air traffic controller

During the past week, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) has taken two actions likely to elicit “equal and opposite reactions” from the aviation community specifically, and the American public in general.  On the positive end of the spectrum lies FAA’s approval of a presumed cure for the dramatic malfunctions of the lithium ion batteries installed by the Boeing Company in place of the hydraulic system in the company’s 787 Dreamliner passenger jet.  This “fix” will allow Boeing to begin deliveries of the aircraft again after an FAA mandated hiatus since January 16, 2013.  At the extreme opposite end of the spectrum lies FAA’s decision to begin the furloughing of air traffic controllers, a move that has already precipitated the filing of petitions with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by, among others, the aviation trade group for the nation’s airlines, Airlines for America, the Airline Pilots Association, and the Regional Airline Association.Continue Reading FAA Takes Two Important Steps During the Week of April 20

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation met on September 25, 2008 to receive testimony on runway safety.  This hearing was a follow-up to the Subcommittee’s February 13th hearing.  Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) stated in his opening remarks that although the U.S. air transportation system is the safest in the world, there remain many issues to be addressed to keep it that way.  In particular, he was concerned about the fact that although air traffic is down by 3% for the first six months of 2008 compared with 2007, runway incursions are up slightly.  While agreeing that the FAA is headed in the right direction with respect to the development and the deploying of new runway technology, Rep. Costello wanted the FAA to address the very real human factors that the GAO raised in the previous hearing, i.e., the air traffic controller shortage and the adequacy of the training of air traffic controllers.  Rep. Costello specifically mentioned the serious runway incursion that occurred at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 2008, where a trainee failed to notice that a small single engine airplane had not yet vacated the runway prior to allowing a regional jet to take-off on the same runway.  It was reported that 35% of the controllers at the tower at Allentown are trainees.

With respect to the increase of runway incursions, Hank Krakowski, FAA’s Chief Operating Officer, explained that after the FAA adopted the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) definition of "runway incursion," it has seen a spike in incursions due to the more inclusive nature of the ICAO definition.  That being said, Mr. Krakowski spent most of his time offering an update about the technological innovations and the progress on the testing in the field.  However, Mr. Krakowski did not address Rep. Costello’s concerns head-on.  Although he addressed some of the "human factors," by mentioning certain procedural changes and a "first ever" fatigue symposium (which are, by all accounts, steps in the right direction), he did not mention anything about staffing levels and quality of the training.Continue Reading House Aviation Subcommittee Conducts Hearing on Runway Safety