Staffing shortages, outdated facilities threaten US air safety -- report
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An independent U.S. aviation review team called on Wednesday for «urgent action» to prevent plane crashes, and made a series of recommendations to boost safety after a series of close calls involving passenger jets.
The panel, named by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), released a 52-page report citing problems that included shortages of air traffic controllers, technology issues, outdated systems and dramatic funding needs. Since January, the National Transportation Safety Board has opened seven investigations into near-miss incidents, including some that could have been catastrophic.
The FAA has been «asked to do more with less in an already strained system, and the series of serious incidents in early 2023 illuminate significant challenges to the provision and safety oversight of air traffic services,» said the report chaired by Michael Huerta, a former FAA administrator.
The report said the FAA's communications system has been outdated for years and the agency can no longer get spare parts for many systems.
«There is a limit to how far the challenges of inadequate, obsolete, and unreliable facilities, equipment, and technology can be managed to preserve safety,» it said.
It cited aging FAA air traffic control facilities with leaking roofs, broken heating and air conditioning systems and old surveillance radar systems that must soon be replaced at a cost of billions of dollars.
It also called for strengthening FAA organizational structures.
The FAA in September extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2024, citing staffing shortages. New York Terminal Radar Approach Control staffing is just at 54% of
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