Government Accountability Office: New FAA error-reporting system may actually increase risks

By Mike M. Ahlers, CNN

updated 9:52 PM EST, Thu October 13, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• FAA's non-punitive reporting system took effect in July 2009
• Since then, controller errors leading to near collisions have risen dramatically
• GAO says system may reduce personal accountability, "risk-averse" behavior
• FAA, controllers union issue statements supporting the reporting system

Washington (CNN) -- A steep increase in errors by air traffic controllers in the past three years could simply be the result of a new non-punitive reporting system. But it's also possible the new reporting system could be inadvertently hiding the full extent of the problem, or even contributing to it, congressional overseers said Thursday.

At issue are Federal Aviation Administration statistics which appear to show a startling jump in safety incidents, including near collisions in the air and on the ground. Notably, the GAO says, air traffic controller errors have increased 53% in the "tower" area, generally within five miles of the airport, and 166% in the "approach" area, within 40 miles of the airport, between 2008 and 2011.

The FAA says the jump coincides with a new non-punitive reporting system which took effect in July 2009, which encourages air traffic controllers to voluntarily report errors so that dangerous patterns can be identified and the system can be made safer.

But a report by the Government Accountability Office -- the watchdog arm of Congress -- questions that assertion.

The GAO says the new system, which protects controllers who report efforts from legal or disciplinary action, also may reduce personal accountability and "may make some air traffic controllers less risk averse in certain situations."

In addition, because controllers now can satisfy reporting requirements by filing a report through the non-punitive system instead of directly to their FAA supervisions, "it is possible that some incidents... are now being reported only to the (non-punitive program), thus decreasing the number of incidents reported to FAA," the report says.

The GAO says that 65 percent of the errors reported through the non-punitive program were unknown to the FAA, although FAA officials said that a large proportion of unknown incidents are likely to be minor.

The study comes at a time of remarkable aviation safety in the United States, at least in the area of commercial aviation. There have been no fatal accidents involving U.S. carriers in 2011. The last major crash -- the Feb. 12, 2009, crash of Colgan Air flight 3407 near Buffalo, NY -- was blamed on pilot error, not on air traffic controllers.

Rep. John Mica, R-Florida, one of six Congress members who requested the GAO study, said the increase in air traffic controller errors raises significant concerns.

"Airlines and FAA controllers alike share credit for the safety record we enjoy today," Mica said. "However, the recent uptick in near miss events is a precursor to tragedy."

The FAA and the controllers' union on Thursday both issued statements endorsing the non-punitive reporting system.

The system "has produced a wealth of information to help the FAA identify potential risks in the system and make corrections," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. "More information will help us find problems and take action before an accident happens."

"The most important piece of the GAO study is this: the 'FAA has taken several steps to further improve safety at and around airports," said Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

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