Doggett urges further federal action on airport safety

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett continues to ring the alarm about safety concerns at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and across the country as the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure grapples with a staffing shortage that has resulted in hundreds of near-miss incidents between aircraft on airport runways.

On Thursday, Doggett released a statement regarding the publication of a docket from the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into a February near-collision between a FedEx plane and Southwest plane at ABIA.

The docket includes flight and weather data, pilot interviews and transcripts, air traffic control interviews, audio recordings, simulation evaluations and human performance reports. In addition to staffing vacancies in air traffic control, investigators found lapses in training on best safety practices for current air traffic control staff.

“This NTSB investigative file shows how very close we came to an alarming catastrophe with more than a hundred deaths,” Doggett said in his statement. “It shows our air traffic controllers are overworked, overwhelmed, and understaffed.”

On Nov. 15, Doggett met with Federal Aviation Administration administrator Mike Whitaker, who took the position in October. In the meeting, Doggett reiterated his concerns and call for immediate action to avert a potential public safety disaster. Two days later, on Nov. 17, the FAA announced actions to enhance air traffic controller safety and the deployment of tower simulator systems. Austin is expected to receive the first simulator in January.

In Doggett’s statement, he thanked Whitaker for the willingness to prioritize ABIA for new safety equipment and controller training. But he said “much more” is needed.

“To assure our airport is safe we need more air traffic controllers sooner to relieve those currently subject to mandatory, unsustainable six-day work weeks,” Doggett said. “Trainees are not a substitute for facility-certified controllers to work the ABIA tower. I am pleased that Administrator Whitaker will be personally visiting ABIA in a few weeks and will continue working with the FAA to ensure we have the proper training, resources, and staffing to strengthen public safety at our international gateway for people and businesses.”

The incident was also the subject of discussion at a recent U.S. Senate hearing on airport safety and near-miss incidents caused as a result of the air traffic control shortage and record levels of postpandemic air travel. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a pilot, said “words fail to adequately describe” how close the 131 people on board those aircraft came to dying in a crash.

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