Top to Bottom

Falsification of government documents is generally a punishable offense. The table of penalties lists the following punishments for said infractions.

"Forging, falsifying, misstating or misrepresenting information on Government records, documents, claims, etc., for oneself or
another." On the first offense, the recommended penalty is 5-day suspension to removal. The second offense is punishable by Removal.

And yet, it goes on every day, from the top to bottom. Remember those Southwest Airlines and American Airlines maintenance debacles? Do you think that those are isolated incidents? All over the USA, maintenance is neglected because someone knows someone, and so they let it slide. But do you think that anyone is going to open their mouth and risk their job and all the retaliation that will come from it? They say whistle-blowers are protected, but are they? I guess I will find out soon enough.

So here is my two cents, and putting my job on the line (if they ever find me).

For years, the FAA has falsified its training data in their tracking program called TRAX. I discovered this after another controller told me about it.

He was handed his training record sheet, and told to sign it. Now, at the bottom, is a certification statement. It states roughly, that "I certify I received training on the dates and times listed above." Well, he took one look, and asked for some time to check it out. What he discovered, thanks to another little piece of FAA software, called ART, was that none of the dates and times matched the ACTUAL dates and times he had performed the training. In a couple of cases, there were items listed that he had NEVER EVEN BEEN BRIEFED ON! On a couple of items, he was not even at work on the days in question. He found days when there was no physical way he could have performed an hour's worth of training because staffing levels were so low, he had nothing else to do but work airplanes. Yet, everyone was signing off on these things like they were million-dollar royalty checks. So he started asking questions.

Of course, anyone who works for the FAA and asks questions about what is going on is trouble for this agency. He was told that the times were recommended times as per the national training office. It is kind of like billable time for doctors and lawyers. It is broken down into 15-minute increments at times. Well, if the national training office says that Joe Controller can complete the training in 30 minutes, then that is what is entered. Nevermind the fact that Joe took fifteen minutes to do it AND THAT IS THE ONLY AMOUNT OF TIME HE COULD GET TO DO IT BECAUSE THEY ARE SHORT-HANDED AS HELL! In addition, Joe was working a ten-hour day, and once you factor in his time on position and breaks, PLUS the thirty minutes that the national training office dictates SHALL be entered REGARDLESS of the ACTUAL time taken, Joe was working a ten-hour-fifteen-minute day in GROSS violation of Federal Law.

Now, for whatever reason, after this guy figured out it was all being falsified, he made some noise to a union guy. And even though we were locked in TENSE contract negotiations at the time, not a soul threw this little hand-grenade into anyone's lap. It would have been a great bargaining tool. Now, what we have is the perpetuation of the system of false entries in training records, because the controllers are handed a sheet of paper by their supervisors who tell them to sign it, and they do, continuing the chain of falsehoods for which this agency excels.

It is kind of like the sub-prime mortgage mess. Only, instead of saying, "You mean I have to pay it back?" They are saying, "You mean I'm actually supposed to know that?" And the reply is, "Yes, so it is your fault it went wrong. Go pee in the cup, please, because you must be drunk or high."

So top to bottom, most every controller, supervisor, manager, etc., is engaging in the falsification of government records. but the worst part is this: there are controllers who are NOT getting briefed or trained on something they need to know, but since they signed off on this pressed-and-bleached-woodpulp product, they will burn when they screw up BECAUSE THEY SIGNED the papers!

So when the door of the airplane is closed, and you turn off your cell phone, just remember that the guy controlling your plane might have missed something important.


Another less than gruntled (and FORMER) controller blog. I like the style.

http://exatc.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=32

As always, I will happily answer your questions to the best of my knowledge and abilities.

controllerx@gmail.com

Happy, scary flying!