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Joshua Wilburn
Guest
By: MEGA
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sharply criticized his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, for lowering the requirements to be considered a โbest-qualifiedโ air traffic control candidate โ a decision he says contributed to high dropout rates at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy in Oklahoma City.
Sean Duffy
By: MEGA
Speaking on an episode of Pod Force One, Duffy accused Buttigieg of weakening standards that once helped identify the top-performing recruits. โThey lowered the standard from 85% to 80% to be best qualified โฆ to get these young people into the academy,โ Duffy said. โWell, what happened was, they had a substantial washout rate, 30%-plus, because they couldnโt do the work.โ Under Buttigieg, the FAA replaced its single โbest-qualifiedโ tier, which applied to those scoring above 85% on the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA), with a two-tier system. The categories labeled applicants as โwell-qualifiedโ if they scored between 80-100 and โqualifiedโ for scores of 70-79.9. Duffy argued that the shift not only increased dropout rates but also discouraged younger candidates who faced long delays before entering the academy. โAnd then it took so long. โฆ You take the test, you pass it, you got an 82%, it might take you two years to get your seat in the academy,โ he saif. โWell, if youโre 22 years old, youโre gonna go find a different job. Youโre not gonna stick around.โ
Air traffic skills assessment
By: Unsplash
Since taking over, Duffy said he restored the top tier to quickly identify and prioritize the highest scorers. The revised scale now designates โbest qualifiedโ for scores above 90%, โwell qualifiedโ for scores between 85-89%, and โqualifiedโ for scores between 70-84%. โWeโre getting kids, young people, into the academy much faster,โ he said. โSo, in two months after you take the entrance exam, weโre getting you into the academy. And what weโre doing is, if youโre at 98% on that test [or] 94 [%], you are going to take the top slots as slots become available. So weโre getting the best scores in the academy first. And what weโve done with that is weโve lowered the washout rate, which means we can get more young people into towers.โ
Buttigieg vs. Duffy
By: MEGA
Buttigieg, however, has pushed back against the criticism, insisting that his leadership did not lower the bar for certification. โTo be abundantly clear: we did not change the rigorous standard for becoming a certified air traffic controller,โ Buttigieg wrote on X. โThose claiming otherwise are mistaken or lying. We did increase funding [and] training, and grew the ATC workforce after years of declining numbers, including under Trump.โ Duffy acknowledged that while the ATSA exam remains the best available measure of potential, it is far from perfect. โItโs a tough job,โ he said. โAnd by the way, itโs really hard to figure out whoโs going to be good at it. You could get a baker and a candlestick maker that are great at it, and someone else with a math degree that just doesnโt figure it out.โ
Staffing shortages
By: MEGA
The debate over standards comes as the FAA faces longstanding staffing shortages. This issue gained urgency after 67 people died on January 29 in a midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport. Duffy has vowed to accelerate hiring and certification timelines, noting that some graduates could be fully certified in as little as one year in less busy airspaces. โItโs going to take us time to see the fruits of our hard labor right now, but weโre well on our way to filling the gaps in air traffic control,โ he said. The FAA has set a target of hiring 8,900 new controllers by 2028.
The post Duffy blames air traffic control issues on Buttigieg appeared first on Knewz.
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