US air traffic training queried

The FAA says its air traffic control systems are operating safely

The US Federal Aviation Administration has hired so many new air traffic controllers that it cannot train them efficiently, according to a report.

It has exceeded its own quotas for inexperienced staff at more than 20% of its facilities, the US Transportation Department's inspector general said.

It found the FAA had underestimated how many controllers would retire or leave, leading to a surge in hiring trainees.

The FAA has accepted most of the report's recommendations.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told Reuters news agency that there had been other occasions over the years when the percentage of controllers in training went up.

"We've been able to maintain a safe system," she said.

It can take up to three years before new recruits and controllers transferred from other control towers are fully trained to cover all positions at a facility.

Confusion

The inspector general's report said that the FAA had taken on so many new staff that it had exceeded its own maximum trainee quota at 22% of its 314 air traffic control facilities.

The FAA says that each facility can accommodate up to 35% inexperienced controllers while still operating effectively and training the new staff.

The inspector general found that 52% of controllers were inexperienced at one New Jersey control tower last December.

The report also found confusion within the FAA over who was responsible for hiring and training employees and errors in its training database.

"Facility managers, training managers and even headquarters officials were unable to tell us who or what office was ultimately responsible for facility training," the report said.

The FAA had proposed strengthening controller training protocols in 2004 but never followed through on the policy, the inspector general found.

The US House of Representatives is due to hold a hearing on Wednesday on air traffic controller staffing.