Aviation Related News Clippings...

Washington Post "FAA Faults Air Traffic Controllers; N.Y. Workers Accused of Abusing Overtime and Sick Leave"

Associated Press State & Local Wire "FAA, after studying NY facility, disputes claims of threats to air safety made by traffic controllers union"

Air Transport World "FAA blasts controller union over 'inefficient and wasteful practices'"

PR Newswire (FAA Release) "FAA Investigation Into New York TRACON Uncovers Waste; Operational Errors Did Not Jeopardize Safety"

Associated Press State & Local Wire "Midway Airport tops list of on-time arrivals for April"

The Record (Bergen County, NJ) "PA chief would cut Teterboro air traffic; But 'safer' levels need FAA consent"

Press Release "Privatization of Air Traffic Specialists Jeopardizes Aviation Safety"

Aviation Daily "Airline CEOs To Testify On Pension Fund Problems" ________________________________________________________________

The Federal Aviation Administration said yesterday that abuses by some air traffic controllers at the office that handles traffic for the New York area's three major airports, as well as its own poor management, was costing it about $4 million a year in unnecessary overtime.

Releasing an unusual report prepared by air traffic experts from around the country, the agency said that controllers sometimes sought to intimidate managers at the office, the Terminal Radar Approach Control in Westbury, on Long Island, and showed disrespect for them. The report also chided controllers for using excessive profanity in the control room, saying controllers directing traffic could be distracted.

The controllers are also accused of manipulating work schedules to increase their overtime pay.

Earlier this year, as the agency tried to crack down on overtime, the controllers began protesting by anonymously reporting ''operational errors,'' episodes in which planes were mistakenly directed to fly too close to each other. By pointing out the incidents, the controllers were seeking to demonstrate that they needed more people on duty to keep the skies safe.

In an unusual admission yesterday, the F.A.A. said that such errors, which official records measure in the dozens per year, were actually occurring at the rate of about three a day, and that if controllers followed the safety rules closely, flight delays would multiply.

But few of the errors put planes in jeopardy, the F.A.A. said. Officials said they would try to change the rules to fit actual practice, in which planes lining up for landing are frequently spaced less than the required three miles from each other. The controllers have accused the F.A.A. of playing down the risk of operational errors. The controllers can be forced into retraining for committing such errors, and fired if they commit too many, the controllers' union points out.

Greg Martin, the F.A.A.'s chief spokesman, referring to the intertwined issues of overtime and operational errors, said, ''We have a scam; we don't have a safety issue.''

But Dean Iacopelli, president of the local chapter of the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the F.A.A. was trying to balance its budget by reducing staffing below agreed-upon levels and putting safety at risk.

The F.A.A. cited Mr. Iacopelli by name in making its charges. At a news conference yesterday at the F.A.A.'s regional headquarters in Jamaica, Queens, officials played a tape of a conversation about staffing levels Mr. Iacopelli had with a manager a few weeks ago, in which he told the manager that if operating with eight controllers on one shift instead of nine caused a problem, it would be the manager's fault. The F.A.A. said it was intimidation; Mr. Iacopelli said he was being ''passionate'' about staffing at levels that ensured safety.

In March, a controller was fired after an altercation in the control room over staffing levels, the F.A.A. said.

The agency and the union have battled over staffing levels intermittently for many years. Yesterday, Bruce Johnson, the vice president of the F.A.A.'s division in charge of terminal radar approach control offices and towers, said the agency and the union struck a deal on staffing in 1992, but the numbers specified in that document ''bear no relationship to the number of people who are actually needed'' to handle the traffic.

According to Mr. Martin and Mr. Johnson, 21 controllers earned more than $200,000 last year, and that number will probably reach 50 this year. Mr. Iacopelli said that the average base pay at the Westbury office was in the $120,000 range.

Mr. Johnson said that controllers sometimes call in sick, so managers schedule a worker to come in on overtime, and then the ''sick'' worker comes in too, so both get paid.

Sometimes controllers who are supposed to be on vacation come in as well, after a substitute has been brought in on overtime. And when management has tried to reduce overtime, the union has publicly alleged that safety will suffer, and sought help from sympathetic members of Congress, he said.

The F.A.A. took some responsibility for the overtime problem. Mr. Johnson went out of his way to praise the controllers' work, and Mr. Martin did not place all the blame for overtime on them. ''Over the course of several years we've acquiesced and relinquished our management rights,'' he said.

One problem is that no one in the Westbury control office, which handles traffic for Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark Liberty International Airports, among others, is scheduled to be off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; overtime could be reduced if days off were spread around the week, he said.

