I NEVER want “DEI” Persons to :
Be my brain surgeon
BE my back surgeon
BE my aircraft pilot
Be my Air Traffic Controller
Be my train engineer
Be my bus driver
Be my auto mechanic
Be my HVAC service person
ETC ETC ETC
The author of the article is generally correct about staffing and training of air traffic controllers. But the opening statement about the collision at Houston Hobby between a Hawker and a Citation was NOT controller error. It was pilot error.
Auburn Calloway was the sterling example of an affirmative action pilot. He illuminated and proved the effectiveness and actions of the 9-11 Terrorists.
But diversity is our strength.../s
The "Revolver" article is dismissing some real concerns about air traffic control. For example, Revolver refers to this NY Times article for information about the Austin airport incident, but it ignores much of what the NY Times pointed out: That the Austin airport doesn't use ground radar, so some ATCs have been using "a free version of the website FlightRadar24.com to help keep track of planes on the ground, even though the site is not approved by the F.A.A. for air traffic control purposes." That the fog was heavy that day. That ATCs there say they're understaffed, exhausted, working overtime, and the working conditions put safety in jeopardy. The ATC who made the mistake had a decade of experience, but he was working overtime that day. A few months later, another ATC made a mistake at the same airport because he said he was fatigued. All those factors create a risky situation.
The real problem seems to be not enough ATCs. They earn six figures and retire by 56, but the job is stressful. It's open to Americans age 30 or younger to start. Maybe the maximum age of 30 should be raised. What's so magical about 30, anyway? Why is 31, 32, or 33 too old to start? The government is considering raising the ATC retirement age because of understaffing. Why not raise the entry-level age?
AI will soon replace humans for most ATC, due in part to the high cost of affirmative action government clock punchers with power tripping bureaucratic attitude. Current AI can already handle the speech part, and could learn the rest of the trade in 4 hours. This can be rolled out to small, uncontrolled airports first. It’s even possible to have a second layer of peer to peer AI powered ATC for backup.
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