✈️Air traffic control: Rising uncertainty in the system that keeps us al oft

Earlier this week, a US federal judge rejected a plea by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to stop the Trump administration from forcing its members to work without pay during the government shutdown. Such a move would create [“chaos and confusion”,]( the judge ruled. But chaos and confusion is already spreading, which is alarming in an industry where clear thinking is literally a job requirement. One aviation-psychology expert [warned the Washington Post]( that the stress of weeks without pay makes accidents “almost inevitable.” Long planned and very expensive projects to modernize communications [have been delayed](. And if [1,900 retirement-eligible controllers]( decide all the drama isn’t worth it, a shortage could mean canceled flights, or worse. (The current US situation is extreme, but air traffic control woes are not isolated: delays across the European Union [doubled last year]( caused largely by staffing shortages and strikes.) Air traffic control has long seemed to teeter on the brink of chaos, with controllers suffering under dated technology as improvements, when they come, take decades. And though their job is high-stress and essential, controllers have little recourse: a [1981 strike was calamitous]( for the 11,000 workers that lost their jobs, and for [unions more broadly](. Let’s scan the horizon for a closer look at the hidden heroes who make air travel possible. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Obsession] Air traffic control January 17, 2019 Up in the air --------------------------------------------------------------- Earlier this week, a US federal judge rejected a plea by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to stop the Trump administration from forcing its members to work without pay during the government shutdown. Such a move would create [“chaos and confusion”,]( the judge ruled. But chaos and confusion is already spreading, which is alarming in an industry where clear thinking is literally a job requirement. One aviation-psychology expert [warned the Washington Post]( that the stress of weeks without pay makes accidents “almost inevitable.” Long planned and very expensive projects to modernize communications [have been delayed](. And if [1,900 retirement-eligible controllers]( decide all the drama isn’t worth it, a shortage could mean canceled flights, or worse. (The current US situation is extreme, but air traffic control woes are not isolated: delays across the European Union [doubled last year]( caused largely by staffing shortages and strikes.) Air traffic control has long seemed to teeter on the brink of chaos, with controllers suffering under dated technology as improvements, when they come, take decades. And though their job is high-stress and essential, controllers have little recourse: a [1981 strike was calamitous]( for the 11,000 workers that lost their jobs, and for [unions more broadly](. Let’s scan the horizon for a closer look at the hidden heroes who make air travel possible. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Have you tried the Quartz app yet? --------------------------------------------------------------- 👉Keep up with news for you, curated by Quartz editors 👉Personalize your feed with the topics you love 👉Engage with an informed community of leaders, subject-matter experts, and curious minds 👉Available for iOS and Android [Try the Quartz app]( Reuters/Kevin Lamarque By the numbers [5 to 10]( [nautical miles]( (9 to 18 km): Distance apart air traffic controllers are responsible for keeping aircraft, depending on airport regulations [$15–$16 billion:]( Typical amount of the FAA’s annual budget [9,728:]( Average number of planes in the sky in 2017 [350:]( Air traffic control locations around the country [31:]( age at which new controllers can be hired, according to FAA regulations [56:]( Maximum age at which they must retire [30:]( Planes per minute US air traffic control landed over the 2.5 hours following the September 11 hijackings Sponsored by DBS Bank The future of banking is here. --------------------------------------------------------------- Recognized recently as Best Bank in the World, DBS has continuously redefined banking by introducing revolutionary products for 50 years.[Explore how DBS is transforming banking.]( Giphy Quotable “Think of each plane as an ‘idea’ that pops into your head…. Let’s say Teddy Pendergrass might be one …. Or funnel cake; aluminum siding; potholes; the Dagobah system…. Somehow you have to keep them all located in your mind while you’re handing some off, exchanging their information with the other controllers. All your delicate ideas have to remain perfectly clear and distinct in your mind at all times.” —Air traffic controller Gregory Pardlo to his son, who wrote [for the New Yorker]( how the 1981 air traffic control strike shaped his life. Explain it like I’m 5! How many controllers does it take to fly a plane? --------------------------------------------------------------- Every flight you take is handled[by dozens of controllers]( with specific duties. ✈️ A ground controller monitors taxiing aircraft and other ground movements, communicating with pilots by radio. ✈️ A local controller maintains safe distances as planes take off and land, monitoring flights five miles out with binoculars and radar. ✈️ Next a departure controller in the area’s Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which covers a region of about 50 miles in diameter, instructs the pilot through the ascent. ✈️ From the TRACON airspace the plane is passed off to the Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). In the “en route” phase, planes are passed off between the US’s 21 zones. Here the primary controller is the radar controller, monitoring separation between aircraft and weather. About 150 miles out from the destination, the controller merges aircraft heading for an airport into single file. ✈️Then the plane is passed to the TRACON facility for approach. An approach controller makes final adjustments to prepare to land before handing the plane over … ✈️To the local controller … ✈️And finally back to the ground controller. Origin story How the post office invented air travel --------------------------------------------------------------- Airmail service was established in 1920, years before commercial travel. Early pilots used visual navigation, meaning they were limited to daylight hours. In 1921, the USPS tried lighting a route with bonfires; despite the loss of one pilot, the test demonstrated the efficiency of night flying. Soon beacons replaced the bonfires, and in 1922, it added [“airmail radio stations,”]( using military tracking techniques to monitor its planes. Flights and facilities were well-established by 1925 and the private US airline industry started to take off. The earliest air traffic control centers, created in the 1930s, relied on maps, blackboards, and mental calculations. Controllers moved boat-shaped weights [known as “shrimp boats”]( across maps, and relayed instructions and weather updates to pilots by calling or radioing airline dispatchers. In the 1960s, the FAA started requiring planes to carry transponders which sent a radar “squawk” identifying the aircraft. It wasn’t until 1975 that the “shrimp boat” system was replaced by the FAA’s first computerized system. For the first time, flight plan data could be merged with radar and transponder information, producing screen readings on the plane’s position, speed, and altitude. