While the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In has been the target of many concerns involving aviation safety, only recently have we heard from some of the most expert, inside, sources regarding the problems inherent in flying into, and out of, the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport while the Fly-In is in full force (or is that "Full Swarm?). While concerns have been raised about the quality and conduct of tower services at Lakeland (which is normally a Non-Federal Air Traffic Control Tower but adds FAA staffers for the Fly-In), we've only recently become aware of the complex and comprehensive nature of the issues surrounding this function. 

ANN has been contacted recently by sources closely related to the air traffic operations at Lakeland, who presented us with a litany of complaints and concerns that they regarded as working against the best interests of aviation safety.

ANN Note: ANN has, in most cases, taken these statements "on background," once we were able to verify the actual identity/bona fides of those making the complaints. The following statements were made by people in the air traffic control community, or those with whom they consult, or with whom they cooperate… all with close, intimate knowledge of the systems in place, and the manner in which they are implemented. In most cases, as these people have told us they fear for their jobs as well as their personal and professional standing, ANN is presenting their statements but not their identities. For purposes of clarity, each separate source has been given a nickname: "Orville," "Wilbur," etc…

• "Orville:" a highly-experienced  air traffic authority
• "Wilbur" (also with an extensive ATC background) 
• "Deep Prop," (an experienced pilot with ATC experience, consulted by FAA and Fly-In staffers)
• "Otto" (another highly experienced ATC authority)
• Two others (with ATC backgrounds) so concerned about retribution that they specified they may only be quoted generally (i.e., we can talk about what they said, without repeating their specific words)
• NATCA's Southern Regional VP, Rodney Turner

ANN's attempts to contact a number of FAA and Sun 'n Fun personnel were either refused (especially by the FAA's Kathy Bergen), or our requests were not answered.

So… what's got these air traffic experts up in arms enough  to risk their jobs? 

Safety.

Before we got into the specifics of their charges, Orville and Deep Prop offered up an interesting caveat for SnF 2003. The current system at Lakeland is based on procedures that are as much as 25+ years old. They have been updated little, especially of late. This year; the Fly-In traffic schedule is "up for grabs" in light of the change they made to utilize a Wednesday through Tuesday program. This makes some of the staffers at this year's event apprehensive. Orville says, "...the days (of the week) for which we were prepared for the most traffic no longer apply. This year is a mystery. They do not know what to expect. They have a feeling that they're really going to be hit hard on the weekends. Since weekends have always been our busiest times, there is some thought that a lot of people may be waiting 'til the weekend to attend (rather than showing up in the first few days). I think the traffic, then, will be the worst. In the past we knew what to expect, and we could schedule for it. This year, they don't. I have concerns over whether there will be adequate coverage when they need it."

The Big Issue

While one would naturally think that such a high-profile event would be staffed by the most-expert controllers and supervisors that the FAA could find, based solely on skill, we're disappointed to find that this may not necessarily be so. As a matter of fact, the FAA is not even calling all the shots -- allegedly abdicating much of its responsibility to the Union (NATCA) representing the controllers, and allowing FAA staffers with some potentially serious conflicts of interest to set what part of the policy that FAA is still willing to undertake.

While NATCA seems to be taking some flack over this, Wilbur is a bit more fatalistic about the role of the union. "They're doing what they were elected to do. I don't have a problem with that. But I do wonder why the FAA has given up so much of their authority in the process. If there's a villain here, it's not NATCA, protecting their own. It's the FAA in letting them."

Orville claims that this year, the FAA will be using as many as 3 "rookie" supervisors who have never worked Sun 'n Fun. While there are still a number of experienced people left, he also asserts they'll be using one (who) hasn't worked that tower in many years, as well as one supervisor with some three years "in grade." Many others working the tower, in non-supervisory roles, simply have little to no OPERATIONAL experience in dealing with the mass aerial exodus at Sun 'n Fun. Orville also is concerned that this year's team leaders don't represent the best that could be chosen… and that in one case, he says a particularly-experienced Team Leader was not asked back due to "political" issues.