The report comes as the agency's financial troubles are again in the spotlight. Earlier this week, the inspector general of the Department of Transportation, which includes the F.A.A., said its equipment budget was so thin that the agency was forced to merely maintain the current system's capacity rather than expand it to handle an expected increase in air traffic beyond pre-Sept. 11 levels. The national contract with the controllers expires in August, and Mr. Martin, repeating a theme of agency leaders, said, ''We cannot sign a contract we cannot afford.''

Responding to the F.A.A.'s charges of overtime abuse, Mr. Iacopelli said the contract allows workers with scheduled vacation to come to work instead and does not require them to notify management in advance. He said he doubted the F.A.A.'s figures on controller salaries. If the F.A.A. believed that sick leave is being abused, he said, the contract has a procedure for investigating that. No one is being investigated, he said.

And the union does have friends in Congress. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said yesterday that the F.A.A.'s position that there were sufficient controllers and too much overtime ''defies credibility.'' ''Continuing animosity between labor and management could jeopardize the safety of millions of New York air travelers,'' he said, adding that the two sides should negotiate. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton also expressed support for the controllers.

Some aviation experts have criticized the F.A.A. under the Clinton administration for having been overly generous to the union. Mr. Martin and others would not specify who they thought had given away management prerogatives.

Washington Post: FAA Faults Air Traffic Controllers; N.Y. Workers Accused of Abusing Overtime and Sick Leave

The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday released an investigative report that attacked its own air traffic controllers at a New York facility and blamed a union for "inefficient and wasteful" scheduling practices and excessive overtime costs.

The 55-page report comes ahead of an expected battle this summer over a new contract for the union, which represents 14,525 air traffic controllers. The current contract, which determines pay, staffing and other work conditions, expires in September. The negotiations over a new agreement come as air traffic is growing rapidly and following an FAA admission that the agency has a serious shortage of new controllers.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association plans to launch an aggressive advertising campaign this summer to portray the federal workers as dutiful public servants who keep the skies safe. Union-sponsored polls have found that many people have a positive view of air traffic controllers, the union's president has said.

The report released yesterday by the FAA paints a far different picture -- at least of the union's presence at the New York facility. The location handles traffic at the region's three major airports and this year has had a large number of operational errors, or incidents in which planes were flying too close together.

The FAA's report, compiled by a 25-member team over 60 days at the site, found that the 225 air traffic controllers at the New York facility spend only 31/2 hours handling aircraft during an eight-hour workday and that the controllers routinely abused sick leave and overtime. The result, the report found, was that 21 controllers earned more than $200,000 last year excluding benefits, and one out of four controllers will earn $200,000 this year. The New York facility spent $4 million on overtime pay last year -- more than double any other comparable facility, the report said.

The report assigned some fault to FAA managers who entered into agreements with the local union years ago that allowed the union to control staffing rules and scheduling. The report also blamed a union culture of "intimidation" and "harassment" under which non-bargaining-unit employees could not be interviewed by FAA investigators without the presence of a union official.

Investigators also found that out of 160 operational errors, 147 were unreported. The FAA said many of them did not pose a serious risk to safety. A majority of "these are akin to driving 26 mph when the posted speed limit is 25 mph," the report said.

John Carr, president of NATCA, disagreed with that characterization yesterday and questioned why the FAA would call it an error if it didn't pose a safety risk. He also said that the FAA was "scapegoating" responsibility by blaming the air traffic controllers for scheduling and overtime problems in New York.

"The lack of management oversight in this report points out the FAA has created this chaos by their own hand," Carr said. "The FAA sets the staffing standard. The FAA mandates its standards for sick leave, for overtime, for pay and compensation."

Carr said the New York facility, like many others across the country, suffers from understaffing and that's what forces controllers to work so much overtime. "The margin of safety is being eroded," he said.

Associated Press State & Local Wire: FAA, after studying NY facility, disputes claims of threats to air safety made by traffic controllers union

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday disputed claims by air traffic controllers that safety has been compromised because of staffing shortages at its New York facility.

The FAA argued instead that union-controlled scheduling practices "are inefficient and wasteful" and have led to overtime costs that are more than double those of any other air traffic control facility in the country.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association president John Carr and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., immediately disputed the FAA's findings and suggested both sides need to work at resolving their differences in the interest of safety.

FAA officials, at a press conference in their offices near John F. Kennedy International Airport, said they assembled a team of 25 air safety experts earlier this year and conducted a 60-day investigation of the New York Terminal Approach Control Center, known as TRACON, in Garden City, on Long Island. Part of the team's focus included 160 operational error reports involving aircraft over the New York metropolitan region.

The FAA said the team found that the New York TRACON, which handles between 6,000 and 7,000 aircraft operations a day, "has the available staffing necessary to support safe operations" and that none of the 160 operational errors "posed any known risk of collision or required the pilot to take action or report a near miss."

It said the errors classified as most serious under FAA standards were "attributable to performance problems by individual controllers, not staffing levels."

