SE Valley Times

PHOENIX—Following two near-collisions between planes at Sky Harbor International Airport, Rep. Greg Stanton called on his U.S. Senate colleagues to immediately take up the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill when they return in early September without any further delay.

Stanton, the only Arizonan on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, helped craft and advance the House’s FAA reauthorization bill—including several common-sense measures to increase runway safety. The legislation passed the House in July with broad, bipartisan support.

“America’s aviation system remains the safest in the world—but even one close call at one of the busiest airports in the country is one too many. I worked across the aisle to pass an FAA reauthorization package that prioritizes hiring and training more air traffic controllers and deploying state of the art technologies,” Stanton said. “Now the Senate needs to follow our lead and get this done.”

An Arizona Republic analysis cited “human error, lack of training and staffing shortages of air traffic controllers” as contributing factors in nearly 50 near-misses involving major airlines nationwide, including those in Phoenix.

The House bill requires the FAA to implement improved air traffic control staffing standards to better address staffing shortages and meet increasing demand. It also expands FAA air traffic control training capacity while modernizing the training process for FAA controllers and Federal Contract Tower Program controllers. The bill also works to prevent runway incursions by deploying the latest in ground surveillance and detection equipment at large and medium hub airports to better inform air traffic controllers of potential danger. 

Original source can be found here.