Here's A Taste Of The Politics…

Orville, Wilbur, Otto and others note that the fastest way to get ousted from SnF duty (considered something of a badge of honor among controllers) is to get on Wayne Boggs's bad side. Wayne has been the FAA's "Regional Special Events Coordinator" for quite a while (a position we understand is under consideration for abolition). Boggs is ALSO a privileged, ranking, member of the Sun 'n Fun organization; AND markets himself aggressively to the airshow community as an "Air-Boss" for hire. Wayne has made a lot of the FAA's decisions concerning the SnF controller deployment; he works directly with NATCA on the rest; and he is involved in a number of outside activities in which he may be relying on his FAA position to benefit financially from his Air-Boss activities. as noted; he also has strong Sun 'n Fun ties, as well. That doesn't speak well for an appearance of impartial decision-making (a concern with which, even the NATCA rep agrees). This has a number of the controllers up in arms… not only for the fact that Boggs's impartiality has been repeatedly questioned, but because they don't feel that his decisions represent them fairly and/or dispassionately. Boggs, who is responsible to the region, doesn't work in Atlanta (at Reg'l HQ); he works in Lakeland (and for a while before that, Tampa). As a matter of fact, he works in the FAA Building at Lakeland… one of the buildings from which Sun 'n Fun is barring (illegally, we're told) ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, even though it is indisputably a Federal building. Hmmm...

Under the current MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), the FAA and NATCA divvy up the plum assignments-like Sun 'n Fun. NATCA, in many cases, is appointing people with more "seniority," instead of those with the most operational experience. Controllers with more than a dozen years of actual Lakeland/SnF experience have thus been passed over because they don't have the "seniority" of their superiors, or in at least one case, because the experienced controller has allegedly elected NOT to be a union member. It is the opinion of several of our experts that fewer than half the team leaders to be employed at this year's Fly-In have the requisite experience to properly supervise others in the Lakeland Tower (as compared to previous years)… and that once again, several people with some 40-50 years of collective (and valuable) experience will NOT be working the world's busiest tower next week.

Among the rank and file, staffers assert that the NATCA selections are made based on overall seniority, and not necessarily on the experience they have in the Lakeland/SnF operation. Even the rookie controllers are selected on organizational seniority criteria… even if they've never worked a VFR tower or have only been a radar person, etc., -- all they need are a CTO (Control Tower Operator's Certificate) and to be current (in a tower), with enough seniority to meet the union's negotiated contract articles. The result of all this is that the overall experience (SnF-wise) espoused by those working the towers is not what it could be… and our sources assert that the controllers with the most seniority, rather than those with the most experience, are more likely to be working the pressure-cooker of one of the busiest air traffic environments in the world. And, once again, the reason for all this is that this is the system that the FAA negotiated with the union, and it's therefore now part of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that governs this event.

Its Not What Ya Know, It's Who Ya Know…

One particular item of concern: controllers are graded each year on their performance at Sun 'n Fun. Some who have been graded poorly, or those found lacking in some skills, are coming BACK to Sun 'n Fun-because they have the seniority… while (as alleged) more experienced and accomplished controllers (without the requisite seniority) are staying home. Hmmm... again.

The MOU came about, supposedly, because of past accusations of the existence of a "Good Ol' Boy Network," wherein the most-experienced guys (those with VFR Tower experience and the recommendations of other SnF veterans and managers) kept getting reassigned to the plum events like Lakeland. However; the one thing that all seem to agree on, about the old GOB Network, was that it was staffed by SnF veterans, even though they may not have had the most seniority. The new MOU seems to have substituted one GOB Network for another… with operational experience and know-how being replaced by organizational seniority and politics.

Some Specific Issues/Incidents

The Lakeland crew works long, hard hours under difficult conditions… so why would anyone care if they get selected for such abuse?

Orville told me, "They (at first) think it's a vacation, Jim. A lot of controllers think that it's a TDY assignment, and that they're coming to a party, and, while we do have a good time, and come together well as a unit, the really experienced guys got that way because of dedication and a willingness to work their asses off. Yes, it's fun... but it's more work, demanding work, than you can know. Now, the current MOU is taking some of the most experienced people AWAY."

He continued, "I think there are several experienced people not coming this year that have tremendous skills. One of them was taken away last year, right in the middle of the event--after the two accidents. Presumably as a scapegoat… somebody had to take the fall. The guy who was sent back to his original facility and 'fired' from SnF duty was on the phone, coordinating between the tower and the region when the accident occurred… He wasn't working traffic… but he still became the fall guy. He was one of the most-experienced supervisors we had, who had done most of the training -- and everybody respected him… but I think that it was either his head or Boggs' -- and Wayne wasn't going to take any flack for this. Boggs reportedly did the 'firing.'"

