FAA Employees Vital to Returning Service to LAX
- Details
- Published: May 01, 2014
The Los Angeles International Airport ground stop that caused hours of delay could have been far worse had Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) systems specialists not been on the scene, according to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), the union representing these technical employees.
“The quick response and attention to detail by FAA systems specialists prevented a bad situation from becoming a disaster,” said PASS National President Mike Perrone. “The employees were there to ensure a return to service as quickly as possible. Their knowledge of the systems and equipment was essential to an efficient return to service.”
The computer glitch that forced the ground stop resulted from the failure of the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) system at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center. Areas affected by the shutdown included southern California, western Arizona, southern Nevada and part of Utah. Systems specialists familiar with the computer and related systems inform PASS that problems with the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI), controlled by private contractor Harris, in Palm Springs contributed to the shutdown at the Los Angeles Center.
Although the ground stop inconvenienced hundreds of travelers, the impacts could have been greater had FAA systems specialists not been at the Center to address the issue immediately. There were two crews on duty at the time, which helped facilitate a much faster recovery. “Thankfully, the Center was fully staffed at the time of the crash,” said Perrone. “Unfortunately, in many areas throughout the country, understaffing is a severe problem. Had the computer crash occurred without proper staff in place, the delays would have been far worse.”
PASS commends these federal employees for their quick response in a difficult situation. “FAA employees at the Center and across the country are needed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to make sure when something like this happens, they are there to restore the system as fast as possible and mitigate the delays,” said Perrone. “This is another example of why the public is fortunate to have federal employees, who put safety above all else, responsive to these issues.”
For more information or questions, please contact Jessica Cigich at 202.293.7277 ext. 117.
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For 37 years, PASS has represented more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.