America's dangerous skies: Bombshell report claims drunk and drug-addled air traffic controllers have led to record near-misses
WASHINGTON, DC: A recent alarming report indicates that air traffic controllers are encountering a rising threat to their ability to efficiently perform their duties due to heavy workloads. This situation over time could compromise passenger safety in the sky.
In the past two years, hundreds of complaints about dangerous personnel shortages, mental health difficulties, and dilapidated structures, some with black mold and bugs, have been filed to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hotline by air traffic controllers and other concerned parties.
The administration reportedly received at least seven reports of controllers sleeping when they were on duty and about five employees working while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to complaint summaries obtained by the New York Times.
Air traffic controllers, the final defense against crashes, endure hours each day focused on monitors or scanning the skies, responsible for thousands of lives.
Despite the high stakes and intense pressure of the job, many controllers face less-than-ideal conditions.
Due to a nationwide manpower deficit caused by years of employee turnover and tight budgets, numerous controllers now find themselves working six days a week and 10 hours a day.
The consequence is a fatigued, distracted, and demoralized workforce increasingly susceptible to making mistakes, as revealed by a Times investigation.
The rise in near-misses poses alarming threat to air travel safety
Despite the remarkably low risk of collisions in American airspace, the Times revealed in August that there had been several potentially hazardous near misses per week on average this year.
Some controllers even claimed that they fear that a deadly crash is inevitable.
The FAA preliminary classified 503 air traffic control lapses as "significant" in the fiscal year that concluded on September 30, which is 65 percent more than in the previous year.
An archive of aircraft safety problems is laced with contemporary errors made by fatigued controllers.
For instance, a controller at the air traffic control center in Jacksonville, Florida, reportedly instructed one airliner to turn into the path of another, later blaming being overworked and tired.
Another controller at an observatory that keeps an eye on the skies over Southern California, reportedly instructed a jet to fly too low, attributing the lapse to being “extremely tired” after working “continuous” overtime.
The New York Times investigation discovered that controllers have experienced physical and mental health issues as a result of their six-day workweeks and 24-hour schedules.
Several controllers reportedly expressed their dread of the FAA's regulations for medical clearances, which prevented them from seeking individual assistance for physical and mental issues.
The rules regulating the clearances prohibit particular medications from being used by air traffic controllers — as they could cause drowsiness on the job — so some controllers have allegedly turned to alcohol and sleeping pills instead, per the report.
Certain controllers have abstained from taking necessary medications to adhere to the clearances, while others have even turned to drugs, based on a Times review of complaints that were submitted to the FAA.
Complaints regarding air traffic controllers working under the influence
Air traffic employees, in interviews and complaints filed with the FFA, expressed concerns about their well-being and that of their coworkers, indicating a decline in morale.
A controller was "caught sleeping on operational positions numerous times," according to one complaint. Another described how two controllers fell asleep “while providing air traffic services.”
An employee “physically assaulted one controller, verbally assaulted another controller,” who began to cry, and then shoved a chair at someone. Other hotline reports also detailed physical and verbal attacks.
Some controllers mentioned that one of their coworkers was "showing extreme signs of mental problems" and that other coworkers seemed unstable
Controllers in one location were reported for “using alcohol and illegal drugs while on position” directing traffic. Another described the “strong odor of alcohol” on multiple air traffic employees.
One controller who worked in Colorado and elsewhere said she consumed up to nine vodka drinks a night to deal with trouble sleeping and recurrent panic attacks that her doctor attributed, in part, to her job.
Following the investigation, FAA spokeswoman Jeannie Shiffer said in a statement to the New York Times that the agency "maintains the safest, most complex and busiest airspace in the world."
"The nation absolutely needs more air traffic controllers, and growing the workforce will result in better working conditions and more flexibility," she added.
In addition, Shiffer stated that the organization offered free counseling and placed a high priority on the health of its air traffic controllers.