http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/111508dnbusfaa.3e6163f.htmlFAA starts amnesty plan for D/FW air tower errors
12:37 PM CST on Saturday, November 15, 2008
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
etorbenson@dallasnews.comThe Federal Aviation Administration has started a new amnesty program for air traffic controllers in Dallas/Fort Worth aimed at improving air safety by making sure operating errors are reported and resolved.
The Air Traffic Safety Action Program began on Sunday in North Texas, allowing controllers to report any unsafe situations without fear of reprisal and is roughly based on a similar self-reporting program used at most airlines.
The new approach comes as regulators Friday confirmed an earlier investigation showing that FAA managers in Dallas deliberately misclassified 62 operational incidents from 2005 to 2007 in order to make the operation look better.
The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation released its 23-page report blaming local managers – though not FAA-level administrators working at the facility – for the mistakes that it attributed to negligence and incompetence.
The FAA said it has already responded to all 10 of the report’s recommendations, which included reassignment of managers at the Dallas/Fort Worth Terminal Radar Approach Control, also called TRACON. The FAA admitted the cover-up in April and said Friday that it won’t comment on personnel matters. It also said it takes the findings seriously.
The original whistleblower about problems at the D/FW TRACON, Anne Whiteman, said reporting troubles continue at the facility and that FAA managers haven’t followed through on promises to improve the system. Ms. Whiteman still works for the FAA.
“It may sound corny, but it scares me to think our country is condoning this report”, she said Friday. “The FAA is saying these were minor errors and that they’re in the past. If you read the actual report, they’re not minor errors at all. I didn’t put my career in jeopardy over minor errors – they were the most serious errors”.
The report said that of the 62 events reviewed, managers failed to report three “Category A” errors attributable to controllers; they blamed two on pilots and called one a “non-event”. In one case, a plane that took off from Addison’s airport on Feb. 13, 2006, came within 100 feet of another plane because of controller error; the original report blamed pilots.
Ms. Whiteman also said she’s unimpressed with the new safety program, saying that the lack of any potential discipline for controllers who report errors – their own or others’ – could keep bad controllers on the job.
She said that of nearly 400 events reviewed under the new amnesty guidelines, only one incident required any corrective training for the controller.
“The old system worked fine – this one doesn’t have any accountability”, she said.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has long advocated the amnesty program and is pleased it started in North Texas, said Darrell Meachum, southwest regional president for the union. However, despite management changes at D/FW TRACON, the union contends working conditions are worse than ever.
“The FAA is driving its most experienced controllers away”, he said. Friday’s report absolves the controllers themselves in the cover-up, he added, and “shows that the FAA brand of management hasn’t worked for the past seven years”.
The union feels the TRACON culture remains poor even with the new manager, Dawn Ingraham, who in January replaced JoEllen Casilio, who was reassigned.
The TRACON has 52 certified controllers and 33 trainees; it once had more than 100 certified controllers. Of the 52 there now, 27 can retire at any time, and the union has said the staffing levels decrease safety.
The union said earlier that operational errors in 2007 were rising at an alarming pace. This year, the raw number of incidents seem to have slowed slightly, with a few caveats, Mr. Meachum said.
In 2007, the D/FW TRACON had 65 “operational errors” where planes get too close and 16 “operational deviations” where a plane flies into airspace assigned to another plane. Thus far this year, there have been 48 operational errors – three on Wednesday – and 25 operational deviations, and there’s still six weeks left in the year.
However, the FAA has changed how it counts errors. For example, instances where aircraft barely break the required separation limits are now lumped into “proximity events” that don’t count as errors.
Also, there’s measurably less flying across North Texas airspace this year compared with last – as much as 10 percent less by the union’s guess. With less flying, the rate of controller errors per flight rises.
“It’s hard to compare the numbers apples to apples”, Mr. Meachum said.
The inspector general’s report recommends the FAA examine all incidents from 2005 to 2007 that were blamed on pilots to clear their records. Under the airline self-reporting program, pilots still face discipline if a review concludes they are at fault.
The Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots at Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc., praised the controllers and thanked the FAA for taking action. The union and American have suspended their use of the safety self-reporting program as part of a broader dispute between the pilots union and the carrier.
