Low Bidder Air Traffic Control

POWER BLACKOUT REINFORCES POINT: DON'T PRIVATIZE SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS
WASHINGTON - When the massive electrical power outage hit eight states in
two of the country's busiest air traffic regions last Thursday, the system
put into place to land those flights safely worked flawlessly thanks to the
hard work and dedication of the FAA systems specialist workforce, the union
representing systems specialists said today.

"Tens of thousands of air travelers' lives were at stake," said Michael D.
Fanfalone, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS),
"and just like on September 11, 2001, our technicians provided a vital
service that ensured their safe arrival." On Friday, he noted, the Federal
Aviation Administration "acknowledged that our systems specialists 'once
again performed like champions' in coping with a chaotic situation, but next
year, unless the Congress decides otherwise, the FAA will be auctioning
their critical functions off to the lowest bidder."

FAA systems specialists certify and maintain the essential equipment used by
air traffic controllers to guide over 200,000 commercial flights safely
everyday. During the blackout, systems specialists ensured that the air
traffic control system was functioning at all times by coordinating backup
generators, prioritizing equipment and facilities, monitoring outages and
notifying air traffic control of what systems were available to use, as well
as keeping an eye on the potential impact on the entire air traffic control
system.

"There is no single company in existence today with the systems specialist
workforce's capability to keep our air traffic control system safe,"
Fanfalone said. "Systems specialists understand the intricacies of the
entire air traffic control system. If it is privatized, the FAA would have
to break up the work among many bidders in many states, assuring that a
crisis like last week's power failure would endanger the public's safety."

Fanfalone further explained that when problems occur with air traffic contro
l equipment, contractors have to be called to the site, extending the length
of any equipment outage. "Instead, systems specialists were already onsite
last week and they kept the air traffic control system functioning smoothly
and, most importantly, safely."

At issue is a congressional conference committee report on the FAA
reauthorization bill, filed just prior to Congress' August recess. PASS
officials note that the report disregards language in the Senate version of
the bill that included bipartisan efforts to protect the systems specialist
workforce. Instead, the conference committee yielded to White House pressure
and opened the door to privatizing the important functions performed by
systems specialists.

# # #

PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation
Administration and the Department who install, maintain, support and certify
air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the
commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and
perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information,
visit the PASS Web site at http://www.passnational.org.

"PlanetJ" wrote in message
.. .
POWER BLACKOUT REINFORCES POINT: DON'T PRIVATIZE SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS
WASHINGTON - When the massive electrical power outage hit eight states in
two of the country's busiest air traffic regions last Thursday, the system
put into place to land those flights safely worked flawlessly thanks to
the
hard work and dedication of the FAA systems specialist workforce, the
union
representing systems specialists said today.

"Tens of thousands of air travelers' lives were at stake," said Michael D.
Fanfalone, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists
(PASS),
"and just like on September 11, 2001, our technicians provided a vital
service that ensured their safe arrival." On Friday, he noted, the
Federal
Aviation Administration "acknowledged that our systems specialists 'once
again performed like champions' in coping with a chaotic situation, but
next
year, unless the Congress decides otherwise, the FAA will be auctioning
their critical functions off to the lowest bidder."

FAA systems specialists certify and maintain the essential equipment used
by
air traffic controllers to guide over 200,000 commercial flights safely
everyday. During the blackout, systems specialists ensured that the air
traffic control system was functioning at all times by coordinating backup
generators, prioritizing equipment and facilities, monitoring outages and
notifying air traffic control of what systems were available to use, as
well
as keeping an eye on the potential impact on the entire air traffic
control
system.

"There is no single company in existence today with the systems specialist
workforce's capability to keep our air traffic control system safe,"
Fanfalone said. "Systems specialists understand the intricacies of the
entire air traffic control system. If it is privatized, the FAA would have
to break up the work among many bidders in many states, assuring that a
crisis like last week's power failure would endanger the public's safety."

snip

You must be kidding.. That's adding insult to injury.

