U.S. must address rise in aviation close calls - officials

I’d like to know if there are really more “close calls”, statistically speaking, or has the public’s knowledge and monitoring of the systems increased due to readily available information from flight aware, Flightradar24, liveatc, ect…

And let's finalize the argument about whether it's a “near miss” or a “near hit!”

Thanks, Captain Obvious….

Those of us who have had courses in public administration, see a pattern. Let me explain. First & foremost, those who lead, should pick the most competent, most informed, most technically sophisticated to run an agency, an administration, etc. That's what we were taught. We were not trained as to the best and most efficient way to destroy an agency, an administraiton, etc....but it follows logically, if that is the goal, then you develop a pattern of picking the most incompetent. Anyone want to take a wild guess as to how many recent appointees in fields related to aviation safety, have a $%%*&# CLUE about aviation?

Not just the US. This is a problem that is occurring in several countries and we need to protect passengers regardless of which country they are travelling in.

Dr. Sidney Dekker has ome very interesting observations about human error and safety on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw3SwEXc3PU) which are definitely worth watching.

All those inventions like RWSL, etc., will never be able to outwit the incompetence or "lackadasicalness" of a human being.

Do we go by the mind or do we go by the feelings?
Skies over the United States are the busiest in the world and sorting out take offs and landing is rather complicated at times .
It’s not a predictive measure that will come from a magic lamp or a fortune teller.
Let’s not vilify pilots or jump to conclusions.
No pilots have a desire or willingness to experience or be in those situations.
How can one predict the unpredictable?
What we can do Mr. Secretary is to reach out to pilots and ATC personnels and/ or leaders to see How we can take precautions , preventive measure and case studies to learn how such “ close calls can be prevented “ one should brainstorm, new and fresh ideas by coordinating case studies between the ATC , pilots and other experts in the airline industry.
It’s not luck . Each day(s) that has gone without a “ disaster “is a credit and an honor to our men and women in the cockpit.

Never ceases to amaze me how trollers will take any and every opportunity to state their misunderstanding of how our economy works in the 21St century and which politicians are accountable for the current situation. For example, it was just a few years ago that the Trump administration caved in to the railroad corporations by scrapping numerous safety regulations, slow playing oversight appointments and replacement of retirees…this stuff goes on and on throughout our entire K Street dominated Congress. At the state and local levels we get the same clash between the few gagging down most of our country’s wealth and the many being left behind by silly minimum wage standards, ignoring our polluted air and water, or lax building codes in Turkey (I mean Miami), It’s not about welfare for the poor anymore, it’s all about wealthfare for the rich. E.g., why are we subsidizing corporate and personal jets that are the most polluting form of travel per passenger mile? Answer as usual is that wealth doesn’t care and the Maga base doesn’t (want to?) know.

The Government policy of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has brought this situation to the forefront. The Government has taken these policies way too far putting folks who may not be the most qualified in positions of great talent and skill.

Buttigieg, an appointee with minimal technical skills, selected as a payoff to special interest groups wielding influence in the 2024 election, is the poster child for "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" which has replaced "The Best and the Brightest" as the criterion in the country today.

Buttgeg didn't give a rat's *** about horrible train derailment in Ohio, but all of a sudden he's concerned about air traffic? #hypocrite

The current Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, is obviously not doing his job. This was not an issue with the last administration.

Like the DOT, FAA, or NTSB has ever been the solution to any problem. Does anybody really expect the bureaucrats to have answers? Especially when they are placed based more on their woke beliefs than experience and knowledge.

Huh? The FAA hasn't identified a trend? Really? Hint: Think SVB

With all the technology and charts and improvements. At this point I'd say it's safe to say the process has become too convoluted for man. People have a propensity for complacency and human factors getting in the way of successful outcome of a flight.

The solution is to simplify the processes with short and simple taxi instructions, having no runway crossings (AA/JFK) and reteaching compliance with the most basic rules (WN/AUS).

The ATC process relies too heavily on the goodwill of a controller. We might could use more AI to handle air traffic since computers can calculate more and more quickly than humans, and be programmed specifically with failsafe modes to prevent certain outcomes.

It'd make more sense to see AI controlling traffic before seeing AI handle the cockpit.