An air traffic controller came to work drunk and joked about “making a lot of money drunk.” Another smoked marijuana during breaks. One more “aggressively pushed” a colleague who was directing planes.
These incidents were extreme cases, but they fit a pattern that reveals vulnerabilities in one of the most important protective layers of the vaunted U.S. aviation security system.
In the last two years, Air traffic controllers and others have filed hundreds of complaints to a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration hotline about issues such as mental health problems and dangerous staffing shortages.
There were at least seven reports of controllers sleeping on the job and five of some working under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Air traffic controllers, who spend hours a day glued to monitors or scanning the skies with the lives of thousands of passengers at stake, are the last line of defense against crashes.
However, conditions for many drivers are far from ideal. A shortage of personnel in the North American country —caused by years of staff turnover and restricted budgets, among other factors— has forced many controllers to work six days a week and 10-hour days.
The result is a fatigued and demoralized workforce that is increasingly prone to making mistakes, an investigation by The New York Times found. The findings are based on interviews with more than 70 controllers, pilots and current and former federal officials, as well as thousands of pages of safety reports.
On average, near misses have happened several times a week this year, The Times reported in August.
Many controllers are aviation enthusiasts and are attracted to this job because they can earn more than $100,000 a year.
However, The Times found that the combination of six-day work weeks and non-stop shifts has caused controllers to develop physical and mental health problems. Many avoid seeking professional help because doing so could jeopardize the medical clearances they need to work.
Others resign or retire. One of them was Ashley Smith, a longtime air traffic controller in Atlanta, Georgia, who said she saw exhausted colleagues get into fistfights and make dangerous mistakes.
Neil Burke worked as a controller for more than a decade, including in facilities directing arrival and departure air traffic at airports in the New York metropolitan area.
Burke, who left the FAA last year due to a medical problem, said he had caught himself and other controllers too tired and making mistakes.
Controllers revealed that the long hours and unpleasant working conditions left them exhausted.
“These are human beings,” said Michelle Hager, who retired in June after 26 years as a controller. “They get tired”.
Hager, who spent most of his working life in Denver, Colorado, had the option of working six more years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56. However, his work schedule had become “not only exhausting, but also depressing.”
“I couldn't continue living like this,” he said.
EMILY STEEL AND SYDNEY EMBER. THE NEW YORK TIMES
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/7034980, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-12-18 19:30:07
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