Report: Air controllers cover up errors

[mpenguin1]

ul 12, 7:39 PM ET
A government investigator has accused the Federal Aviation Administration of covering up mistakes by air traffic controllers at one of the nation's busiest airports and sometimes shifting the blame to pilots.

The problems at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport included planes that flew too close together and a controller who did not notify a colleague when a plane was cleared for takeoff.

The allegations came from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent investigative agency responsible for protecting government whistle-blowers. The office's report renewed accusations that were made in 2005 but, according to the investigator, never fixed.

"The message needs to get out that we have a cavalier attitude about safety," special counsel Scott Bloch said Thursday in an interview, citing a "culture of laxness" at both the FAA and the air traffic controllers' union.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070712/...fw_air_traffic

[mpenguin1]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

Jul 12, 7:39 PM ET
A government investigator has accused the Federal Aviation Administration of covering up mistakes by air traffic controllers at one of the nation's busiest airports and sometimes shifting the blame to pilots.

The problems at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport included planes that flew too close together and a controller who did not notify a colleague when a plane was cleared for takeoff.

The allegations came from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent investigative agency responsible for protecting government whistle-blowers. The office's report renewed accusations that were made in 2005 but, according to the investigator, never fixed.

"The message needs to get out that we have a cavalier attitude about safety," special counsel Scott Bloch said Thursday in an interview, citing a "culture of laxness" at both the FAA and the air traffic controllers' union.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070712/...fw_air_traffic

[PilotChip]

I don't know about back then but now even small vfr towers are required to do tape audits to hear for possible op errors/deviations that are not reported by controllers or pilots.

[Velocipede]

No kidding? And they probably try to blame it one "pilot error." You suppose?

[PilotChip]

Not necessarily, but for the most part the management focuses on improving standard atc phraseology errors.