FAA: Maybe we need to change air-traffic controllers’ schedules

cause Like sharks in a slow news period, air-traffic controllers have fallen asleep numerous times over the past few weeks — including one just last night in Miami.
reaction In an effort to help limit the workers’ on-the-job issues, the FAA plans to change their schedules to better adapt to the late-night shifts. source

» Some hard numbers: Our whole grumbling about air traffic controllers being the new sharks did get us curious about whether there were actually more errors among air traffic controllers. But USA Today beat us to the research back in February. Their findings? Incidents involving air traffic controllers are up 81 percent since 2007, from 1,040 to 1,887 in 2010. More serious incidents — which we’re assuming “sleeping on the job” includes — are up 26 percent over the same period, from 34 to 43. Not to say air traffic controllers shouldn’t be incredibly good at their jobs, but considering that we’re still talking about less than 2,000 incidents nationwide — big or small — over an entire year suggests at least some degree of overreaction.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Over the last few weeks we have seen examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of a few individuals that have rightly caused the traveling public to question our ability to ensure their safety. This conduct must stop immediately.
FAA chief administrator Randy Babbitt • Expressing anger and outrage over the reports that a number of their air-traffic controllers have been caught sleeping. The situation is the key reason why the FAA Air Traffic Organization’s leader, Hank Krakowski, no longer has a job. To us, to be completely honest, sleeping air traffic controllers are the new sharks. The fact of the matter is, air traffic controllers probably slept through a lot of incidents like these before the media started paying attention. Now that they are, it’s imperative to change things. But we bet that things are only changing because the media suddenly cares. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

2 air traffic controllers for night shifts is important for safety, the FAA says source

» It’s unclear how sweeping a change this really is, reason being the FAA issued this requirement for 27 airports nationwide, and it’s rather hard to find information like how many air traffic controllers work which night shifts at which airports, internet notwithstanding. That said, this seems like the prototypical, blindingly obvious safety issue which looks shocking that people hadn’t considered it already. The fact that the U.S. faces a shortage of trained air traffic controllers is quite known, though, and you can’t exactly manifest them out of thin air. How will the FAA solve this problem long-term with an ever-dwindling supply of people?

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

Help is on its way President Barack Obama and many other world leaders have promised help to the devastated country, whose largest city was leveled by the 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday evening. But huge bottlenecks are preventing help from reaching those in need.
major bottlenecks Among other things, the U.S. has placed its own air traffic controllers in the Port-Au-Prince airport to help ease the burdens. But a lack of fuel is creating a clog of planes that have no way to get off the tarmac. It’s having a deadly effect on survivors.
“Angry and impatient” Haitians in desperate need of food and water are stuck in an awful purgatory as a result. “We hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside, but nothing is coming,” said survivor Jean-Baptiste Lafontin Wilfried. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Apr 2011 16:38