The FAA's focus on aviation safety

Regarding the July 5 front-page story "Close calls on the rise in the skies over D.C.":

The mission of the Federal Aviation Administration is to keep the skies safe for the flying public, and we are doing just that. Experienced and well-trained air traffic controllers safely guide millions of aircraft every year across our country and here in the D.C. area. The article makes an unsubstantiated correlation between air traffic controller experience levels and safety. The overwhelming majority of controllers at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility have at least 10 years of experience.

The FAA has been hiring and training controllers over the past few years to prepare for expected retirements. Our rigorous training programs ensure new controllers earn their certification while maintaining our high safety standards. Controllers who are learning a specific radar position are under the guidance of a senior controller and cannot work traffic by themselves until they are fully certified on that position.

The FAA is concerned whenever an operational error occurs. We establish separation standards between aircraft to create a safety buffer, and we examine our performance if there is even a minor infraction of that standard.

The article made only a brief mention of voluntary reporting programs, but we are confident these programs are effective. The FAA recently began a Partnership for Safety campaign with its largest labor unions to encourage employees to speak up when they make a mistake or see a safety issue. We believe these efforts are resulting in more reporting, which will help us spot problems or trends so we can address them before an accident occurs. Voluntary reporting is a key element of our safety culture and something we will continue to promote at all levels of aviation to keep our system safe.

Randy Babbitt, Washington

The writer is FAA administrator.

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