Controllers say air safety is problem

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. is enjoying an unprecedented period of aviation safety – there have been no major plane crashes in nearly four years and runway violations are down.

But you would never guess that from the frosty relations between the controllers union and the federal government, which are in contract negotiations.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has ratcheted up its criticisms of the Federal Aviation Administration, saying insufficient staffing and equipment failures are jeopardizing safety in the skies and on the runways.

This week, the union claimed that severe personnel shortages were to blame for a series of controller mistakes, including two in the last six days, that caused planes to fly dangerously close over California.

“You’re really dealing with people who are overworked, low morale, stressed out,” said Hamid Ghaffari, the union representative at the center in Palmdale which handles high-altitude aircraft in Southern California and parts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah. “Boy, that’s not a good mixture for air traffic controllers.”

The FAA says the recent close calls resulted from human error unrelated to working conditions. The union’s claims are nothing more than a negotiating ploy, said FAA spokesman Greg Martin. The current contract expires Sept. 30, though it would still be in effect so that controllers don’t stop working.

“We all know what’s going on,” Martin said. “We’re in the middle of contract negotiations. It’s a press release a day with each one being more outlandish than the last one.”