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Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

nytimes.com

21–30 of 362 posts

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#21
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed on this (the DEI part, not the obama part. It's much bigger than that.). Previously it was a mutual understand that ATC wouldn't get snarky with pilots in th air until they are on the ground as pilots have the final say. Lately on youtube, i've seen nothing but bad behavior from ATC. And let's just say, there were certain qualities that were common between the incidents.

And what were those certain qualities? We aren't mind-readers.

They were black

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#22
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would be very interesting to look into if you cited a source.

[flagged]

Just to be clear,

your source for your opinion expressed in your comment on this forum is another opinion expressed on Xitter?

Do you have any kind of more primary source, data on hiring changes, studies that correlate incidents with more recent hires, etc.

Or just the strong opinions of some fellow travelling RestoreUSA types?

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#23

Very scary indeed. I think for the first time in my life I will be a little on edge flying in the US. You always hear that flying is the safest mode of public transport--well, if this is the state of the ATC, we're definitely in trouble. And you know there won't be any real change until hundreds of people die needlessly...I just hope it won't be my flight.

It's the safest per mile, but not per journey.

A nice comparison to other transport methods, including taking the bus, and the Space Shuttle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#Transport_comp...

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#24
post #4

FWIW Obama’s administration instituted a diversity program for ATC that gave points to people that did poorly in school and haven’t had a job recently and penalized people with pilots licenses or military ATC experience and other qualifications. The ATC was considered “too white”. In essence they worked backwards to figure out how to hit their arbitrary diversity targets without considering the lives of everyone that…

This would be very interesting to look into if you cited a source.

A few weeks ago I heard about this from another pilot; I found several sources with a minimum of effort. I only fly in Europe, so I have zero personal experience with what is going on in US, but the narative makes sense to me as I saw it personally in other areas.

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#25
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

>NYT cites overworked employees as the cause but leaves out the ongoing and dangerous agenda in the FAA to prioritize diversity over merit. I was looking for more info on your claim, not another claim from someone else that only says something was being left out, without actually showing the very thing that was purported to have been elided.

Maybe the problem is diverse employees have less power to negotiate changes and improvements in the workplace like the issues cited in the NY piece - building and infrastructure issues and the short staffing.

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#26
post #4

FWIW Obama’s administration instituted a diversity program for ATC that gave points to people that did poorly in school and haven’t had a job recently and penalized people with pilots licenses or military ATC experience and other qualifications. The ATC was considered “too white”. In essence they worked backwards to figure out how to hit their arbitrary diversity targets without considering the lives of everyone that…

It's sad that this is getting downvoted. What you posted is a fact and it should be addressed. We shouldn't bury our heads in the sand just because it's an issue of race.

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#27
post #5

Well that was worrying to read since I flight through San Diego coming up. Why are the budgets low and why is our government running atc like a best buy durring holiday season?

- ATC is a difficult job both in terms of training required and day-to-day work

- There are high health requirements to hold the job, which should be revisited

- The federally mandated retirement age is relatively low.

- Pay is not attractive

- Overall FAA funding is largely set by the finicky Congress, which swings between extreme austerity and moderate fiscal pragmatism

- Airports can supplement federal funding, but it's difficult to get someone that cares. The right port authorities would need to be elected, then raise rates at risk of airlines pushing back... only to improve the safety of their one airport (likely still taking the full PR/trust-hit if a tragedy happens at a different airport anyway)

- COVID19 led to a higher rate of people exiting the field (due to reduced labor demand + natural retirement), and few entering the field.

- Hiring/pay was not managed in alignment with the return of travel demand.

- These ATC articles have been circulating for a couple years now. That's probably dampened interest in these jobs.

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#28
post #4

FWIW Obama’s administration instituted a diversity program for ATC that gave points to people that did poorly in school and haven’t had a job recently and penalized people with pilots licenses or military ATC experience and other qualifications. The ATC was considered “too white”. In essence they worked backwards to figure out how to hit their arbitrary diversity targets without considering the lives of everyone that…

Agreed on this (the DEI part, not the obama part. It's much bigger than that.). Previously it was a mutual understand that ATC wouldn't get snarky with pilots in th air until they are on the ground as pilots have the final say. Lately on youtube, i've seen nothing but bad behavior from ATC. And let's just say, there were certain qualities that were common between the incidents.

What, that 90% of them are from contracted towers, whose contractor can get away with understaffing and overworking their controllers, and the controllers know they won't face consequences, because the FAA has no better solution (money, personnel) for staffing said towers and there's no political drive to force the issue?

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#29
Car accidents are up as well, less so this year than last. Both Air traffic and Car accidents have been up since 2020. Its not unique to Air traffic control.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2023/09/28/road-crash...

Its also happening worldwide, more air traffic near misses in the EU alongside road accidents as well. I suspect its world wide.

Re: Air traffic controllers pushed to the brink

#30
post #4

FWIW Obama’s administration instituted a diversity program for ATC that gave points to people that did poorly in school and haven’t had a job recently and penalized people with pilots licenses or military ATC experience and other qualifications. The ATC was considered “too white”. In essence they worked backwards to figure out how to hit their arbitrary diversity targets without considering the lives of everyone that…

It's sad that this is getting downvoted. What you posted is a fact and it should be addressed. We shouldn't bury our heads in the sand just because it's an issue of race.

I think if it were a fact, it would be supported by argument and evidence. What we have here is simply a claim, which was not supported by any evidence. I am perfectly willing to accept that poorly thought out diversity policies can have adverse effects on organizations, which is especially troubling if that organization manages vital infrastructure. But I would need to see good evidence, and argument with that evidence, to prove it, and not just a claim standing alone.
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