Safety News in Brief

Air Safety Week, Oct 29, 2007

FAA announced 19 Oct that the agency exceeded its air traffic controller staffing targets for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, by hiring more than 1,800 controllers during the year. That tops the 2006 year-end total by 256 controllers; As a result, the agency now employs 14,874 controllers.

However, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says that while there may be bodies in the buildings, that doesn't mean the number of qualified air traffic controllers is reflected in those figures and maintains that the manpower crisis it has long predicted is upon us as the most experienced controllers head for the exits. "Our system is on the brink of a total breakdown," NATCA President Pat Forrey told a teleconference on Monday.