Tower, Or TRACON? Some Won't Be Trained In Both

In a move intended to speed training as the agency faces a critical shortage of experienced air traffic controllers, the FAA plans to narrow the training requirements for personnel heading to Memphis and Orlando... a plan the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says could be dangerous.

The Associated Press reports the FAA plans to end cross-training of ATC personnel in tower operations, and handling traffic at Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities. Previously, controllers spent time handling both... a move meant to increase controllers' understanding of both jobs, and how they inter-relate.

But that added training takes time, which is something the FAA doesn't have much of as it works to replace controllers hired following the 1981 PATCO strike, who are now approaching retirement. The FAA also makes the argument controllers will handle their individual duties better when they can focus on just one job.

"It's simply focusing their training to do precisely what they're going to be doing," FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said.

Not surprisingly, however, not all controllers agree. "It masks their staffing problems," said Victor Santore, regional vice president for NATCA.

The controllers union -- which has been locked in a contentious battle with the FAA over a contract imposed in June 2006 -- says those lesser job duties will translate to reduced pay for controllers, to the tune of 4-8 percent in some cases. Fewer personnel will be available for emergencies, too, or to cover for workers out on sick leave.

John Wallin, who heads the NATCA chapter in Memphis, maintains cross-training improves coordination between towers and TRACONs as they vector traffic over busy airports... and suggests the lack of such training could lead to problems.

"Controllers who work in the tower will no longer have the experience that radar controllers have and that could lead to a disaster because they're not going to know what each other is doing," he said.

The FAA has already ended cross-training at facilities near several larger airports, including Atlanta and Chicago. Attempts to restrict training in Miami and Philadelphia were scaled back, however, after Congress questioned the safety of such a move.

Illinois Congressman Jerry Costello -- who serves as chairman of the House subcommittee on aviation, and is a frequent critic of the FAA's hard-line stance against controllers -- says any attempt by the agency to lessen certification requirements for new-hire controllers will face review by lawmakers, "if in fact that is taking place."

Currently, about one-quarter of all air traffic controllers nationwide are in training... and that figure is expected to increase to 30 percent within four years.

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