Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

The cost of aviation safety

Congress should help, not cut, the FAA and make sure it’s properly staffed

A pilot of a medical flight preparing to land Wednesday at Reno-Tahoe International Airport tried to contact the air traffic controller on duty. It was just after 2 a.m., and the pilot didn’t receive a response.

While the pilot circled, the regional air traffic control center in Oakland tried to reach the controller as well, both on the radio and by phone.

No luck.

Citing concern for a “pretty sick patient” on board, the pilot finally told regional controllers at 2:13 a.m. that he needed to land and made it down safely. FAA officials said the controller was asleep.

It was the latest in a rash of incidents of sleeping or unresponsive controllers on overnight shifts. The FAA has reported incidents in Washington, D.C., Seattle, Tennessee and Texas over the past few months.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he was outraged and said the problem “will not stand on my watch.” That’s good. This can’t continue.

On Wednesday, the agency immediately ordered 27 towers that are staffed overnight with one air traffic controller to add a second controller. The FAA is also conducting a top-to-bottom review of the nation’s air traffic control centers and has reinforced nighttime safety procedures. On Thursday, the head of the agency’s air traffic control centers resigned.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the incidents “have rightly caused the traveling public to question our ability to ensure their safety.”

It should go without saying that air traffic controllers have to be awake during their shifts, but safety experts say that can be especially difficult when it’s slow during an overnight shift. As USA Today reported Thursday, research shows that workers on midnight shifts are prone to more errors because of sleep issues. The FAA should address such fatigue in its review.

At the very least, putting a second controller on duty overnight should help improve safety with extra backup, especially in case of an illness or emergency. But it’s unclear what that will do to FAA’s current staffing levels, which have seen a recent decrease. Air traffic controllers are already considered overworked and stressed.

Congress should help the agency with staffing, but don’t count on Republicans in the House of Representatives. For example, Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, complained that the FAA was wasting money with a second overnight controller.

The House previously passed a bill that would cut $4 billion from the FAA’s budget — Republicans said it wouldn’t affect safety. Mica said the agency could “do more with less.”

What does that mean? Fewer controllers working longer hours?

There will certainly be efficiencies the FAA can find, but safety isn’t a place where doing more with less typically works. The FAA said the budget cuts would, if nothing else, set back the implementation of a nationwide system designed to improve the air traffic control system.

Republicans need to take responsibility. Budget cuts look good on paper, but what about the real-life effects?

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