The FAA deemed many of the operational errors technical violations of separation standards for aircraft on final approach. These occur, officials said, when the distance between aircraft lined up for landing - required to be at least 3 miles - is "briefly and minimally reduced."

Bruce Johnson, the FAA's vice president for terminal services, which oversees the country's TRACONs, said overtime is also a problem in New York. He said last year 21 controllers earned more than $200,000, not including benefits, in large part due to "scheduled overtime."

He added that overtime costs in New York last year were more than $4 million, more than double that of the TRACONs in Chicago, Southern California, Atlanta and Denver combined.

The need for overtime was compounded, he said the report found, by absences due to widespread abuse of sick leave and workers compensation claims for stress.

Carr, the union president, speaking to reporters via conference call from Washington, said the New York TRACON, according to the FAA, should have about 270 air traffic controllers on staff but has about 220.

"I'm applying the agency staffing standard," he said, insisting the union has not made staffing demands.

He said it was "completely disingenuous to short-staff a facility, demand a six-day work week and then complain about the cost."

Carr also criticized the FAA's contentions that the New York TRACON handles fewer flights with more controllers than most other large TRACONs and that controllers at the New York facility on average worked only 3 hours and 39 minutes a day managing traffic, the lowest of any major TRACON facility.

He called the statistics "useless," arguing that New York is unique with three major airports - Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark (N.J.) Liberty International - plus smaller airports in the region.

"To say that little overtime and no new employees are needed at one of the busiest towers in the nation defies credibility," Schumer said. "The FAA ought to sit down and negotiate seriously with the workers and come to an agreement where both sides meet in the middle. Continuing animosity between labor and management could jeopardize the safety of millions of New York air travelers."

A "culture of intimidation" by air traffic controllers upset over lost overtime could lead to safety problems in the sky over the New York area, though a recent spate of close calls is no cause for alarm, a federal report released yesterday warns.

The report says disputes between controllers and their supervisors over staffing levels and denial of overtime "regularly spill over into the control room, suggesting a degradation of safety could occur."

At a news conference to announce the findings of a two-month investigation into close calls at the New York Tracon center in Westbury, the Federal Aviation Administration played an audio tape of a telephone conversation in which a union chief tells a supervisor, "You're going to have to answer to your neighbors why if something goes wrong" on the shift.

The comment came after the supervisor told the union official, Dean Iacopelli, that the area would be short one controller.

Iacopelli said yesterday that the phone call -- taped because the supervisor was working on the control room floor, where all calls are taped -- was not designed to intimidate the supervisor.

"That was me being concerned and passionate about having the right number of controllers," said Iacopelli, a veteran controller. "We're disappointed the FAA didn't use this as an opportunity to address staffing at the New York Tracon."

The FAA report said when a supervisor confronted a union official about work records, the union representative began "stalking the supervisor around the facility in a physically intimidating manner."

The FAA said it shared the blame in the culture because of "lax oversight" by some managers.

John Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said, "I find it hard to believe the federal government would throw their palms to the sky and say, 'We're intimidated.'" If a union official sounds "animated or excitable," Carr said, "It's because we hate telling people, 'I told you so.'"

Controllers at the Tracon in Westbury guide planes in and out of the New York area airports, in approximately a 60-mile radius of Manhattan, considered the most complex airspace in the world. The controllers are charged with keeping the planes moving with no delays while maintaining a safe separation between aircraft, generally three miles.

The FAA sent in a 35-member investigative team in February, after an unusual spike in anonymous reports of planes coming too close together. The team reviewed radar and voice tapes from a six-week period and found 147 so-called "operational errors." The facility usually averages no more than 30 to 40 errors a year.

The FAA has said it believes a "rogue group" of employees anonymously called in the reports on the errors, most of which were minor and occurring every day. The union says it doesn't know how the errors were reported.

Most of the Tracon errors occurred when planes were lining up in the sky to land and ended up slightly closer than three miles. "We believe this scenario may be occurring at every major airport across the country," said Bruce Johnson, a vice president of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization. As a result, the FAA is looking into using a sliding scale to allow planes to come closer than three miles approaching an airport.

The FAA also said the mistakes were not caused by staffing. About 210 fully certified controllers are at the center, down from about 240 last summer. The FAA and union agreed years ago that the facility needed 270 controllers, but the FAA now says it can do the job with only 170 if scheduling is changed.

(Kennedy Airport, Queens -WABC, June 2, 2005) - The FAA tonight is blasting the air traffic controllers union because of a staggering increase in the number of close calls at area airports.

After a two month investigation at TRACON the FAA hit back and hit back hard today, accusing the controller's union of overstating the number of controller errors and declaring a crisis when there is none.

The FAA insisted today that passengers flying into and out of New York area airports are not at risk, in spite of a staggering increase in traffic controller errors at New York TRACON.