Friday’s report was the second time the inspector general had taken the North Texas FAA operation to task in three years. Its initial investigation, based on Ms. Whiteman’s complaints that errors were being ignored, chastised the FAA. Ms. Whiteman and two others complained again about the misclassification of events, which spawned the second investigation.
The FAA admitted April 24 that its managers misclassified the incidents and promised to take action.
The administration of President-elect Barack Obama will mean a new FAA director. “We’re very optimistic” about the potential for new leadership approaches, the controller union’s Mr. Meachum said.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/267209district of columbia
Safety cover-up at DFW airport
WASHINGTON — A Transportation Department inquiry has concluded that Federal Aviation Administration officials covered up safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the second such admonishment in the past three years.
A spokeswoman for the department’s inspector general said a report of the investigation’s findings should be released today. She confirmed the general findings as outlined in documents released late Thursday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
The report was requested by that office, which is responsible for protecting government whistle-blowers. It said that between November 2005 and July 2007, FAA managers intentionally misclassified 62 instances in which airplanes were allowed to fly closer than they were supposed to, attributing the errors to pilots or categorizing them as non-events to shift blame away from air traffic controllers.
http://www.allaviationinfo.com/?p=21724Senior managers of the Federal Aviation Administration jeopardized safety at D/FW Air Traffic Control by hiding traffic controllers’ mistakes and instead blaming pilots for errors, a federal watchdog office has …
See more…:
Faa hid mistakes at D/FW, tried to blame airline pilots, federal report says 7:02 Am CT
http://publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1415361§ionID=1FAA Cited Again for Covering Up Errors at DFW
Bill Zeeble, KERA News
DALLAS, TX
(2008-11-14) For the 2nd time in 3 years, Federal Inspectors say Federal Aviation Administration managers at DFW falsely blamed pilots for mistakes actually committed by air traffic controllers. KERA’s Bill Zeeble has more.
The report from the Inspector General’s office came out today. It specifically accuses FAA managers of under-reporting incidents, in addition to blaming pilots for problems they didn’t commit. Pilots say FAA managers were self serving. Jennifer Ewald is with the Allied Pilots Association.
Ewald: What we’ve heard is that the bonuses for managers are tied to a low record of incidents. and so we’re disappointed they’ve been caught twice at this trying to cover up areas that could be potential safety issues we would like to identify.
The FAA disputes that, saying if that were the case, it would find similar behavior elsewhere, and it has not. The Inspector General’s report recommends replacing all FAA managers at DFW. The FAA’s Roland Herwig says those changes have already taken place.
Herwig: We cannot go into personnel actions, but we take these issues very seriously and are taking appropriate action.
Air traffic controllers say management has changed, but problems at DFW persist. The incidents of concern include those where aircraft were allowed to pass too closely together.
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/most-distressing-fact-from-dot.htmlMost distressing fact from DOT’s OIG report on FAA cover-up:
5:14 PM Fri, Nov 14, 2008 Permalink Yahoo! Buzz
Eric Torbenson E-mail News tips
In a footnote about the misclassification of errors by controllers:
“We learned that D/FW’s three radar sensors, which measure aircraft separation distance, can produce results that vary as much as 300 feet for the same air traffic event”.
Ahem. 300 feet?
Really?
The idea that the world’s third busiest airport is being air controlled with equipment with that kind of give-and-take ... not exactly comforting.
It’s on page 10 if you’d like to see yourself.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/11/14/ap5697077.htmlFAA says it fixed Dallas safety issues
By DAVID KOENIG , 11.14.08, 03:55 PM EST
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it has taken steps recommended by a government investigator who accused FAA managers of covering up safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In a report released Friday that was written in April, the inspector general said managers of an air traffic control facility at the airport wrongly blamed pilots when controllers let planes get too close together.
It’s the second time in three years that the investigator has found the same problem at DFW, the world’s third-busiest airport.
“The issue here is that FAA obviously didn’t do what the (inspector general) suggested initially; that’s why this is such a big deal”, said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel, which represented whistle-blowers who reported the incidents.
The inspector general recommended that Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters remove seven managers at the DFW control center and make eight other changes, including unannounced audits of the facility.
An FAA spokeswoman said the agency has taken steps to prevent controller errors from being wrongly classified as pilot mistakes or nonevents.
