Air Traffic in the Region
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-07-15/air-traffic-region
Close calls between planes flying in our area are raising concerns about air traffic control. Are inexperience and heavy traffic causing problems in the control tower, or are new rules prompting more error reports? We'll explore safety in the skies during the summer travel season.
Guests
J. Randolph Babbitt
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Matthew Wald
New York Times reporter
Comments
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For 23 years, ATCs were trained by what a former FAA Administrator called, "the finest contractor the organization has". In 2008, The Raytheon Company lobbied Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgill and took the contract from the incumbent, to the detriment of the training program.
Although this took place during the transition to the Obama Administration, Bruce Babbitt knows the facts, and is aware of a pending lawsuit against Raytheon which outlines allegations of impropriety surrounding this matter.
The DOT Inspector General conducted an extensive investigation and produced a report whose contents have been withheld from the public for several months. It is believed the report explains in detail how poorly trained air traffic controllers have been under the current regime.
Since 2008, ATC training quality has eroded, ATCs are demoralized and managment poor. Just look at the Hudson River collision of a private plane and a tour helicopter, the child running the La Guardia Tower and the rising number of bone-chilling close calls between fully loaded airliners.
Shame on Babbitt for allowing this to go on.