Bruce Johnson, FAA Air Traffic Chief: "The facility is more than adequately staffed. There is no evidence that staffing levels caused or contributed to the operational errors."

The FAA admits it is trying to do more with less but the controller's union insisted that the number of errors is proof that the cutbacks are putting lives at risk.

The FAA today claimed that the severity of errors is being overstated by the controller's union, and played a portion of a phone call in which the union president protested cutbacks to an FAA manager.

Bruce Johnson, FAA Air Traffic Chief: "When the union rep. did not get the overtime he proceeded to go on the evening news. He knew the operation was safe but he has gone of TV and told the public otherwise."

The FAA went on to claim that TRACON controllers spent far less time on their radar positions that those in California.

Dean Iacopelli, TRACON Union President: "The New York TRACON handles approximately the same number of aircraft within 60 miles of the Empire State Building, so to try to make a comparison between those two facilities based soley on volume is to overlook the huge impact that complexity has on the job that we do."

Sen. Charles Schumer, (D) New York: "When it comes to safety for New Yorkers, you want to bring both sides together because tension in the tower could really jeopardize the safety of New Yorkers."

The senator among those leading the search over the last several months for answers. Today the union insisted that an error is an error and cannot possibly be overstated. The tension shows no signs tonight of letting up.

FAA yesterday said it found no staff shortages at its New York facility in its investigation of a spike in controller errors in New York, and the agency instead found overtime abuse and intimidation of management by controllers.

The controllers union immediately hit back at the findings, saying the agency is turning a blind eye to serious understaffing problems at the New York terminal radar approach control (TRACON) and is "scapegoating" controllers. The investigation was sparked by increased operational error reports by controllers earlier this year (DAILY, Feb. 22).

The New York TRACON "has more than enough staff to get the job done safely." The agency said it found "inefficient and wasteful" use of overtime driven by union agreements, and controller scheduling abuses. Management attempts to "curb wasteful practices were met with resistance, followed by anonymous reports of operational errors," FAA said.

The agency said overtime costs at the New York TRACON were more than $4 million in 2004, more than double the combined overtime costs at four other large TRACONs. More than 50 controllers will earn more than $200,000 this year partly because of "generous amounts of overtime," and some controllers abuse the sick leave and overtime system to boost pay, the agency said. FAA said it will "curb scheduling abuses" at New York [and] address reports of intimidation and insubordination" by controllers.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) head John Carr said the higher overtime levels are caused by FAA's staffing of the TRACON only to 76% of its standard. It is "completely disingenuous" for FAA to short-staff the facility and then complain about overtime, Carr said. "It is time for the FAA to acknowledge that the problems at the New York TRACON are real," Carr said. He said fewer people are handling a growing traffic load. -AS

Air Transport World: FAA blasts controller union over 'inefficient and wasteful practices'

US FAA issued a blistering report yesterday in which it claimed that "union-controlled scheduling practices" at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility were "inefficient and wasteful" and resulted in overtime costs that are "more than double" those at any other ATC facility in the country.The report, the result of a 60-day investigation begun in March, also found that recent attempts by FAA management to curb wasteful practices "were met with resistance, followed by anonymous reports of 'operational errors.'"

Controllers are represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn., whose president, Jonathan Carr, dismissed the allegations yesterday in a conference call with reporters. "FAA had a golden opportunity to address what we view are serious staffing and management problems that are addressing the New York Tracon. Sadly, they have failed to accomplish that and once again resorted to scapegoating," Carr stated.

FAA said it is "immediately acting to curb the abuses," including canceling agreements entered into in the early 1990s "that gave the union de facto control" over scheduling and related areas. "The New York Tracon has more than enough staff to get the job done safely," said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey in a statement. "A schedule that is designed to maximize overtime pay is no schedule at all."

The report showed that controllers at the New York Tracon earned more than $4.12 million in overtime last year while handling fewer flights with more controllers than most comparable facilities around the country. For example, it handled 2.07 million IFR operations with 210 controllers, an average of 9,841 per controller. The Chicago Tracon with 74 controllers handled 1.5 million IFR operations (20,302 per controller) and had just $0.7 million in overtime. The New York Tracon did outperform the Southern California Tracon, which averaged 9,038 operations per controller, but that facility generated just $1.6 million in overtime.

Twenty-one controllers at the New York Tracon earned more than $200,000 in wages and overtime last year and the number is projected to increase to 51 in 2005, according to the report. Some controllers earned overtime in weeks in which they also called in sick, and on average the report concluded that controllers at the facility worked only 3 hr. 39 min. per day actually managing traffic.