“We addressed all these issues”, said Laura J. Brown, the spokeswoman. “The reclassification of operational errors has not continued there, and it’s not happening anywhere else”.
http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9352408&nav=menu608_2_3FAA says it fixed Dallas safety issues
Associated Press - November 14, 2008 4:45 PM ET
DALLAS (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration says it’s taken steps recommended by an investigator who alleged managers covered safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The report released today was written in April.
The inspector general says managers of an air traffic control facility at DFW Airport wrongly blamed pilots -- when controllers let planes get too close.
It’s the second time in three years that the investigator has found the same problem at DFW.
Whistleblowers reported the incidents.
The inspector general recommended Transportation Secretary Mary Peters remove seven managers at the DFW control center and make other changes, including unannounced audits.
An FAA spokeswoman says the agency has taken steps to prevent controller errors from being wrongly classified as pilot mistakes or non-events. The DFW center has been under new management since January and subject to surprise audits.
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/11/10/daily59.htmlFriday, November 14, 2008 - 9:13 AM CST
Report to show FAA safety errors at D/FWDallas Business Journal
Federal Aviation Administration officials concealed safety errors at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, according to a report by The Associated Press on Friday.
The AP cites a spokeswoman for the department’s inspector general, who says the report will be released by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel on Friday.
According to the news report, the special investigation looked into 62 incidents of airplanes flying too closely together. The report is expected to reveal that managers with the FAA intentionally misclassified the incidents as pilot error in attempts to shield air traffic controllers from blame, the AP reported.
Officials for the FAA and Transportation Department were not immediately available for comment on Friday.
A spokesman for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport says the investigation is not related to the actions of airport employees. The spokesman added that the FAA and its local managers, which operate under the federal organization’s umbrella, control the skies, while D/FW International Aiport controls the ground.
http://www.startribune.com/nation/34427689.html?page=2&c=yInvestigation confirms FAA employees hid serious safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth airport
By JOAN LOWY , Associated Press
Last update: November 13, 2008 - 8:23 PM
WASHINGTON - A Transportation Department investigation has concluded that Federal Aviation Administration officials covered up safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the second such admonishment in the past three years.
A spokeswoman for the department’s inspector general said a report of the investigation’s findings should be released Friday. She confirmed the general findings as outlined in documents released late Thursday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
The report was requested by the special counsel’s office, which is tasked with protecting government whistle-blowers. That office said in a statement that between November 2005 and July 2007 FAA managers intentionally misclassified 62 instances in which airplanes were allowed to fly closer together than they were supposed to, attributing the errors to pilots or categorizing them as nonevents in an attempt to shift blame away from air traffic controllers at the Texas airport.
The inspector general previously had confirmed a similar underreporting of safety errors at the airport in 2004. After that incident, FAA officials promised to take steps to fix the problem.
After Special Counsel Scott Bloch, who recently resigned, requested a second investigation this spring by the inspector general, FAA officials acknowledged that the misclassifying of safety errors had continued and that the agency was taking steps to correct the problem.
The inspector general’s report confirming a second series of deliberate misclassifications had not previously been released.
Acting Special Counsel William Reukauf, in a letter Thursday to President George W. Bush, said increased “scrutiny of FAA and its implementation of the corrective measures proposed to resolve the continued misconduct and mismanagement is critical”.
According the special counsel, the inspector general’s report recommends 10 corrective measures be taken in response to the coverup, including a reorganization of air traffic control management at Dallas-Fort Worth and a top-to-bottom review of FAA’s overall air traffic safety management.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency has already implemented all of the inspector general’s recommendations that don’t relate to personnel matters, which she is prohibited from discussing.
“I can tell you we take them very seriously, and we’re taking appropriate action on those as well”, Brown said.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has said previously that safety errors by controllers have increased nationally because airport towers and other traffic control facilities are understaffed and experienced controllers are leaving the FAA. Controllers and the FAA are at an impasse in contract negotiations.
The continued problem at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport became public only because a whistle-blower — controller supervisor Anne Whiteman, who first reported in 2004 that agency officials were concealing safety violations — came forward again last year to say the FAA managers were still underreporting safety violations by controllers or misreporting them as pilot errors.
