A scathing new report from the New York Times has further cast a worrisome doubt on air traffic controllers.
It was a report reprinted and rebroadcast by many media outlets.
The bombshell story claims that some air traffic controllers were under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances while on the job. There were also instances of many air traffic controllers falling asleep while at work.
Many air traffic controllers are fatigued and overworked from having to work mandatory overtime due to a short staff situation. That mandatory OT includes working 10-hour shifts or six days a week. The report even said that one air traffic controller showed up to work drunk.
In another example, the report claimed that at least one air traffic controller used marijuana on his breaks and joked about being high at work and still being paid. The Times report used government documents and interviews as its basis.
The report suggests that many air traffic controllers are struggling with mental health and are fatigued.
As many as 77 percent of facilities that need air traffic controllers are understaffed, according to the report.
It would explain an overwhelming amount of near-misses and close-calls at airports that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to call for an emergency meeting of nearly 100 airports this summer. In response, the FAA called the New York Times report “not reflective of the overall high safety standards that exist throughout the national airspace.”
The air traffic controllers union responded by saying the article does not portray the professionalism and skill with which the air traffic controllers display under stressful circumstances.
The FAA addressed the situation in August.
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