However, Carr said, "It's disingenuous to measure a controller's day by time on position" because this ignores time spent in pre-briefing, post-briefing, training other controllers, debriefing other controllers and other activities. "As far as a measure of productivity, it [time on position] is useless," he declared. He also said overtime was necessary because the Tracon is understaffed: "FAA sets the staffing number and they are currently staffing that facility at 76% of their own number."

But according to the FAA report, absences due to sick leave and annual leave, not traffic levels, accounted for 56% of the facility's overtime costs.

The investigative team also determined that "none of the 160 operational errors--or loss of aircraft separation, reported or uncovered--posed any known risk of collision or required the pilots to take action or report a near miss." The most serious errors were attributable to performance problems by individual controllers, not understaffing, according to the report.

PR Newswire (FAA Release): FAA Investigation Into New York TRACON Uncovers Waste; Operational Errors Did Not Jeopardize Safety

WASHINGTON, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- A 60-day on-site investigation of the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility found that it is more than adequately staffed for safe operations and that local union- controlled scheduling practices are inefficient and wasteful, creating overtime costs that are more than double any other air traffic control facility in the country. The investigation also found recent management attempts to curb wasteful practices were met with resistance, followed by anonymous reports of "operational errors."

As a result of the investigation's findings, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is immediately acting to curb scheduling abuses that drive excessive overtime spending, address reports of intimidation and insubordination, and ensure controllers' adherence to existing high safety standards.

"The New York TRACON has more than enough staff to get the job done safely," said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. "A schedule that is designed to maximize overtime pay is no schedule at all. The next step is for management to regain control of the daily work schedule and use overtime when traffic requires it."

On March 2, 2005, the FAA assembled a team of over 25 safety experts from around the country, including current and former air traffic controllers, current field supervisors, and human resource and organizational professionals to conduct an onsite operational assessment of the New York TRACON.

The team conducted a thorough audit of radar and voice data, facility scheduling practices, shift assignments, controller time-on-position, and overtime and leave usage. The team's audit also consisted of dozens of interviews with managers, supervisors, and employees and first-hand observation of control room operations.

The investigation showed conclusively that the shift scheduling of air traffic controllers -- set through a series of agreements with local National Air Traffic Controllers Association officials beginning nearly 15 years ago -- has not met the facility's operational requirements and in fact necessitates much of the scheduled overtime. The need for overtime was compounded, the report found, by absences due to widespread abuse of sick leave and workers compensation claims for stress routinely filed by some controllers.

As a result, the New York TRACON, which handles fewer flights with more controllers than most large TRACONs around the country, incurred overtime costs of over $4 million in 2004 -- more than double that of TRACONs in Chicago, Southern California, Atlanta and Denver combined. Generous amounts of overtime allowed 21 controllers to earn more than $200,000 last year, not including benefits; this year, that number is projected to increase to 51. Many controllers logged overtime during weeks in which they also called in sick one or more days, resulting in six-and-a-half days' pay for five days of work, the study found.

The findings come after the FAA took steps to reduce NY TRACON overtime in response to a 2004 report by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General that found facility employees were manipulating the work schedule and using sick leave and annual leave to inflate overtime payments.

In 2004, the facility acted to reduce the availability of voluntarily- worked "credit hours," and in January 2005, management placed strict controls on overtime usage by controllers and supervisors. Just eight days later, the report said, the FAA began receiving anonymous hotline reports of operational errors. Local NATCA officials also publicly claimed at the time that facility understaffing was jeopardizing safety and launched a campaign to remove the acting manager at the facility -- who was taking steps to curb overtime abuse.

The facts and data compiled by the special FAA evaluation team found the New York TRACON has the available staffing necessary to support safe operations and that none of the 160 operational errors -- or loss of aircraft separation -- reported or uncovered by the team posed any known risk of collision or required the pilot to take action or report a near miss. The operational errors that were classified as most serious under the agency's standards were attributable to performance problems by individual controllers, not staffing levels, the report found.

The report found no evidence of controller fatigue behind those operational errors that were detected; instead, the investigation concluded that controllers at the facility on average worked only 3 hours and 39 minutes a day managing traffic, the lowest of any major TRACON facility.

Many of the operational errors detected were technical violations of the separation standards on final approach, known as "compression errors," that occur when the separation between aircraft lined up for landing is briefly and minimally reduced as aircraft slow down as they approach the airport. Other operational errors included violations of the strict separation standards for wake turbulence between large, heavy jets and smaller aircraft. Controllers responsible for wake turbulence errors have been retrained.

In response to team's findings and recommendations, the FAA will take the following actions immediately:

* Restore management responsibility for scheduling of the facility by canceling the agreements that gave the union de facto control

* Appoint the acting manager as permanent manager at the facility effective as of today

* Transition from an inefficient schedule that necessitates overtime to one used by most other major facilities, which should minimize overtime and save as much as $4 million per year

* Revamp its quality assurance program for controllers and increase supervisor presence on the control room floor

* Ensure a professional environment in the control room, including taking action to address threats and intimidation

* Turn over all evidence of inappropriate behavior to the Inspector General's office

The Administrator has also directed the FAA's Air Traffic Organization and Office of Aviation Safety to develop a more realistic separation criteria and policy on compression errors on final approach that recognizes the balance between safety and efficiency.