According the special counsel, the inspector general’s report recommends 10 corrective measures be taken in response to the coverup, including a reorganization of air traffic control management at Dallas-Fort Worth and a top-to-bottom review of FAA’s overall air traffic safety management.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency has already implemented all of the inspector general’s recommendations that don’t relate to personnel matters, which she is prohibited from discussing.
“I can tell you we take them very seriously, and we’re taking appropriate action on those as well”, Brown said.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has said previously that safety errors by controllers have increased nationally because airport towers and other traffic control facilities are understaffed and experienced controllers are leaving the FAA. Controllers and the FAA are at an impasse in contract negotiations.
The continued problem at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport became public only because a whistle-blower — controller supervisor Anne Whiteman, who first reported in 2004 that agency officials were concealing safety violations — came forward again last year to say the FAA managers were still underreporting safety violations by controllers or misreporting them as pilot errors.
http://www.krld.com/pages/3322809.php?contentType=4&contentId=3063021Posted: Friday, 14 November 2008 5:57PM
FAA says it fixed Dallas safety issues
DALLAS (AP) _ The Federal Aviation Administration says it’s taken steps recommended by an investigator who alleged managers covered safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The report released today was written in April.
The inspector general says managers of an air traffic control facility at DFW Airport wrongly blamed pilots -- when controllers let planes get too close.
It’s the second time in three years that the investigator has found the same problem at DFW.
Whistleblowers reported the incidents.
The inspector general recommended Transportation Secretary Mary Peters remove seven managers at the DFW control center and make other changes, including unannounced audits.
An FAA spokeswoman says the agency has taken steps to prevent controller errors from being wrongly classified as pilot mistakes or non-events. The DFW center has been under new management since January and subject to surprise audits.
http://www.petergreenberg.com/2008/11/14/dot-investigates-faas-air-traffic-control-cover-up/On Friday the Transportation Department is scheduled to release the results of an investigation into the FAA which turned up dozens of instances in which the agency attempted to cover up safety violations by intentionally misclassifying them.
The probe was launched in April after an FAA whistleblower alerted authorities to the practice of underreporting air traffic control errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport by miscategorizing events or shifting blame to other personnel.
DOT inspectors found that FAA managers at DFW intentionally misclassified 62 instances where airplanes were allowed to fly closer together than they were supposed to between November 2005 and July 2007.
Most of the incidents were labeled as pilot error or categorized as non-events.
Inspectors also confirmed that similar problems had occurred at DFW in 2004 and had been investigated and documented in a report, but the report had never been publicly released. The current investigation was launched after complaints were made the same violations were recurring.
In an attempt to prevent the problem, the report also recommends corrective measures such as reorganizing management of air traffic control at DFW and conducting a thorough review of the FAA’s general safety management program.
The FAA claims that the agency has already implemented all of the inspector general’s recommendations, and takes the matter very seriously.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association says that issues with air traffic control stem from the fact that control towers are understaffed, and experienced controllers are leaving or retiring from the FAA in alarmingly high numbers.
Link: Dallas Morning News, CNN.com
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Previous Coverage of FAA “Inspection-Gate”:
Whistleblowers, the FAA and Air-Worthiness
Travel Detective Blog: Airline Safety Starts With Maintenance
Southwest Suspended, FAA Employees Reassigned
FAA Groundings & Hawaiian Flights
Southwest Flew Unsafe Planes, FAA Under Fire
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/faa-at-dfw-and-a-safety-coveru.htmlFAA at D/FW and a safety cover-up
12:35 PM Fri, Nov 14, 2008
Eric Torbenson
The Federal Aviation Administration already confessed to these finds back in April, but the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transporation finally released its report into a second round of problems at the Dallas/Fort Worth FAA operations.
Read the report...
The first round of issues dealt with the FAA failing to investigate these claims really at all, based on whistleblower Anne Whiteman’s actions.
This round was different: Forced with having to investigate incidents, the managers apparently misclassified them as pilot errors and not operational errors. That made the FAA look better, but it became clear to investigators that there was a problem when pilots complained that they did nothing wrong.
The FAA insists its already taken the steps the report suggests. Ms. Whiteman, who still works at the FAA, said in a phone interview that she still believes there’s problems with the FAA here.
http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3821871Federal Times
IG: FAA covered up safety violations
By GREGG CARLSTROM
November 14, 2008
The Federal Aviation Administration covered up safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, according to a new report from the department’s inspector general.
