Hello all!
While the info under the Blog Site title kind of sums it all up, I wanted to explain the main title.
While I did collect tin cans for charity events, as a Boy Scout many years back, the tin referred to here is that of the general usage related to aircraft. I have worked, since October of 1987, for the Federal Aviation Administration as an Air Traffic Controller. I have worked in two different towers and currently in an ARTCC (Air Route Traffic Control Center). I work chunks of airspace from the ground in some areas up to more than sixty thousand feet. I work Airliners, private and commercial general aviation aircraft, military, public safety, law enforcement, and even a blimp here and there.
It is/was a great career that I fell into by chance. I’d applied to the FAA as an electronic technician having garnered some experience in college and the US Navy Reserve. One of the software techs suggested I take the test for Air Traffic as well. The FAA didn’t want me as a tech but I scored very well on the ATC test.
In my early career I worked in a small VFR (visual flight rules) tower and subsequently in a large airport tower. I transferred to an ARTCC, big room with lots of RADAR displays, for a shortened commute and better wages though the ambiance deteriorated significantly.
It has been a great career until lately. The last FAA Administrator, Marion Blakey, set out to turn the FAA into a business and break the current controller Union NATCA. Safety was to take a back seat to the almighty dollar, by direction from her superiors I’m sure. After a short stint of bad faith bargaining to a premeditated conclusion, the FAA illegally imposed a set of work and pay rules that they refer to as a contract. The leagal justification used by the FAA was faulty. There was no Union concurrence and no ratifying vote by the controllers. In the process, the FAA demeaned and belittled it’s controller workforce in a smear campaign of deceit and lies to garner support in Congress. Even with a Republican controlled Congress, at the time, NATCA very nearly secured a legislative fix to the problem until President GW Bush twisted some arms.
The last two years have demonstrated an unprecedented exodus of veteran controllers retiring well prior to the mandatory retirement age. We also see trainees just quitting outright which has been virtually unheard of in previous years but now is common place. The new pay scale that was forced upon them is of little value in a job that usually requires two to five years of training, is undoubtedly a daily stressful grind, reduces ones ability to prepare for retirement by forcing people out at the age of fifty six, and places individuals in supervisory positions above them with no requirements for ability, competency, or human relations skills. There is no longer provisions for uninterrupted vacations during the year nor limits on placement of rotating shifts in a job that requires controllers 24/7. In a job where concentration, memory and mental skills are of vital importance, there are no longer provisions for breaks in order to “rest” between sessions.
The current controller workforce numbers have dropped to where they were fifteen years ago while traffic is much higher.
How does this affect the flying public? Many facilities are working individuals six days a week on rotating schedules. Not good for the body or the mind. Controllers are more fatigued than ever before. With the lack of staffing at most facilities, controllers must work control positions combined that are normally separated for safety and efficiency. Result: delayed aircraft, and more mistakes. Safety is degraded.
Moral is at an all time low. While the supervisors are hovering around the area waiting for controllers to say “nine” instead of “niner” or catch someone failing to put a meaningless piece of information on their personal status board, new and poorly paid controllers are expected to perform perfectly in complex situations without much practical experience. Veteran controllers must constantly On the Job Training which increases stress and requires greater concentration levels. We are nit picked daily in an increasingly hostile environment. Management personnel are rarely if every held accountable for mismanagement and incompetence.
Ok, rant off. The nutshell version is that the United States National Airspace System in dire straights. Controller errors and close calls are at an all time high across the nation due to fatigue and short staffing. We controllers generally love our jobs and continue to hang on as best we can. I now worry every day about the possibility of being involved at work in a catastrophic event. If you get a chance to look, you’ll see that at virtually every news conference about an incident the FAA talking head will say “Safety was never compromised.” It is a lie. If a controller fails to maintain the required separation standards then safety was compromised. It happens every day and this needs to be fixed now.
Go to NATCA or http://www.natca.org to find out more and to help us pressure Congress to act.
Other great blogs related more specifically to Air Traffic Control and FAA ineptitude are: Get The Flick, The FAA Follies, and The Main Bang.
I hope future subjects will be much less dire!
I welcome comments and questions.
My best to all,
Tin Man. Retirement eligible in 3 years 6 months and 30 days.
