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Deadly plane crash in DC puts spotlight on NYC's air traffic controller shortages

Deadly plane crash in D.C. highlights concerns surrounding NYC airspace
Deadly plane crash in D.C. highlights concerns surrounding NYC airspace 02:49

NEW YORK - The tragic, midair collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. is putting a spotlight on air traffic controller shortages and close calls on runways. 

The shortage is a nationwide problem, but the New York City area is especially hard hit. One of New York's main air traffic control facilities is staffed at just about 58% of where the FAA wants it. With three major airports and a steady stream of flights, the FAA describes the airspace around New York City as extraordinarily complex. 

Particular challenges facing New York

New York TRACON, or Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, is located on Long Island. Retired controllers have previously told CBS News New York that the complexity of New York's airspace isn't the only challenge of working at New York TRACON. 

"It's a very difficult facility to work. Geographically, it's very difficult for people to come from other parts of the country to settle in to Long Island," Vaughn College instructor and retired controller Steve Fanno said last April. 

Last spring, a CBS News New York investigation found that, since 2019, 17 new hires assigned to the New York TRACON either failed, transferred to another facility or left for some other reason before completing training. That's more than double Atlanta's TRACON, where eight left and quadruple Southern California, where four trainees left.

Thanks to new hires, New York also has more controllers currently in training than any other TRACON. The extensive training process, however, can take years.

"If we hired 2,000 people today, in 2-3 years from now, we'd see only about 1,000 of them become a certified air traffic controller," National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Nick Daniels said. 

In August, the FAA relocated 24 controllers from the New York TRACON to Philadelphia, saying the move would improve staffing, training, and modernization overall. 

FAA attempting to address shortages

The agency has also tried to address shortages by hiring more than 1,800 controllers last year. The FAA also formed a panel in late 2023 to study controller fatigue after a string of close calls on runways. The findings of that panel ultimately led to new overtime limits for controllers and more time off between shifts for controllers. 

"We've also seen several cases over the last several years where air traffic control inadvertently clears someone to cross the runway and they should not have, and this all goes back to controller shortages," Shawn Pruchnicki of Ohio State University's Center for Aviation Studies. 

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