1 in 5 air traffic control trainees wash out

[May 10, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than one in five of air traffic controllers hired by the Federal Aviation Administration in recent years washed out before finishing their training, said a report released Friday by a government watchdog.

The FAA has been underestimating the number of new hires who didn't finish their training because of flaws in the methodology the agency was using, the Transportation Department's inspector general said in a report posted online.

Using a different methodology, the inspector general said 22 percent of new controllers who should have completed their training last year didn't. In 2009, 21 percent failed to complete their training, and in 2008 it was 31 percent.

FAA had previously estimated a 9 percent attrition rate for new controllers in 2009.

Measuring the attrition rate of new hires and understanding what causes trainees to drop out is important to FAA right now. The agency is struggling to hire 11,000 controllers by 2019 to make up for a wave of retirements.

Controllers are required to retire by age 56. Many of today's controllers were hired in the wake of President Ronald Reagan's firing of striking controllers in 1981 and have begun reaching retirement age.

FAA currently employs about 15,700 controllers, said agency spokeswoman Laura Brown. The agency agrees with the inspector general's findings and has begun using the new methodology, she said.

Not everyone can be a controller. The agency gives potential controllers aptitude tests before they are hired.

FAA looks for people who are good at focusing their attention, multitasking and prioritizing, she said. A good sense of distance and the ability to visualize objects three-dimensionally is also prized.

"Historically there has been a relatively high rate of people who aren't able to bring all those skills together," Brown said. "You discover that along the way. That's why there's such an extensive training program."

The time it takes controllers to complete training varies, but FAA's goal is that they finish within two to three years depending upon the type of facility to which they are assigned, the report said.

FAA's controller workforce is under increased scrutiny following two high-profile suspensions of controllers over the past two weeks. Two airliners landed at Reagan National airport near Washington last week without the aid of a controller because the lone controller on duty overnight, a supervisor, had fallen asleep. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered two controllers be assigned to the Reagan airport tower at night and a review of overnight staffing at other airports is underway.

Earlier this week, FAA said another supervisor directing air traffic in central Florida created an incident in which a Southwest Airlines jet with 142 people on board came too close to a small plane, endangering both aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating both incidents.

[Associated Press; By JOAN LOWY]

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