Don Brown (GetTheFlick)
i agree with you 100% (see my previous post) and i don't think you are advancing a theory, i think that it is a a hard fact as a natural progression.
The FAA has had a media pronounced issue on factors involving aircraft safety, which progressed to a congressional hearing. On the flip side congress has delayed and deferred on FAA funding.
So the FAA has the problem of enforcing the safety issues on which it regulates and as a short term resolution intends to "bust" pilots for any and all errors.
It's a short term
PR move that is the fall out of the FAA congressional hearing.
There are several questions that are going to have to be addressed:
Are controllers the enforcers or are they there to provide traffic flow separation and integration?
How is a controller going to handle a violation. At the point of violation? does the controller have to come off duty hand over to another controller while the paperwork is completed and filed ? or wait till the end of a shift and make a report after handling 'x' amount of different situations.
Is the pilot going to be notified at the time of the event that a violation is pending ? or will he be advised after the event ? how will this then be defended ?
Are controllers going to be violated for giving pilots unclear or erroneous instructions, clearances, vectors etc.?
Also, how is the FAA going to administer the violations. They literally cant keep up with the current administrative workload at present.
In terms of safety, all this will do is countermand safety rather than improve it.