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Air traffic control? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – Reuters/Edgar Su Pop quiz Where’s the tallest air traffic control tower in the world? Kuala Lumpur International AirportO’Hare, ChicagoDubai International AirportHeathrow, London Correct. Tower West topped out at 133.8 m (439 ft) in 2013. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Brief history [1920:]( London’s Croydon Airport is the first in the world to introduce air traffic control. [1927:]( The first commercial passenger plane, the “Tin Goose,” is produced by Ford Motor Company; Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight attracts attention—and investment in aviation. [1929:]( Lindbergh’s home field hires America’s first air-traffic controller, who has one flag for “go” and one for “hold.” [1930:]( The first airport traffic control tower opens in Cleveland, Ohio. [1935:]( The first air route traffic control center, directing aircraft between takeoff and landing, opens in Newark, NJ in Building 51, [the first modern airport terminal](. [1938:]( Congress consolidates federal regulation of aviation into a single agency that unites airport towers and air route traffic control centers. [1956:]( Two planes collide over the Grand Canyon, killing 128. Congress appropriates $250 million for an upgrade of the system, including radar surveillance advancements and prompting the establishment of the FAA. [1978:]( The Airline Deregulation Act is passed; with lower fares and greater efficiency, traffic increases rapidly. [1981:]( US air traffic controllers strike, frustrated by outdated equipment and forced overtime. Three days in, president Ronald Reagan fires 11,000 of them, [banning them from]( federal employment for life (this was lifted in 1993). Giphy Million-dollar question Why is it so difficult to modernize ATC technology? --------------------------------------------------------------- Since the ’80s, air traffic control centers have struggled with antiquated equipment. In 1993, many controllers were still using vacuum tube displays. In the midst of computer and equipment failures in the 1990s that caused $3.5 billion worth of delays, Congress allowed the FAA to take a streamlined approach to tech upgrades. But they still take years. From the 1970s until 2015, the FAA’s entire air traffic control infrastructure relied on a clunky computer system called HOST. The system was safe but wildly inefficient‚ handling only a limited amount of traffic and allowing controllers to only see within their own segment of airspace. “Every day, thousands of travelers switch their GPS-enabled smartphones to airplane mode while their flights are guided by technology that predates the Speak & Spell,” [Sara Breselor wrote at Wired]( in 2015. HOST was finally replaced—five years past deadline, after more than a decade of development, and $500 million over budget. It laid the groundwork for a multi-year upgrade to the FAA’s NextGen system, which would replace radio messaging with digital messaging. But uptake is slow: smaller carriers have been [loath to spend]( on the transition and bureaucratic hurdles mean each step takes years. The US isn’t alone. The European Commission’s 15-year-old Single European Sky project is [behind on its timeline and targets]( air traffic controller [labor actions are on the rise]( and a Brexit—if it ever happens—could [complicate things further](. bright ideas Can’t we just track planes with satellites? --------------------------------------------------------------- We’re getting there. In 2010, the FAA mandated that all US aircraft use a system called “Automatic Dependent Surveillance—Broadcast” (ADS-B). It requires aircraft to broadcast their GPS-based location each second by 2020. That data is collected by a network of ground stations across the country, but these receivers need to be within about 172 miles (277 km) of the aircraft. Over international waters, air traffic controllers have [no real-time knowledge]( of where planes are—they rely on flight plans, radio contact, and a system called ACARS that provides what is effectively text-message communication. Recently Aireon, which is owned by the satellite company Iridium and a group of public-private national air traffic control authorities, has taken this problem on by launching sensors on 75 satellites in the past two years, processing more than 13 billion ADS-B messages each month. If a forthcoming round of testing goes well, the company will be certified for operations over land and water, and recognized by the European Aviation Safety Agency as an official air traffic control surveillance provider. Carolyn J. Russo / Smithsonian take me down this 🐰 hole Strangely beautiful --------------------------------------------------------------- The book [Art of the Airport Tower]( by Smithsonian photographer [Carolyn Russo]( captures the details of the [world’s most spectacular]( air traffic control towers. This one weird trick! What ATC can teach us about corporate culture --------------------------------------------------------------- Air traffic controller training is intense, involving simulations in which operators are taught to stay calm and decisive, have “clarity of thought,” and [assimilate information rapidly](. But a crucial factor is what the European industry calls “just culture.” The system, similarly practiced in US air traffic control but not under the same name, involves responding to errors with training and support rather than punishment or shame. “If the controller makes an honest mistake and owns up to it, then that’s absolutely fine,” [says Neil May]( head of Human Factors at NATS, the public-private partnership company that provides air traffic control services for most UK airports. “They will get training, they will get help to overcome the psychological aspects of having an incident.” Other professions call this “psychological safety,” which counters the tendency towards “impression management”: not asking questions, and not admitting to slip-ups. Companies like Google are [studying ways to create psychological safety]( within teams. Giphy poll Should air traffic controllers be allowed to strike? [Click here to vote]( YesNo In yesterday’s poll about [day-glo fashion](