FAA imposed permanent restrictions on passenger flights operating in close proximity to helicopters at the airport
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), which regulates civil aviation in the United States, says it will hire over 2,000 Air Traffic Control trainees to ramp up its manpower and also improve oversight of aircraft manufacturers, following a series of fatal air accidents involving the US airlines, in the country and elsewhere.
The FAA, which is being grilled by a panel of the US Senate, has made this statement in a written submission presented to the panel members.
The agency says its goal is to address ongoing staffing shortages, which critics say have played a role in the rash of recent aviation safety incidents.
The FAA currently faces a significant shortfall of air traffic controllers, with numbers falling approximately 3,500 below its staffing goals. The agency now has about 10 pc fewer controllers than it did in 2012, a gap that has contributed to widespread flight delays and forced many controllers to work six-day weeks and mandatory overtime, which is against FAA’s own norms.
According to new reports, Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau has also announced the formation of a specialised panel designed to ‘identify additional hazard areas involving helicopter and fixed-wing interactions’.
The US Senate formed the panel after an accident on January 29 when a helicopter of the US Army collided with a regional jet of the American Airlines near Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington DC, resulting in 67 fatalities, the worst air accident in the US in recent years.
Following the accident, the FAA imposed permanent restrictions on passenger flights operating in close proximity to helicopters at the airport. Additionally, the agency is evaluating air traffic procedures at other major airports after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued urgent safety recommendations earlier this month.
In his written statement, Rocheleau has emphasised the FAA’s commitment to enhancing safety measures. “We have to identify trends, we have to get smarter about how we use data, and when we put corrective actions in place, we must execute them,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a separate, but related development, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is preparing to seek permission from the US Congress to invest ‘tens of billions of dollars’ to modernise outdated FAA infrastructure, improve facilities and bolster air traffic controller hiring efforts.
FAA has also told the US Senate that it is intensifying its regulatory oversight of Boeing, world’s second largest aircraft manufacturer. The agency says its scrutiny “extends to ongoing monitoring of Boeing’s manufacturing practices, maintenance procedures, and software updates”.
In response to a mid-air emergency involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in January 2024, former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker had implemented a cap limiting Boeing’s monthly aircraft production to 38 planes. That restriction remains in effect. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is scheduled to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee next week.
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