After close calls, feds to study working air traffic controllers' conditions
The U.S. Transportation Department says it will formally investigate the working conditions of Chicago-area air traffic controllers amid the increasing frequency of controller errors.
The agency's Office of Inspector General announced the audit Monday in response to a request last month by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
The audit will involve controllers at O'Hare International Airport and air traffic control facilities in Elgin and Aurora, and will evaluate key factors that could contribute to controller fatigue, the inspector general's office said.
The National Transportation Safety Board has cited fatigue as a potential contributing factor to the recent errors.
The agency also says it will examine what measures the Federal Aviation Administration has taken to mitigate potential controller fatigue at those locations.
Durbin's request last month came a week after the General Accountability Office released a study showing that O'Hare had the second-highest number of near-collisions on runways between 2001 and 2006. A spokeswoman for the senator did not immediately return a phone call following the audit announcement.
Controllers in the Chicago region and elsewhere say they are weary and more error-prone after having to work repeated six-day weeks due to staffing level changes. The Federal Aviation Administration has said that staffing levels are adequate despite controllers' complaints.
The air traffic controllers' union at O'Hare did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the audit decision.