The FAA plans to keep in place for an indefinite period of time a special team of safety and human resource specialists to: assist current facility management to carry out these recommendations; to monitor the facility's ongoing performance; and, to ensure safety while these stronger management controls are being implemented.

A copy of the FAA's full report can be viewed athttp://www.faa.gov/library/reports/media/N90_Report_2.pdf , and an executive summary can be viewed athttp://www.faa.gov/library/reports/media/N90_Ex-Summ.pdf .

Associated Press State & Local Wire: Midway Airport tops list of on-time arrivals for April

Chicago's Midway Airport beat the rest of the nation's busiest airports for on-time arrivals in April, according to federal statistics.

Ninety percent of flights arrived on time at Midway in April, the U.S. Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. That was the best performance of the nation's 33 busiest airports.

Meanwhile, O'Hare International Airport ranked 12th on the list, with 85 percent of flights arriving on time in April. That's a big improvement for O'Hare which was second to last on the list in April of 2004, with only 75 percent of arrivals on time.

"We were helped this April by good weather and a renewed effort by the airlines serving Midway to keep to their schedules," said Al Perez, Midway's assistant city aviation commissioner for airside operations.

At O'Hare, arrivals are restricted to 88 commercial planes per hour during peak times to limit delays.

"We are doing better this year, but don't expect it to last through the summer," said Craig Burzych, president of the air-traffic controllers union at O'Hare. "Delays will return big time when the summer thunderstorm season starts. The flight caps merely addressed the effects of airline overscheduling on blue-sky days."

The Record (Bergen County, NJ): PA chief would cut Teterboro air traffic; But 'safer' levels need FAA consent

Flights to and from Teterboro should be reduced to enhance safety at the busy airport, the head of the Port Authority said Wednesday.

"If there is a way for us to create capacity in other locations where [Teterboro] can operate at levels that are safer, we should seriously consider that," said agency Chairman Anthony Coscia, who nonetheless maintained that the airport is safe.

"If it were in the control of the Port Authority, I would have done it already," he said, noting that federal rules limit his authority.

The statement, a significant shift in thinking for the bistate agency, came a day after the airport's third accident in four months.

The pilot of a twin-engine turboprop crashed on landing Tuesday, revving up critics and elected officials who renewed calls to reduce activity at the airport, which logged more than 200,000 takeoffs and landings last year.

Talk of limiting flights has always been a touchy subject within the aviation community. The Federal Aviation Administration says that any airport receiving federal funding cannot unfairly limit air traffic.

"You can't restrict the number of flights at a federally obligated airport," FAA spokesman Jim Peters said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Teterboro, has received tens of millions in grants from the FAA, but the federal agency has withheld funding from other airports that have restricted air traffic without its blessing.

Coscia said any plan to reduce traffic at Teterboro would have to be done with the FAA's cooperation.

The Port Authority already has taken steps to slightly reduce jet traffic. The noisiest jets still in use were banned from the airport a few years ago, representing a small fraction of flights each year.

And Coscia announced last month that the agency will soon seek FAA approval to expand noise restrictions, which would shave another layer of noisy jets from Teterboro's runways.

But after Tuesday's crash, elected officials began calling for reductions in flights by as much as 25 percent, a move that would require much more than simple noise restrictions.

Coscia said it was premature for him to say how much or what kind of traffic should be reduced at Teterboro. Much of Teterboro's appeal to corporate and charter jets is its proximity to Manhattan and northern New Jersey corporations.

Coscia said that even with fewer flights at the airport, accidents will still occur.

But with an average of 550 flights a day over the rooftops of some of New Jersey's most densely populated communities, the Port Authority needs to err on the side of caution, Coscia said.

Air traffic congestion "is an element of airport safety that would be inappropriate for us to ignore," Coscia said.

As the debate over Teterboro continued, investigators Wednesday were still searching for clues in the crash that injured a 65-year-old real estate developer.

Dominick Alfieri, on his way back from Nantucket, where he has a home, alerted air-traffic controllers to engine problems around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. "The controller asked him if he would be able to reach the airport, and he said, 'Yes,'-" said the FAA's Peters.

However, Alfieri's attempt to land on Teterboro's Runway 1 failed as the plane banked right just before touchdown. Witnesses said the right wing hit the ground first, ripping part of it off.

The plane erupted in flames, and a Port Authority officer and airport official helped Alfieri escape from an emergency exit in the cabin of the Swearingen SA-226T.

