The Nation - News from Oct. 27, 1985

Half of the government’s corps of 11,088 air safety technicians are eligible for retirement over the next decade, a federal report showed, and experts said such a mass departure would hurt aviation safety. The highly trained technicians certify that Federal Aviation Administration radarscopes and computers are in working order. Safety groups and congressional critics say the retirement projections, combined with perceived shortages of air traffic controllers and aircraft inspectors, will hurt the performance of the air system.