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Editor: James T. Crouse
Profession: Aviation Accident Attorney

Category: Aviation Safety

Just how safe will air travel be in the upcoming years? Will the shortage of fully qualified controllers put the whole industry in jeopardy?

NATCA, the U.S. controllers' union, is telling us the system is now in crisis because there are not enough experienced controllers to handle traffic safety in four of the busiest areas of the U.S. - Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Southern California. According to NATCA this is a result of higher than expected retirements and insufficient hiring of replacements by the FAA leaving us with the lowest number of certified controllers since 1992.

"They are being asked to handle so much volume with so little rest and with fewer eyes and ears that they are fatigued, and when you are fatigued you make mistakes," said the union leader.

Hank Krakowski, chief operating officer with the FAA, does admit staffing is "tight" at "a few facilities" but they do not believe they are running an unsafe system - their data does not show an increase in errors "tight" staffing and fatigue have been cited. Frieda thinks this sentence should end in the word "yet". As so often is the case, until something major, disastrous, or tragic happens, the strategy seems to want to prove one's position with data, instead of heeding the warnings of those with "hands on" experience. Hours on end sitting looking at that screen with perhaps too little breaks and too little time between shifts can cause burn out, exhaustion, and mistakes. The 2006 contract imposed by the FAA is cited by NATCA as a major cause of early retirement due to pay cuts, freezes, imposed work rules, and no benefits to trainees - even those with military controller experience.

What ever the reason (s) for this crisis, the FAA and the NATCA need to come together to find a solution for the good of the industry and for the safety of those of us who are the consumers of what the industry has to offer. Lives are a stake!