowledged concern about the rise in errors, which comes during what the FAA likes to point out is statistically the safest time ever for air travel in the US. She told the Globe officials are reviewing procedures and training throughout the air traffic control system to ensure we are addressing any safety issues and making any necessary changes."

The last time the National Transportation Safety Board specified controller error as a probable cause of a fatal aviation accident was in January of 2010, when the pilot and sole occupant of a Piper PA-32-300 flew into a mountain ridge in Hawaii.

FMI