"Under-Qualified" Controllers Working SnF 2003?

Some of the folks manning these facilities have been judged by their supervisors as lacking all the skills needed to staff this event (whch is not that insulting, as it is incredibly demanding and not for the faint of heart). One incident was related to us several times by as many people. Last year, an aircraft was observed coming in gear-up. The tower controller working him (whom we are told, had been 'counseled' about some issues in working this position) said nothing and one person in the power (and one by the runway) told the controller to "Tell the (aircraft) to check gear." This did not happen. Again, "Tell the (Aircraft) to check gear." Silence. "Tell the (Aircraft)… oh, never mind." The aircraft landed gear up… the controller did not get a message out despite several entreaties by comrades to do so. While such an incident is ALWAYS, ultimately, the pilots responsibility; a timely warning was not issued. Our sources assert that this controller, assigned due to their seniority, was 'over-tasked' in the environment assigned and someone with more experience might have allowed for a more positive conclusion. Sobering… 

Last Year's Mid-Air: More Detail 

Our sources agree... 'What happened last year is that both aircraft (the PA-16 and the RV-6A) wound up over the same runway, landing.'

Orville opined that, "One was supposed to be on the other runway. Apparently, there was a misunderstanding there. Why? I don't know… but it happens EVERY DAY that you're there… someone will land where they're not supposed to… we've had 'em land on taxiway Papa, and (we've had them) land in the grass… Some of these pilots are either not paying attention or they get in over their head. They get caught up in the moment, or get beyond their skill level. It gets pretty intense. A lot of 'em land way too soon and then they taxi slowly to the end, especially the taildraggers -- and the whole flow goes to hell."

Orville explained, "We have a LOT of taildraggers. It gets really bad with a crosswind. We have to try and clear that all up. But a lot of these guys have questions and everyone thinks that's frowned on (asking a question). But I tell people, 'if you have a question, pick up your mic and ask it.' You used to get ridiculed for that, but we're getting past that. We have changed that. We're there to help them… but that's something that the controllers did on their own."

Orville got on to the accident: "Anyway, the RV that was landing, for some reason, picked it back up and hits the guy above him. If he'd stayed low, he'd have been fine."

How could more-expert staffing have dealt with this?

Orville told us, "They had enough people on duty to do the job… but it's the skill level of the people in the tower that could have prevented what happened there. If you listen to the tape, and you listen to the phraseology given to the RV, you'll know why he picked it back up. Yes, there was pilot error… but I think the communications involved some mistaken identities, (too). There was confusion, no doubt about it, but it wasn't just the pilots. There was some (good) experience up in that tower (at the time of the accidents) but not with the spotters and some others."

"Listen to the tape," he implored. "Listen very closely what instructions they're being given… everybody was confused… I'll be honest with you: Everybody. And this is where there is NO substitute for experience. If you don't have the experience, you're screwed. Those are my conclusions; but listen for yourself and draw your own." [ANN should have copy of the tape shortly and will report on it after we get a chance to listen to it carefully -E-I-C] 

Back to Orville: "The next day there was another mid-air… also on landing, and no one was killed or seriously injured, as an Extra 300 landed on a Navion." Once again, the system in place bred confusion, and Wilbur, Otto and the others say that the current system is rife with it. "Confusion is a main feature in everything that goes on out there," was a common observation among our experts.

An Old and Aging System 

Orville, Wilbur and Otto note that the Sun 'n Fun arrival and departure system is 'ancient.' "The SnF system has not been changed in years and the FAA and Sun 'n Fun are resisting any [change]. This [the SnF arrival] -- it's not nearly as easy as Oshkosh, where you fly up the railroad tracks, with easy-to-see landmarks, and there are controllers on the route in. At SnF, when you come off the power plant up there, going westbound, and then when you cut across the interstate, the landmarks are not that good… you can't see the strobe lights, and when you come towards the field and you make the turn for the downwind, there are people flying all over the place. We try to get them in line, nose to tail, but a lot of them don't have the skill level to do all that… and we have to manage it."