The report was requested by the Office of Special Counsel, the agency tasked with protecting federal whistleblowers. It found FAA managers misclassified 62 instances of airplanes flying too close to one another between 2005 and 2007. They were logged as pilot error, rather than being correctly identified as mistakes by air traffic controllers.
The underreporting was revealed by three whistleblowers who work for FAA.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-faa_14bus.ART.State.Edition1.39948ed.htmlInvestigation confirms safety violations at D/FW Airport covered up
08:52 AM CST on Friday, November 14, 2008
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
etorbenson@dallasnewsAn investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration’s practices at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport confirms earlier FAA admissions that its managers covered up safety violations and tried to blame them on pilots.
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A report by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel expected to be released Friday confirms that 62 events were mistakenly classified as pilot errors between November 2005 and July 2007.
The FAA admitted the fraud in April after a whistleblower, Anne Whiteman, complained about the practice.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency has already adopted the 10 recommendations made by the Office of the Inspector General. Those include reorganizing D/FW tower management and examining air safety procedures throughout the FAA.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXbhVyxRItBGiptRL2qZj1erGXJwD94EC2PG0Probe finds FAA hid Dallas airport safety errors
By JOAN LOWY – 2 days ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Transportation Department investigation has confirmed that Federal Aviation Administration officials covered up safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
A spokeswoman for the department’s inspector general says a report of the investigation’s findings should be released Friday. She confirmed the general findings as outlined in documents released late Thursday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
The report was requested by the Special Counsel, which says in a letter to the White House that FAA managers at the Texas airport misclassified air traffic problems as being caused by pilots in an attempt to shift blame away from air traffic controllers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20081113/faa-air-safety/Your request is being processed... Probe finds FAA hid Dallas airport safety errors
JOAN LOWY November 13, 2008 09:23 PM EST
Compare 09:23 PM EST08:16 PM EST07:04 PM EST and 09:23 PM EST08:16 PM EST07:04 PM EST versions
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WASHINGTON — A Transportation Department investigation has concluded that Federal Aviation Administration officials covered up safety errors at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the second such admonishment in the past three years.
A spokeswoman for the department’s inspector general said a report of the investigation’s findings should be released Friday. She confirmed the general findings as outlined in documents released late Thursday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
The report was requested by the special counsel’s office, which is tasked with protecting government whistle-blowers. That office said in a statement that between November 2005 and July 2007 FAA managers intentionally misclassified 62 instances in which airplanes were allowed to fly closer together than they were supposed to, attributing the errors to pilots or categorizing them as nonevents in an attempt to shift blame away from air traffic controllers at the Texas airport.
The inspector general previously had confirmed a similar underreporting of safety errors at the airport in 2004. After that incident, FAA officials promised to take steps to fix the problem.
After Special Counsel Scott Bloch, who recently resigned, requested a second investigation this spring by the inspector general, FAA officials acknowledged that the misclassifying of safety errors had continued and that the agency was taking steps to correct the problem.
The inspector general’s report confirming a second series of deliberate misclassifications had not previously been released.
Acting Special Counsel William Reukauf, in a letter Thursday to President George W. Bush, said increased “scrutiny of FAA and its implementation of the corrective measures proposed to resolve the continued misconduct and mismanagement is critical”.
According the special counsel, the inspector general’s report recommends 10 corrective measures be taken in response to the coverup, including a reorganization of air traffic control management at Dallas-Fort Worth and a top-to-bottom review of FAA’s overall air traffic safety management.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency has already implemented all of the inspector general’s recommendations that don’t relate to personnel matters, which she is prohibited from discussing.
“I can tell you we take them very seriously, and we’re taking appropriate action on those as well”, Brown said.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has said previously that safety errors by controllers have increased nationally because airport towers and other traffic control facilities are understaffed and experienced controllers are leaving the FAA. Controllers and the FAA are at an impasse in contract negotiations.
The continued problem at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport became public only because a whistle-blower _ controller supervisor Anne Whiteman, who first reported in 2004 that agency officials were concealing safety violations _ came forward again last year to say the FAA managers were still underreporting safety violations by controllers or misreporting them as pilot errors.
