Minneapolis Air Traffic Controllers to Urge FAA to Act Now to Protect Safety of Local Skies
Posted on: Wednesday, 2 November 2005, 06:00 CST
News Advisory:
-- Minneapolis Air Traffic Controllers to Urge FAA to Act Now to Protect Safety of Local Skies
-- Failure to install modern radar equipment is putting aircraft safety at risk
-- Press conference today
Concerned about both the safety of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport runways and taxiways with the opening of a new runway last week and the numerous reliability problems of the radar displays used to monitor aircraft near the airport, air traffic controllers from the MSP control tower and terminal radar approach control (TRACON) will today urge the Federal Aviation Administration to speed up the implementation of new technology.
Controllers want the FAA to immediately install a state-of- the- art airport surface radar system that the National Transportation Safety Board says is an improvement over the airport's current system. In addition, controllers want the FAA to replace the TRACON's 1970s radar display technology. Three years after the facility was to get a modern radar display, they have yet to receive the much-needed digital system to manage the terminal area airspace and may have to wait another three years if the FAA continues to drag its feet.
Modernization failures: The FAA's current record of modernization is the story of slowing, cutting or derailing critical programs, seriously impacting passenger safety and wasting taxpayer dollars. As air traffic increases, it is imperative that controllers are given the proper tools they need to ensure safety for air passengers. Using binoculars to manage ground traffic does not work in bad weather conditions.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association's (NATCA) "Fly Us Safe" public education campaign focuses on two serious crises facing the aviation system: an acute staffing shortage caused by FAA inaction and the agency's failure to adequately modernize and improve the infrastructure of the country's air traffic control facilities. More details about the campaign and the new television commercial can be found at the campaign's action headquarters at http://www.flyussafe.com.
WHAT: Press conference to discuss runway and taxiway safety at MSP, and the need for better radar equipment at both the airport control tower and the terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facility.
WHEN: 11 a.m. today, Wednesday, Nov. 2
WHO: Bruce Alexander, local National Air Traffic Controllers Association facility representative at MSP Airport Control Tower; Randy Jones, local NATCA facility representative at Minneapolis TRACON.
WHERE: The Braeburn Room at the Holiday Inn Select near MSP; Three Appletree Square (I-494 and 34th Avenue), Minneapolis, Minn.; 952-854-9000.
http://www.usnewswire.com
Source: U.S. Newswire
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