Controllers warn of dangerous levels of staffing

[question everything]

The Daily Breeze

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Controllers warn of dangerous levels of staffing
Impending shortage of controllers is expected as veterans near retirement. Their union is pointing fingers at FAA over safety.
By Doug Irving
STAFF WRITER

Air traffic controllers warned Tuesday of a growing "staffing crisis" in radar rooms throughout Southern California and said travelers would pay for it with flight delays and reduced safety.

Thousands of veteran controllers will reach retirement age in the next several years. The controllers union claims the Federal Aviation Administration hasn't done enough to recruit and train adequate replacements.

At Los Angeles International Airport, for example, controllers in the tower are already working overtime to fill some shifts. The FAA has blocked controllers there from transferring to other radar centers until it can replenish their ranks.

Still, the LAX tower and other control centers in Southern California have enough controllers to manage air traffic safely, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. In this area, he added, only the control tower at Long Beach's municipal airport has fewer controllers than what the agency considers adequate.

(snip)

Find this article at:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/6857992.html

[Occulus]

1. Am I mistaken, or has the FAA not updated the system in a very long time?

There is absolutely no reason under the sun other than political neglect why our air traffic controllers don't have access to the best control interfaces we can possibly design. If what I have been given to understand about our air traffic control system up until now is true, the entire system was due for an overhaul over a decade ago, at the least. If what I have been led to 'know' is true, it's a worse job for the controllers than we can imagine. (If there are any DUers who have BEEN controllers, please chime in on my post and set me straight where I'm wrong. You need to be heard, if I'm even half right.)

Why don't the controllers have access to an OpenGL interface hooked in to our GPD satellite system, displayed using a 3D engine that can render terrain, other aircraft, buildings, and weather patterns? We see these things in games... what in holy hell is stopping them from relegating RADAR to a mere supplement?

Or do the controllers already have access to such a system, and there just aren't enough people? If so, shit, where do I go to school for it....

[lostnotforgotten]

3. FAA Will Release RFP For National ADS-B (GPS) Deployment This Year

Many of the problems that you sight are based on the historical course of systems acquisition.

Raytheon owns the TRACON with STARS and ARTS.

Lockheed Martin owns the En Route Centers with the NAS Host Mainframe computers.

Bridging between these control domains is like pulling teeth as each contractor zealously protects its turf.

To top that off, there are few at the FAA with enough political power to ever write a technical specification for replacing the whole system.

Remember that the FAA tried a complete "tech refresh" (1993 or so) with the Advanced Automation System.

That contract failed and was the single biggest civil contract to be canceled by the federal government at the time.

[libnnc]

2. My SO is an ATCer at Charlotte

10 people retiring where she works this year alone.

10 people at one facility in less than one year. They have to call in overtime nearly every day.

It's really, really bad.

I think she said they're hiring OFF THE STREET at Boston Center right now.

She's eligible to retire in 6 years, btw.

[question everything]

4. Reagan's macho, when he fired the controllers

is coming home to roost.