where is now that idiot CEO of pirate airliner? Still want to sack all of them?
NATCA: Safety Becoming An Issue As Errors Rise
The number of fully trained and certified air traffic controllers at Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), the nation's busiest FAA air traffic control facility that handles the climb and approach phases of flight, has fallen 26 percent in the last six years, according to new staffing information released today by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).
In 2004, SoCal TRACON was staffed with 239 fully trained and certified controllers (called "CPCs" for Certified Professional Controllers), with seven more in training. The total fell to 217 CPCs in 2005 and 199 CPCs in 2006, with 23 trainees. Today, the total stands at 176 CPCs, with 82 trainees, many with no prior FAA or military controller experience, which NATCA says puts them at a disadvantage for successful training at SCT."Asking a new trainee with no prior controller experience to make it here is like asking a person with no flight experience to fly Boeing 747s,"
SoCal TRACON NATCA Facility Representative Mel Davis said. "It's possible, and we have some success stories, but what we really need are more experienced controllers to transfer here. The problem facing the FAA is trying to get these experienced veterans to leave their short- staffed facilities to come to another short-staffed facility, which leaves us in a perilous position."