I don't think el Trumpo is directly responsible, but there could be something to be said regarding the potential mental impact of some of the changes taking place within the space? What's been the overall industry chatter the past couple weeks?
What's been the overall industry chatter the past couple weeks?
Same as most other industries... they think he's a joke. Given the aforementioned lack of impact DEI had in the first place in this particular space, it makes his outright racism and misinformation even easier to disregard.
Some controllers in the ATC subreddit have chimed in and made comments like, "Getting a diagnosis of high blood pressure is disqualifying, yet this man somehow believes people with severe mental illness are running the skies "...
I was briefly an air traffic controller years ago, obviously in this country and not the United States. Getting in is similarly difficult, however. You know what has a bigger impact on the mental health of controllers? Overworking and underpaying them. That has been the case for a long time at certain facilities in the US, and is far more attritutable to underperforming controllers than anything orangeman says at a press conference.
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The air traffic controller on duty at the time of the deadly passenger plane-Black Hawk helicopter crash in Washington, DC, was doing the work of two people, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Staffing in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the FAA found in its preliminary report, according to the New York Times.
Understaffing resulted in a controller pulling double duty — overseeing helicopters while also guiding arriving and departing planes on the busy airport’s runways, the report found.
The air traffic controller on duty at the time of the deadly passenger plane-Black Hawk helicopter crash in Washington, DC, was doing the work of two people, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Staffing in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the FAA found in its preliminary report, according to the New York Times.
Understaffing resulted in a controller pulling double duty — overseeing helicopters while also guiding arriving and departing planes on the busy airport’s runways, the report found.
Don't shoot the messenger please
Apparently this is typical.
It probably shouldn't be
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I have heard a lot of people say its typical too but “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” is a direct quote from the FAA report so IDK
Multiple reports have pointed out that there is no evidence controllers were fired.
Many US facilities (also Canada) have been understaffed for many years. DCA tower had barely more than half of what they need a year and a half ago.
Quote:
Chronic understaffing has plagued the Reagan National control tower, with only 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023—far below the FAA and controllers’ union target of 30, according to a report from Fox News.
Also of note is that 2024 had the most FAA hires of the last decade.
DEI had no impact on hiring, which makes the Trump comments even more dumb:
Quote:
DEI and any similar programs do not apply to air traffic control hiring, though -- no one is given preferential treatment for race, sex, ethnicity or sexual orientation, a former FAA official told ABC News.
I'm reading a random tweet here with 25,000 likes that says 3,000 controllers were fired... and the actual number is zero.
Apparently this is typical.
It probably shouldn't be
Anybody who has had a flight to Vancouver in the last couple years seemingly delayed for no reason, only to arrive there in beautiful weather... the flight was likely delayed due to traffic flow restrictions as a result of ATC. Vancouver and Canada as a whole is in a dire controller shortage even worse than the US right now.
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You keep talking about ONE thing...Trump has and is making cuts and will continue to make cuts to every government agency. Its not gonna go well for anyone in any industry except for the billionaires trying to die with the most possible money industry perhaps.
You keep talking about ONE thing...Trump has and is making cuts and will continue to make cuts to every government agency
Trump is anti-Christ, I have already agreed with you on this. I am not denying that Trump will continue to make cuts to every government agency.
You made a post talking about the understaffing of the Reagan tower and how short they are of air traffic controllers. Then you were talking about cuts.
This is the aviation thread, god forbid the ONE thing I keep talking about is aviation, and not Trump's overall destruction of the world which is not what this thread is for.
Newsflash Trump is in charge of the entire thing now, its relevant.
Since, again, this is the aviation thread - by the "entire thing" I assume you mean the FAA - and the man in charge is now Christopher Rochelau.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dino7c
I posted a quote from the FAA and said the last thing they need are cuts...which they are getting /
I didn't see a quote posted, you said "sounds like cuts are the last thing they need". I wouldn't disagree with that assessment in either case, though I was merely clarifying that the cuts did not include active controllers at a DCA-like facility and did not contribute to tower being short at the time of the incident.
January 29: "First mid-air in 16 years." False. There have been numerous mid-air collisions in the last 16 years in the US. This one had a ton of coverage:
I respect your posts immensely, but comparing an airshow crash to a commercial midair is like comparing a crash at Daytona to one on the freeway.
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Another plane down today. This is definitely all Trump's fault. When will this madness end?
When the "bUt my TAxeS!!11!! iTS ALL AbUOT MEeeeeee" crowd gets the "Leopards Ate My Face" treatment and starts to realize that sometimes you need government, regulations, and that a government job, like an air traffic controller, has a really important job to do and they should be paid well for it.
