AvWeb

By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief

If you’ve ever missed a turn, set the altitude bug incorrectly or committed any of thousands of sins that air traffic controllers routinely catch and help correct every day without much fuss, those days are apparently over. The FAA has apparently ordered controllers to violate pilots for any and all errors and has threatened to discipline them if they don’t file the reports. While the FAA says it’s just enforcing rules already in place, the head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association say it’s yet another burden on an already-overworked workforce that will pit controllers against pilots. “We are not the FAA police! The FAA’s and controller’s mission is to provide the safe and efficient movement of live air traffic,” said NATCA President Patrick Forrey. “The fact that the FAA is now disciplining controllers for not ‘policing’ pilot actions as they relate to flight regulations is indicative of the tyrannical and oppressive culture the FAA has created.” The FAA, as might be suspected, has a different view. Continue reading »