Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, in April of this year, two jetliners nearly collided over LaGuardia Airport in New York. Thousands of my constituents fly to and from LaGuardia each and every year. A subsequent investigation led the FAA to order a two-hour "refresher" training for their air traffic controllers, but I am concerned that this incident may only be the tip of the iceberg and may reflect similar problems at other airports around the nation. Over the last 4 years the FAA has delayed, reduced or eliminated planned air traffic controller proficiency and operational training at many airports, including New York, Miami, Washington DC, Atlanta and Kansas City. Although the Congress has in the past fully funded the FAA request for safety training, the agency has for various reasons not fulfilled their own training plans. This lack of funding has led to a high number of operational errors among air traffic controllers where that refresher training has not taken place.”