O’Hare Near-Collisions Cited in Request for Controller Training

Near-collisions at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago show that air traffic controllers at the nation’s busiest airport need more training, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

“We are not saying the airport is unsafe,” said Michael Benson, agency spokesman. “What we are saying is we’d like to see a higher level of safety at O’Hare.”

The agency recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration take immediate steps to improve its controller training program and upgrade the skills of controllers at O’Hare.

‘Operational Errors’

“What’s prompted the board’s concern in this area is a high level of so-called operational errors by controllers,” Benson said. “These are deficiencies we see that are still occurring.”

He said there have been problems such as allowing inadequate airspace between planes and permitting aircraft to cross runways being used by other planes.

In its report, the safety agency said the proposals resulted from an investigation into incidents last June 29 and July 2 in which commercial airliners nearly collided over Chicago because of poor handling by controllers.

Later review showed 14 controller errors between Jan. 1 and July 2, prompting the federal agency to focus on deficiencies at O’Hare that seemed to be responsible for an increasing number of mistakes, the agency said.

Agency’s Recommendations

As a result, the agency recommended that the FAA:

--Implement a more effective air traffic controller training program at O’Hare so controllers still learning their jobs reach full performance level more quickly.

--Review the way the FAA hires and promotes controllers at the airport to ensure applicants for supervisory positions in the towers have enough experience in the tower to handle the job.

--Review criteria for deciding work schedules in relation to traffic at O’Hare so enough controllers are working during peak periods.

The report released Friday was forwarded to the FAA, which has 90 days to submit a formal response before action is taken on the recommendations.