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/aia/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=066CC723-3341-4417-828F-2E2542E9A832©id=170DC2E5-F33C-43B2-8076-D6022D9A8654&lmcid=Report: FAA intentionally misclassified controller errors
AIA dailyLead 07/11/2008
FAA managers in Dallas intentionally misclassified mistakes by controllers that almost resulted in collisions, according to a DOT inspector general’s report. The mistakes were disguised to look like pilot errors, according to the report, and allowed the aircraft to fly too close together. The report, which has not been released yet, details the events in Dallas. FAA officials promised to address the issue. “We’re not going to stand for this”, said FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell. Air Transport World (04/25) New York Times, The (04/25) Wall Street Journal, The (subscription required) (04/25) Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) (04/25) Washington Post, The (04/25)
http://othercool.com/paintsupervisor/2008/05/06/air-safety-troubles-escalate/Air-safety troubles escalate
Source: Austin American-Statesman (Original Article)
TRAVEL
The Federal Aviation Administration took a beating Thursday, just as it was trying to recover from widespread criticism about recent groundings of thousands of flights because of skipped plane inspections and botched repairs to wiring.
Two developments, both involving Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, highlighted concerns about the nation’s airline industry.
A U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general’s report revealed that air traffic control managers at DFW intentionally misclassified controller errors that resulted in planes flying too close to each other.
And the National Transportation Safety Board said that for the six-month period that ended March 30, there were 15 serious “runway incursions”, compared with eight in the period a year earlier.
Another occurred at DFW on April 6, one of the closest on record, when a tug operator pulling a Boeing 777 failed to stop at a runway when another plane was landing; the plane missed the tug by about 25 feet.
In the air traffic control case at DFW, the FAA suspended the facility manager and assistant manager of the airport’s TRACON operation, which monitors approaching flights that are below 10,000 feet. The FAA said it is considering whether to fire the two managers.
“We’re not going to stand for this”, acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell said at a news conference.
The incidents involved planes that were flying closer together than federal mandates allow in TRACON airspace: 1,000 feet vertically or three miles laterally.
The report found that management at DFW’s TRACON operation, not the controllers, classified 62 events as pilot errors or nonevents when 52 of them were operational errors, or failures by air traffic controllers to maintain proper spacing between aircraft. The other 10 were operational deviations, when a plane flies into another controller’s Lawyers in ACT beginning with J Page 2 airspace without clearance.
The inspector general’s …[continue reading]
Do You Speak EEL? – PART II: Translating FAA Bobby Sturgell-ese Into The English Language
Despite the negativism we see in the headlines, this is the safest system out there bar none.
At issue is who paid. It seems that the training, with an estimated retail value of over $15,000, was provided free of charge to the inspectors by Southwest.
The consensus seems to be that the skipped inspections weren’t related to crucial safety issues, and that passengers were never at risk. But it could indicate that there is a more deeply-rooted culture of cronyism at the FAA, and that’s bad news.
Recently posted to this blog was a story of how Bobby The Sturg-EEL Sturgell, Failed FAA Acting Administrator, helped throw a few new FAA rats off of the sinking airship known as the FAA. Two of those rats were FAA’s Jim Ballough p/k/a “The Grim Reaper” (Director Of “Flight Standards”), and FAA’s Steve Wallace p/k/a “The Undertaker” (Head Of Accident Investigations). 
Let’s examine the e-mail that Top-Gun-Who-Never-Saw-Combat Sturgell used, to communicate his pinhead bureaucratic aeromercantalist thoughts. As a public service, Quiet Rockland gives you:
With a focus on accountability and standardization of policy, he led the successful ISO 9001 effort in Flight Standards, helping Aviation Safety become the first organization across the board to receive this prestigious international recognition for continuous improvement in quality management.
Likewise, Steve Wallace, as head of accident investigations, was responsible for implementation of safety improvements based on investigation findings.
Earlier, his work as manager of the Standards Staff in the FAA's Transport Airplane Directorate in Seattle was designed to prevent accidents from happening in the first place.
now deputy associate administrator for aviation safety. With responsibility for certification, production approval and continued airworthiness, Sabatini often traveled to meetings with aviation groups and to offer testimony in congressional hearings with Ballough.
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