Thu, Nov 08, 2007
Says Agency Missed October Safety Goal By 36 Percent
Not so fast. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association
said Wednesday the number of serious incidents of aircraft getting
too close in the air rose sharply last month, exceeding the Federal
Aviation Administration’s goal for the month by 36 percent...
despite the FAA's claims of a reduction in such incidents.
NATCA says there were 38 serious incidents -- classified as
Category "A" and "B" operational errors by the FAA -- in October,
easily surpassing the FAA’s "performance limit" of 28. An
operational error is defined as a violation of separation standards
that define minimum safe distances between aircraft.
Because the FAA’s "performance limit" for Category "A" and
"B" errors in October 2006 was 53, NATCA believes October 2007 is
the first month in which the FAA implemented a new system of
reclassifying errors in an attempt to try and re-baseline and lower
the number of Category "A" and "B" errors it counts simply by
moving numbers around that define the scope of a serious breach of
separation standards.
In other words, NATCA President Patrick Forrey said, "The FAA
made it much harder to have a Category 'A' or 'B' error because
planes have to get closer together to reach that level." And yet,
Forrey added, there were 10 more Category "A" and "B" errors last
month than the re-baselined "performance limit."
According to a PowerPoint presentation from June that explains
the new error classification system, the FAA declares, in the
"conclusion" section, that, "There’s a number of ways to meet
any particular goal," which Forrey believes shows the FAA’s
desire to mislead the public on the true margin of safety in the
air traffic control system at a time when veteran controllers, new
hires and trainees are voluntarily leaving the workforce in record
numbers out of anger at the lack of a new contract and the
FAA’s forced implementation of draconian work rules.
Forrey said it is alarming, but certainly not surprising, that
errors are up... since there are 1,200 fewer veteran controllers
working right now than a year ago. Additionally, new hires and
trainees now comprise one-quarter of the workforce, an unmanageably
high level not seen since after the 1981 PATCO strike.
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