Alfieri remained in fair condition at Hackensack University Medical Center. But as of Wednesday afternoon, FAA investigators - conducting a probe of the crash at the request of the National Transportation Safety Board - had not yet been able to interview him, Peters said.

Neither Alfieri nor relatives could be reached at the hospital Wednesday, and calls left with relatives at his real estate company, M. Alfieri Co. Inc. in Edison, were not returned.

Meanwhile, the charred aircraft was taken to the same hangar that housed a Challenger CL-600 that crashed into cars and a Teterboro warehouse in February.

Twenty people were injured in the crash after the chartered jet failed to take off and barreled across six lanes of Route 46.

A month later, a second corporate jet skidded off a runway when pilots overshot their landing. No injuries were reported in that incident. All three accidents remain under investigation.

Press Release: PRIVATIZATION OF AIR TRAFFIC SPECIALISTS JEOPARDIZES AVIATION SAFETY

The ranking Democratic member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs issued the following press release:

Connecticut's Congressional delegation is strongly urging the Federal Aviation Administration to reconsider its announced plan to privatize the jobs of 2,500 air traffic specialists - over 50 of whom are employed in Connecticut.

In a letter to FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey, the state's two Senators and five Representatives argued that the security nature of the air traffic specialists' duties are "inherently governmental" and should not be "subject to private sector pressures."

"We strongly believe that aviation safety and security considerations should be addressed by federal government employees working locally, and not subject to private sector pressures," the delegation wrote. "The closing of the Connecticut Station jeopardizes aviation safety."

Air traffic specialists provide flight advisory and weather pattern information to general aviation pilots, and ensure that airspace for private and corporate aircraft remains safe. As part of its privatization plan, the FAA plans to close 38 air traffic centers nationwide. This would mean the loss of over 50 jobs in Connecticut, effective October 1, 2005, and the transfer to Virginia of the regional hub now located at Sikorsky Airport in Stratford.

Other air traffic specialist locations in Maine, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will also be closed, leaving a location in Long Island temporarily open as the only operating facility providing pertinent flight advisory information and weather reports to pilots in the Northeast.

"It does not make sense to us for someone in Virginia to provide this kind of local flight information for the New England area," the letter said. "Knowledge about local conditions, weather, and geographic considerations are an instrumental part of providing aviation safety and security services."

If the FAA's plan is carried out, many of the air traffic specialists at Sikorsky stand to lose their retirement and health benefits, the lawmakers warned. They asked Administrator Blakey to review the contract to ensure it protects benefits the workers have rightfully earned.

The delegation is also behind legislation to block implementation of the FAA proposal.

We are writing to express our strong opposition to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) decision to privatize the vital work performed at Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSSs) across the country. The decision will cause the termination by FAA of thousands of dedicated air traffic controllers, on whom pilots have relied for decades for information essential to flight safety. For years many of us in Congress have argued that the sensitive function performed by these air traffic controllers is inherently governmental, and should not be put up for bid to private sector contractors. It is not too late for the agency to reverse its flawed decision. We request that you cancel the contract award and ensure that air traffic control specialists remain trusted public servants.

The decision to privatize this work would result in the closing of the FAA's AFSS in Stratford, Connecticut. The Stratford AFSS advises pilots about factors such as pre-flight and in-flight weather information, suggests routes of flight, altitudes, and indications of turbulence or icing, and provides pilots with information about temporary flight restrictions around restricted and prohibited areas.

The FAA recently conducted a public/private competition for the provision of services to the aviation industry, and the National Airspace System, by FAA Air Flight Service Stations. The FAA awarded a 5-year contract, with an option for 5 more years, valued at $1.9 billion dollars to Lockheed Martin to operate the FAA's AFSSs. The contract would close 38 of the current 58 AFSSs, of which Stratford is one and more than 50 jobs for Connecticut workers will be lost.

The Stratford AFSS opened in March 1984 and was the nation's first automated station. In 2003, it provided more than 500,000 flight services and was the 15th busiest in the nation. The Stratford AFSS serves Connecticut, Rhode Island and the eastern two-thirds of Massachusetts. Should the Lockheed contract award stand, we understand that the flight service work will be taken over from the Connecticut Air Traffic Control Specialists (ATCSs) and moved to workers in Virginia. It does not make sense to us for someone in Virginia to provide this kind of local flight information for the New England area. Knowledge about local conditions, weather, and geographic considerations are an instrumental part of providing aviation safety and security services. We strongly believe that aviation safety and security considerations should be addressed by federal government employees working locally, and not subject to private sector pressures.

Should this contract award go forward, we are very concerned about the affected employees' retirement and health benefits and ask that you review the contract's impact on these benefits. Specifically, the following issues have been brought to our attention:

1. As we understand it, ATCSs can retire with a guaranteed annuity of 50% of their high three salaries provided they meet one of two criteria: a) They can retire at any age but must have performed ATCS duties for minimum of 25 years; or b) They must be 50 years of age or older and have performed ATCS duties for 20 years.