The mass gathering over the lake also comes into great debate. "That (the lake patterns) used to work great… until all these other airplanes showed up. There are just too many people up there now. I've told some of them to depart the lake pattern and come back in 30 minutes just to ease the confusion. But when you try to peel off one… 14 more go (with him)… because no one is really sure who's talking to who." Confusion. Again.

Orville said it doesn't have to be this way: "All this needs to be changed. A new arrival procedure needs to be put in. That was recommended this past year… pilots have been complaining, and there was a meeting to do that last summer, and changes were promised… but nothing has happened. Boggs didn't want to change it… so it wasn't."

Ground Ops-Somebody's Gonna Get Chopped Up 

ANN heard a consistent complaint about Lakeland ground operations, from the ATC veterans of this event (even though this is not an area for which they have responsibility or oversight).

"You got people walking in front of props, and I'm surprised the FAA allows these people to walk so close to moving airplanes, (they) walk across occupied taxiways and nobody's stopping them." Orville says, "They go anywhere they wanna walk, and that's Sun 'n Fun… they don't want anything to change."

For instance? "…you're supposed to have a pilot's license to get over there (among the aircraft), but when you see a six-year-old kid darting across the taxiway between the main area and warbirds, you can't possibly believe he's got a pilot's license. There is simply no one cracking down on this… and this is mostly Sun 'n Fun's doing. They won't change it. What's going to take is some kid to walk into a prop and get chewed all to pieces."

He explained, "It's particularly bad in the warbird area. Controllers don't work that side… that's Sun 'n Fun. We don't go past the runway area. We'll get blamed, but it's Sun 'n Fun's [responsibility], and Sun 'n Fun will not allow itself to take blame… they'll say 'we warned these people, we tell 'em, we brief 'em, we do everything [that we should].' That's nonsense. I've never understood how they got away with that. The FAA would never allow that elsewhere. I don't know what Sun 'n Fun has over the FAA. No other airshow gets away with that." [It sure can't hurt to have a senior FAA staffer in the Sun 'n Fun hierarchy to run cover --E-I-C]

Working the Final Bottleneck 

We were told that the bottle-necking of traffic for the main runway and the taxiway/parallel runway leaves a lot of room for error to occur-requiring excellent coordination between controllers working at runway level and those in the tower. "It's hard to see which is first and which is second (on final)," Orville explained. "You have to depend on your spotters up there in the tower… and that's where all that experience is missed… if your spotters don't have the experience to tell you what's going on out there, to help you sort out the mess, there's not a man alive who can work that 'local' up there and do 'final' the way it should be done. You gotta have experience up there with binoculars standing up there -- looking out the window, saying 'this is next,' 'this is next,' 'send this one around.' If you don't have really-experienced people watching the final, they don't know what the hell they're looking for."

In Next Installment: NATCA Says Differently

NATCA's Rodney Turner (right) went on the record for this series… which is a lot more than the FAA was willing to do. We'll present his remarks next. We were fairly impressed with Turner… he was glib, forthcoming, knowledgeable and seemed to make a good case for the NATCA side of things… until he noted in a NATCA document (published for the benefit of its member controllers), that he had talked to us and labeled our "source" (apparently not understanding that we had several), as a "scum-sucking pig." We find that characterization unfortunate, and one that casts an unflattering light on NATCA.

Before We Finish This Installment…

I came away with something interesting from all our sources. While I can't say that I agree with everything they said, I was amazed at the passion and integrity they brought to their narratives. They took a risk in talking to us and it became very clear that these are guys looking for solutions that would make aviation safer--for us all. Sure, they're opinionated; they're concerned about their turf and how their jobs have been affecte -- but everyone impressed the hell out of me with their sincerity and commitment to making things safer. I've always had a high opinion, by and large, of controllers. I've had a few of them save my ass (one at Sun 'n Fun years ago when I had a Sukhoi's prop start surging and an apparent need to get down... NOW). Right or wrong, these guys are trying to make things better, and if you gotta deal with the mess that flying into Sun 'n Fun has turned out to be, I want to be talking to guys like these -- People who care enough about doing the right thing to put themselves on the line. I'm impressed. I hope you are, too.

That said, wait 'til you see some of the counterpoint...

FMI:  www.natca.org, www.sun-n-fun.org