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Air Controllers Cite Close Calls In Los Angeles

August 17, 2005
An air traffic controllers group says there have been "several recent close calls" at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center, and blames the Federal Aviation Administration for creating what it says are staffing shortages. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association charges the FAA is mismanaging the system by cutting dangerously into the margin of safety.

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In recent days, the group charges, two planes came within 800 feet of each other in bad weather because the FAA had staffed two radar positions with only one controller instead of the normal four. On Aug. 12, it says, at approximately 2:05 p.m. PDT, a regional jet flying from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles International Airport came within one mile laterally and 800 feet vertically of a King Air jet flying from Palm Springs to Livermore, California.

"This close call is an example of a dangerous FAA trend of understaffing vital facilities," said Hamid Ghaffari, Los Angeles Center facility representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "Under normal circumstances, these two positions would be staffed by four controllers and not just one."

The FAA, beginning last April 1, directed managers at Los Angeles Center to reduce controller staffing during the day and swing shifts. Ghaffari said this has translated to a dramatic spike in operational errors.

The group says there was another close call over the weekend. On Sunday, August 14, at approximately 9 p.m. PDT, it says a Learjet flying from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Burbank, California came within 100 feet vertically and three miles laterally of a Frontier Airlines jet flying from LAX to Denver.

Air traffic was very heavy and jets were forced to deviate around substantial thunderstorm activity. But at the time of the operational error, the area was staffed with only eight certified controllers and two trainees. Normal staffing for this shift calls for 15 controllers and not 10, said Ghaffari.

"Traffic has increased dramatically at L.A. Center and yet the FAA continues to reduce our staffing numbers," Ghaffari said.

"L.A. Center handles 23 percent more planes than it did in 1992 but has 27 percent fewer controllers. Recently, 21 new trainees were sent to L.A. Center. Unfortunately, we do not have enough controllers to be able to train them on the job."

The association, a union representing flight controllers, also reported a close call at New York’s JFK Airport earlier this month, blaming faulty equipment.

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