ATC
DOT Report: Controller Training Needs Another Look

Although the FAA has begun hiring and training more than 12,000 air traffic controllers to offset the large numbers of impending retirees, a disturbing number of new hires fail to complete their training, according to a January report from the DOT Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

The three-year training process starts with a two-month introduction to the basic concepts of ATC at the FAA Academy, Oklahoma City, followed by extensive facility training at the new hire’s assigned location. Most of the latter is on-the-job training, supplemented by classroom work under qualified controller instructors. Those trainees who are unable to pass the progressive test levels at the facility are either transferred within the facility to other areas of operations, transferred to a less demanding facility to begin the process again, or terminated.

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