The State - News from Oct. 7, 1988

The Federal Aviation Administration needs 500 new air traffic controllers, particularly minorities and women, for its four-state Western-Pacific region, a spokeswoman said. The new controllers will fill vacancies caused by career-advancement moves and retirements in the region, which includes California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, spokeswoman Elly Brekke said. As of last month, the region had 2,933 controllers. The FAA will select trainees from applicants who pass a four-hour test with a 90% or better score. The agency has scheduled 29 tests in 10 cities through the end of the year. Only one in 100 applicants becomes a controller, meaning that filling 500 positions requires testing of at least 50,000 people, Brekke said.