Is O'Hare probe tip of iceberg or no big deal?

Mixed reactions emerged Thursday as a federal audit into whether air traffic controllers' supervisors fudged reports of operational errors hit home at O'Hare International Airport.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Inspector General in November began investigating Federal Aviation Administration radar facilities that direct airplanes into terminals. The probe resulted from complaints that mistakes at the Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport were blamed on pilots.

After scrutinizing records at the Elgin air traffic control facility, which guides planes approaching and leaving O'Hare, inspectors found three questionable incidents from the last 18 months. The issue centers on whether errors in the distances supposed to be maintained between airplanes were properly reported or attributed to pilots, authorities said.

In general, airplanes are supposed to be either 1,000 feet vertically or 3 miles horizontally apart to avoid interference.

It will take some months to conclude the probe.

FAA officials said the number of problems that surfaced were minimal and they expected questions would be cleared up quickly.

Leaders with air traffic controllers' unions, however, said there is tremendous pressure from FAA brass to move flights quickly in and out of O'Hare.

"By the time this is over, they'll find dozens if not hundreds of examples of not using standard separation," said Bryan Zilonis, vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Great Lakes Region branch.

"It's very commonplace. We all know it happens."

The inspector general's probe was a welcome move, Zilonis said, saying it would clear the air and shed light on whether a dangerous safety issue existed or not.

American Airlines pilot Dennis Tajer, a 16-year veteran, flies in and out of O'Hare all the time.

"I've never heard anyone talk about a rash of separation issues," he said.

Instead, Tajer, who is a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, American's union, said controllers at O'Hare have an impeccable safety record.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who called for an investigation into air traffic controller fatigue that the inspector general's office also is conducting, said the latest news showed the need to "continue asking tough questions and do everything in our power to make air traffic safer."