Says Controllers Conceal Mistakes
Representative James Oberstar (D-8-MN) has released the
following endorsement of the controllers' union position:
Dear Aviation Subcommittee Colleague:
At tomorrow's
[Wednesday's] hearing on contracting out of FAA's air traffic
control facilities, the Subcommittee will consider a recent report
of DOT's Inspector General (IG), which evaluates data on the safety
of existing contract towers compared to towers operated by FAA
controllers. I have been doubtful that the data discussed by the IG
provides a basis for comparing the safety of the two types of
towers.
A major concern is that the only data evaluated by the IG was
"operational errors;" that is, instances which controllers permit
aircraft to get closer than established standards for aircraft
separation. The only way that this data becomes available is for
the controller who makes the error to report it. There is no basis
for determining whether contract towers or FAA towers report all
the errors, or whether one type of tower may be more inclined to
under-report than the other type. This raises serious questions as
to the usefulness of the data for making comparisons.
Because of my concerns, I asked the General Accounting Office
for its opinion on whether comparisons of operational errors among
different types of air traffic control facilities can be used to
compare their safety. In the attached report, GAO concluded that:
"We identified several potential limitations with FAA's data on
operations errors based on our review of issued GAO and DOT reports
and applications of best methodological practices."
"Comparisons of
operational errors among types of air traffic control facilities,
such as FAA-staffed facilities versus contractor-staffed
facilities, cannot be used alone to provide valid conclusions about
safety. based on standard methodological practices and our
understanding of FAA's data."
"The determination of real differences in the rate of
operational errors between different types of air traffic control
facilities is difficult, and comparisons of operational error rates
alone are not sufficient to draw conclusions about the relative
safety records of air traffic facilities."
I strongly urge you and your staff to review this GAO report in
preparation for tomorrow's hearing.
Sincerely,
James L. Oberstar (above, with TSA boss James Loy, at AOPA
forum)
Ranking Democratic Member, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
Sens Lautenberg and Daschle Flip-Flop on 'Privatization'
Issue
Then, It Wasn't 'Safety' or 'Politics,' You See; It Was Just a Good
Idea
Jeff Gannon, of Talon News, noted that, "[Senator
Frank] Lautenberg (D-NJ) was quoted in the Washington Post
in 1994, saying, 'The [Clinton] administration's proposal to
privatize the air traffic control system is consistent with the
desire to bring more efficiency and reform to government and should
be reviewed seriously.'" Gannon dug up a 1993 Capitol speech by
that same senator: "I strongly endorse the FAA's contract tower
program for level 1 (the smallest) control towers. ... The use of
contract towers is an example of how we can reduce the costs of
Government services and achieve savings over the long run."
You see, in those days,
when Lautenberg was endorsing privatization, the idea was part
of then-VP Al Gore's 'Reinventing Government' program. Gore's
a Democrat; Lautenberg's a Democrat...
Sen. Daschle (D-SD), then the Senate Majority Leader, was full
of kudos for Lautenberg at the time: "I would like to compliment
the Senator from New Jersey for once again doing a masterful job in
providing the Senate with an appropriations bill that recognizes
the importance of our transportation systems to the health of our
economy and fairly balances the competing demands for improved
transportation services throughout the United States."
Gannon correctly points out that now-mega-lobbyist Linda Hall
Daschle, the senator's wife, was a Deputy Administrator of the FAA
at the time. Now, both senators are threatening to nuke FAA funding
if the union's wishes [against privatization] aren't included.
Administrator Blakey pointed out at the hearing Wednesday that
99% of the controllers are former FAA or former military,
anyway.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.28.25): Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)
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