France asks for report on absenteeism among air traffic controllers

September 3rd, 2009 Hudson airspace changes may add to tower workloadNEWARK, N.J. — Airplane and helicopter pilot groups lauded the proposed changes to the airspace over the Hudson River Thursday, while air traffic controllers braced for the possibility of an increased workload the new regulations could produce.

August 29th, 2009 Air traffic communications briefly crash in Calif.SAN FRANCISCO — Air traffic controllers in a major control center in California were reduced to using personal mobile phones to guide dozens of airplanes when the communications system crashed for several minutes Wednesday morning Controller Scott Conde said he was in front of a radar screen at the so-called Oakland Center in Fremont when half the facility lost landline and radio communications, which prevented him from talking directly to planes he was guiding to Fresno and Visalia. Conde said he was reduced to relaying instructions from his mobile telephone to controllers stationed elsewhere, who in turn got in contact with Conde's airplanes.

August 15th, 2009 Controller bantering on phone before crashWASHINGTON — An air traffic controller bantering on the phone about a dead cat at the airport initially failed to warn a small plane of other aircraft in its path and then tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot, officials said Friday. Moments later, the plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, killing nine people.

August 14th, 2009 FAA: 2 employees investigated in mid-air collisionWASHINGTON — Authorities have suspended an air traffic controller who was talking on the phone during last week's deadly mid-air collision over New York's Hudson River, along with a supervisor who was out of the building at the time. The Federal Aviation Administration said that while there was no reason to believe thus far that the employees' actions contributed to the accident, which killed nine people, such "conduct is unacceptable." Air-traffic controllers are expected to be alert at all times while on duty and are given regular breaks, sometimes hourly, for that reason.

August 14th, 2009 US air traffic controllers agree on new contractWASHINGTON — Government air traffic controllers and the Obama administration have agreed tentatively to a contract that both sides said they hope would end years of severely strained relations. Arbitrators recently decided a handful of remaining issues involving pay and vacation time, clearing the way for Thursday's contract announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

August 14th, 2009 Controller failed to warn pilot in midair crashWASHINGTON — An air traffic controller making a personal phone call initially failed to warn a small plane of other aircraft in its path and then tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot, federal safety officials said Friday. Moments later, the plane collided with an tour helicopter over the Hudson River, killing nine people.

August 13th, 2009 FAA, air traffic controllers agree on new contractWASHINGTON — Government air traffic controllers and the Obama administration have reached a tentative contract agreement that both sides said they hope will end years of severely strained relations. Arbitrators recently decided a handful of remaining issues involving pay and vacation time, clearing the way for Thursday's contract announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

July 7th, 2009 Sarkozy: Plug air traffic gaps over AtlanticPARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy, denouncing "black holes" in air traffic controls, said Tuesday that officials are working out ways to avoid surveillance gaps over the Atlantic Ocean after the crash of Air France Flight 447. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet were heading to Dakar on Tuesday to meet with Senegalese officials and discuss how to make sure "there is no more black hole" in air traffic control, Sarkozy said.

July 3rd, 2009 Brazil: Senegal took control of doomed flightBRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil's air force has released a recording it says proves it handed over control of Air France Flight 447 to Senegalese authorities before it crashed. The audio has been posted on the air force Web site after a French official said air traffic controllers in Dakar, Senegal, never officially took control of the flight.

July 3rd, 2009 Dispute deepens on who controlled Flight 447RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's air force released a recording Friday it said proves it handed over control of Air France Flight 447 to Senegalese authorities before it crashed — but African officials denied that. The audio clip was posted on the air force's Web site after a French official investigating the June 1 crash said air traffic controllers in Dakar, Senegal, were never officially given control of the flight by Brazilian authorities.

July 2nd, 2009 Audit: FAA should address air controller fatigueCHICAGO — Air traffic controllers who direct planes in and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport have too little time off between shifts, a factor that contributes to fatigue and could be a safety threat, according to a federal audit released Thursday. The 21-page report by the U.S.

June 3rd, 2009 Organization of the Air France crash probeThe French accident investigation agency, known by its French acronym BEA, is in charge of the inquiry into what happened to Air France Flight 447, which crashed with 228 aboard en route from Rio to Paris. The man in charge of the investigation, Alain Bouillard, led the probe into the 2000 crash of the Concorde supersonic jet.

April 27th, 2009 CA air traffic facilities rely on traineesWASHINGTON — The nation's busiest air traffic control facility in Southern California relies heavily on inexperienced trainees, who are expected to make up more than 40 percent of controllers there later this year, according to a report released Monday. The Department of Transportation inspector general report expressed concern about air traffic controller staffing levels at the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility near San Diego, as well at the Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Facility near Sacramento.

February 9th, 2009 MUMBAI/NEW DELHI - Two air traffic controllers have been taken off duty following the incident Monday where an Air India aircraft escaped crashing into President Pratibha Patil's entourage of helicopters at the airport here. The move comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator, Tuesday began a probe into the incident at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

February 8th, 2009 RIO DE JANEIRO - Twenty-four people were killed when the aircraft in which they were travelling crashed into a river in Brazil's Amazon region, EFE reported Sunday. The plane, with 28 people onboard, was on its way from Coari town to Amazon's largest city of Manaus when it crashed into the Manacapuru River Saturday, the report said.