As we understand it, on the October conversion date of AFSSs moving to private control, an ATCS who does not meet the above criteria will lose substantially all their retirement contributions because of the application of penalties for failure to achieve minimum terms of service or age. They will also be deprived of federal health insurance benefits. These penalties will accrue to ATCSs because of government actions, not actions taken by the employees. It is wrong that the actions taken by your agency to privatize will have the impact of depriving long-standing federal personnel in good standing of substantial retirement and health benefits. We are concerned about how severely the Connecticut employees may be penalized because of their inability to achieve full service time and age requirements.

As we understand it, a parallel situation may occur with employees enrolled in the FERS retirement program who suffer the same time problems for service and age requirements.

2. ATCS' contribute an extra .5% to fund their ATCS retirement, over the amount that other federal employees pay. PL 108-176 modified the formula used for all ATCS, (including supervisors and managers), except personnel working at AFSSs as ATCSs, to an annuity amount calculated as 1.7% average of the high 3 salary years times the number of year employed.

While we have received conflicting views on how this provision is to be interpreted, if this provision is interpreted to exempt employees from the 1.7% annuity figure, the formula that would be used for an ATCS would be 1.0% of the high three salary yearly average times the number of years employed. This would occur despite the fact that they have paid in higher contribution levels in order to achieve the 1.7% annuity figure.

For the reasons above, we request that you cancel the contract to privatize the ATCS' jobs and leave the Stratford, Connecticut AFSS open. The closing of the Connecticut Station jeopardizes aviation safety.

Airbus is downplaying this week's flurry of media reports about delivery delays for the A380, saying it acknowledged the delays at least two months ago and timetable slips should be expected in a program of this magnitude.

The manufacturer has been "very publicly talking" about delayed delivery for the first A380 since April, an Airbus spokeswoman said. At a recent press briefing in Toulouse, Airbus executives admitted there will be "minor delays" and Singapore Airlines will see the first A380 delivery by the end of the year (DAILY, May 20).

Singapore and Qantas executives said delivery delays of about six months are expected, meaning the first delivery will be in the last quarter (DAILY, June 2). The delays may cause the carriers to alter their business plans, and penalty fee negotiations could be needed.

Considering the size of the A380 program, the schedule changes are "not dramatic at all," the Airbus spokeswoman said. "It's almost come to be expected when a new aircraft -- especially an evolution of the magnitude of the A380 -- is in the works that a delay in schedule is inevitable," she said.

Airbus will "continue to monitor the progress of its own production, the demands of the A380 customers, and the progress of A380 suppliers around the world and adjust as appropriate," the spokeswoman said. -AS

Major airline CEOs will converge on Capitol Hill Tuesday to testify before the Senate Finance Committee about the current crisis in pension funding.

United CEO Glenn Tilton, Northwest chief Douglas Steenland and Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein will testify, along with Air Line Pilots Association President Duane Woerth and Patricia Friend, head of the Association of Flight Attendants.

Bradley Belt, executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.; General David Walker, comptroller of the Government Accountability Office, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, director of the Congressional Budget Office, will also testify.

Committee Chair Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) in January introduced his National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act, which calls for changes in pension laws. A spokesman for the committee said Grassley isn't targeting the airlines by having CEOs testify about their practices but wants to shed light on what is wrong with the current pension system.

Grassley's office said the PBGC's deficit, already at $23 billion, could rise to $100 billion through underfunded programs.

FYI..did you see the thread about the French fighters landing at Atlantic City airport yesterday?

When the Gov gets rid of AMTRACK (Amtrak's total loss approached $1.1 billion in 2001) then I'll worry about $4 mil OT pay to controllers.

4 posted on 06/03/2005 9:18:07 AM PDT by B4Ranch ( Report every illegal alien that you meet. Call 866-347-2423, Employers use 888-464-4218)

Nice piece of whitewash. The FAA looks good doesn't it? If you check into the contract violations and rulings against the FAA by the Federal Labor Relations Board, you will see a different beast. The FAA is supposed to hire 200 technical people but as usual they thumb their nose at the federal rulings.

I think that ATC is in for a technological revolution in the next ten years. We simply will not need as many controllers in the future. Computers, glass cockpits, heads up displays, transponders that communicate with other aircraft, GPS, its all coming together. The need for time consuming and ineffecient voice communication will go down, I see a time when there will be zero voice communication necessary for flights into and out of major airports. Todays system cannot meet the demand of more air traffic in the future. I think these guys know to make the money now while they can.

7 posted on 06/03/2005 10:35:14 AM PDT by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government.)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.