Close call between a B-52 bomber and a commercial jet over North Dakota puts focus on small airports

The evasive action an airline pilot took to avoid a B- bomber in the skies over North Dakota has focused attention on the way small airport towers are often run by private companies without their own radars Neither one of the pilots of the bomber or of the Delta Air Lines jet seemed to know the other plane was there before the airline pilot saw the B- looming in its path The affair last Friday is still under probe But the Air Force has disclosed the controller at the Minot airport didn t let the bomber s crew know about the airliner and the SkyWest pilot flying the Delta flight reported passengers he was surprised Passengers were alarmed by the sharp turn and dive the pilot of Delta Flight executed to avoid the bomber that had just completed a flyover at the State Fair in Minot and a video shot aboard the plane captured the pilot s explanation afterward Sorry about the aggressive maneuver It caught me by surprise the pilot can be heard saying on the video posted on social media This is not normal at all I don t know why they didn t give us a heads-up This close call is just the latest situation to raise questions about aviation safety in the wake of January s midair collision over Washington D C that killed people Here s more about the way small airports like Minot operate Plenty of small airports lack radar It is common for small airports across the country to operate without their own radar systems because it would be too costly to install them at every airport But there generally aren t plenty of problems with that The controllers at small airports are able to guide planes in to land visually with binoculars and radios as long as the weather is clear Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti who used to investigate crashes for both the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration declared if the weather is bad a regional FAA radar facility may be able to help but ultimately planes completely won t land if the weather is too bad Sometimes small airport towers do have a video feed that gives controllers a view of a radar screen at an FAA facility miles away Because the radar is so far away the display may not be as detailed about planes flying close to the ground but the system does give controllers more information It s not clear if the Minot tower has one of those systems because the company that runs it Midwest Air Traffic Control Inc hasn t responded to questions since the occurrence The overlapping architecture of FAA radar facilities across the country also keeps track of planes flying between airports and an approach control radar center in Minneapolis helps direct planes in and out of Minot before controllers at the airport take over once they see the planes The Minot airport typically handles between and flights a day That s how it works at a large number of small airports Majority times it works just fine Guzzetti mentioned Selected of these small airports could gain radar as part of a massive overhaul of the air traffic control system but that will depend on how busy the airports are and how much funding Congress ultimately approves for the multibillion-dollar project So far billion was included in President Trump s overall budget bill Private companies operate the towers The FAA says that airport towers nationwide are operated by companies as part of the contract system The Transportation Department s Inspector General has mentioned the contract towers that handle more than one quarter of the nation s flights are more cost effective than comparable FAA towers and have similar safety records In specific cases local governments help pay the costs of contract towers The initiative began in at five less busy towers that had closed because of the air traffic controller strike the previous year and it has expanded significantly over the years because it has been so accomplished Most of of the airports with contract towers would have no controllers without the effort Common sense would tell you that having an extra set of eyes controlling the local traffic especially in good weather would be safer than having no controller and just having the pilots talking to each other Guzzetti explained That s exactly how it works at the vast majority of the masses airports nationwide that are smaller than Minot Pilots at those uncontrolled airports use their radios to coordinate takeoffs and landings with other planes in the area Only about of all airports have towers The FAA says it works closely with the companies that run contract towers to ensure their controllers are properly trained It is easier to get certified at a contract tower because they handle fewer flights than FAA towers even though controllers are held to the same standard More controllers are needed nationwide The ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers has persisted for years partly because it takes so long to train and certify new controllers The FAA has explained that it is roughly short of the number of controllers it should have at its facilities The staffing situation at private towers is similar because they hire from the same pool of candidates All the roughly controllers at these smaller airports have to meet the same qualification and training requirements But contract towers also have the ability to hire controllers who retired from an FAA tower before the mandatory retirement age of The contract towers don t have a retirement age The FAA has been working for a long time to hire more air traffic controllers to replace retiring workers and handle growing air traffic But it can be hard to find good candidates for the stressful positions who can complete the rigorous training Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has released several efforts to hire and retain more controllers The FAA is trying to shorten the time it takes between when someone applies to the air traffic controller academy in Oklahoma City and when they start training and the agency is also trying to improve the graduation rate there by offering more assistance to the students The candidates with the highest scores on the entrance exam are also getting top priority The FAA is also offering bonuses to experienced controllers if they opt not to retire early and continue working to help ease the shortage Source