Ian Gregor, FAA Public Affairs Contact
Federal Aviation Administration Western-Pacific Region
15000 Aviation Boulevard
Hawthorne, CA 90261
Dear Mr. Gregor:
I have seen several brief news items over the past few months about near-misses at airports. This is bound to happen once in a while, considering the vast number of planes that take off and land each day. Just recently, as you know, in nearby San Jose, there was a close call that was the result of the fatigue of an air traffic controller.
Your own comments as quoted in the local news come across as almost callous. Three of the controllers employed at SJC were out sick from fumes to which they were exposed at the work site. You are quoted as saying: “Other people stayed and worked their shifts. Because these three controllers have taken all this time off, other controllers have had to work overtime to make up for them.” You seem to be blaming the victims here.
As I looked into this matter I became troubled at the apparent rift between the FAA and the air traffic controllers themselves. On the web site for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association there are accounts of the FAA’s inadequate response to problems such as understaffing and other safety issues. On the FAA’s site, there is mention of grand plans to increase staffing over the next ten years, but part of the description of the plan for progress is troubling, for your organization apparently plans to “manage costs” by doing things such as reducing Worker’s Compensation and overtime costs, and have shorter training times. This provides little comfort. If workers such as those in San Jose are sustaining illness or injury on the job, I would expect them to be paid and compensated (they are reportedly not currently receiving pay or worker’s comp). Shorter training times sounds simply like a cut corner that could lead to disaster.
I have immense respect for the women and men who perform such important work. They invisibly orchestrate safe passage for thousands each day. There is no excuse for allowing a situation to develop in which these people are working ten hour shifts. I hope that any petty differences between the bureaucracy and the workforce can be set aside, if nothing else then for the interest of public safety.
Truly,
Liz Mann
