Sounds Alarm: US Air Traffic Controller Speaks Out After Nearly Averting Disaster
Aviation system operator in the U.S. experiences alarm due to close-call air disaster
Welcome to the chaotic world of a US air traffic controller! Jonathan Stewart, a veteran in the field, has raised the red flag about the current state of flight safety, mostly due to the Trump administration's reckless layoffs.
Lately, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States has seen massive layoffs, affecting critical safety personnel such as air traffic controllers, engineers, and inspectors. With the FAA needing an additional 3,000 air traffic controllers to safely manage ever-increasing air traffic, these layoffs can't come at a worse time.
Stewart's personal near-miss story highlights this grave situation. On May 4, he was monitoring aircraft near Newark, New York, when he noticed two aircraft moving dangerously close on his radar screen. A private plane had taken off from Morristown Airport and was on a collision course with another small plane from nearby Teterboro, a hub for business flights, both flying at the same altitude.
With the radar and radio connection teetering on the brink of failure and a near-collision literally seconds away, Stewart quickly jotted down the aircraft's call signs and flight information. Forcing the pilots to steer clear of each other, he averted disaster. But Stewart was still shaken, and his frustration boiled over into an email to his FAA managers, sharply criticizing their leadership.
In an interview, Stewart expressed his fears about being responsible for possible catastrophes due to understaffing. He explained that air traffic controllers often bear the brunt of wrong decisions made elsewhere. Stewart's case isn't unique; several of his colleagues have gone on stress-related leave for the same reasons. Some report technical malfunctions that temporarily crippled their radio equipment, radar equipment, and backup systems.
Stewart doesn't work in an airport tower; instead, he's a supervisor at Tracon, the Terminal Radar Approach Control, which handles traffic for smaller regional airports and monitors aircraft approaching Newark. He oversees other air traffic controllers and simultaneously tracks aircraft on the radar screen. "It's like a video game," he says, "but it's like playing 3-D chess at 250 miles per hour (about 402 km/h)."
Perhaps less glamorous than the air traffic controller's role in the cockpit, Stewart works long hours—60 hours a week, including nights, weekends, holidays, and birthdays. However, he makes no excuses, as he takes pride in bringing planes and their passengers home safely.
Despite recent delays and disruptions, air traffic controllers, according to Stewart, haven't "gone on strike." It's the staffing situation that's causing these issues. The accumulating near-misses paint a precarious picture, with Stewart himself having close calls during his 25-year career in civilian and military air traffic control settings.
Sources: ntv.de, sba
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The Commission, in light of the aforementioned air traffic control issues, has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to technology, such as ionizing radiation, in the high-stress environment of US air traffic control tower settings.
Meanwhile, the political implications of the][US air traffic control situation extend beyond flight safety, with concerns about the accountability for crime-and-justice incidents potentially arising from understaffed and overworked controllers, as in Stewart's case, becoming a topic of general-news discussion.