It's fairly obvious from the news reports that America's power system needs
a little work, but to suggest that backup generators and UPS systems either
need lots of watching or are not installed at all is a major slap on the
wrist.

And to insist that "There is no single company in existence today with the
systems specialist workforce's capability to keep our air traffic control
system safe.".. Maybe not in the USA!!

I can guarantee that the US scenario could never happen in Australia (by
accident anyway) and even if it did, Air Traffic Control in this country has
never relied on the power grid to maintain aircraft safety. Silly
Americans.. ;-)

Cameron:-)

PlanetJ wrote:
POWER BLACKOUT REINFORCES POINT: DON'T PRIVATIZE SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS

SNIP

UNION SPAM

ATC doesn't fly airplanes, pilots do.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html


"Tens of thousands of air travelers' lives were at stake," said Michael D.
Fanfalone, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS),
"and just like on September 11, 2001, our technicians provided a vital
service that ensured their safe arrival." On Friday, he noted, the Federal
Aviation Administration "acknowledged that our systems specialists 'once
again performed like champions' in coping with a chaotic situation, but next
year, unless the Congress decides otherwise, the FAA will be auctioning
their critical functions off to the lowest bidder."

But ATC's job is to keep track of all those aircraft and to alert
authorities in the event of any on-board emergency.

The air traffic situation around most major airports, with typically one
fully-loaded airliner landing or taking off every 30-40 seconds, can get a
bit crazy - so if ATC is not functioning for whatever reason, an accident is
very likely. Pilots can't see jet wash..

Cameron:-)

"Gene Seibel" wrote in message
om...
ATC doesn't fly airplanes, pilots do.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html


"Tens of thousands of air travelers' lives were at stake," said Michael
D.
Fanfalone, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists
(PASS),
"and just like on September 11, 2001, our technicians provided a vital
service that ensured their safe arrival." On Friday, he noted, the
Federal
Aviation Administration "acknowledged that our systems specialists 'once
again performed like champions' in coping with a chaotic situation, but
next
year, unless the Congress decides otherwise, the FAA will be auctioning
their critical functions off to the lowest bidder."

True, there would be chaos without ATC. However, in-flight emergencies
(which are rare) can only be handled by a pilot. There is little
anyone else can do besides watch and listen until he's on the ground.
Of course being a pilot, I may have a biased view.

I'd agree that non-functioning ATC would increase the chances of an
accident, but I believe _very likely_ is an exaggeration. Seeing and
avoiding other traffic is still a very important form of collision
avoidance, and airliners are now equipped with TCAS which tracks other
aircraft independent of ATC. Becoming dependent on ATC and getting
complacent about looking out the window can be a big problem. An
occasional hiccup in the ATC system can serve as a good reminder.

I don't mean to discount the concerns that you and others have - ATC
failures are things to be concerned about. Of course the 30-40 second
departures can't be maintained under those conditions and a lot of
planes will be grounded, but pilots don't see it as something to panic
about.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I eny no one.



But ATC's job is to keep track of all those aircraft and to alert
authorities in the event of any on-board emergency.

The air traffic situation around most major airports, with typically one
fully-loaded airliner landing or taking off every 30-40 seconds, can get a
bit crazy - so if ATC is not functioning for whatever reason, an accident is
very likely. Pilots can't see jet wash..

Cameron:-)

"Gene Seibel" wrote in message
om...
ATC doesn't fly airplanes, pilots do.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html


"Tens of thousands of air travelers' lives were at stake," said Michael
D.
Fanfalone, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists
(PASS),
"and just like on September 11, 2001, our technicians provided a vital
service that ensured their safe arrival." On Friday, he noted, the
Federal
Aviation Administration "acknowledged that our systems specialists 'once
again performed like champions' in coping with a chaotic situation, but
next
year, unless the Congress decides otherwise, the FAA will be auctioning
their critical functions off to the lowest bidder."