FAA managers pan effort to put controllers in charge

Critics of the Federal Aviation Administration's effort to expand its controller-in-charge (CIC) program next year say the initiative places air traffic operations at risk. CICs are given temporary authority to run air traffic control operations when supervisors are absent. Under the expansion program, more air traffic controllers would be certified as CICs and the number of supervisors would be cut. According to the Federal Managers Association (FMA), using CICs to fill in is fine, but using them to replace managers is a mistake. "What they are trying to do now is replace highly trained and experienced management personnel with these controllers during the heaviest periods for long periods of time," said Steve Baker, an officer for the FMA's FAA Conference. "They are being asked to rotate an oversight management position amongst themselves. One minute you're a controller and the next minute you're in charge of everybody." Bill Peacock, FAA's program director for air traffic tactical operations, said that after Jan. 1, no employee would be a CIC unless he or she has been through a training and certification process. "We've used CICs for over 30 years, so it's not a new program. We've simply taken the program and enhanced it," Peacock said. "What we've done is provide more training than we've ever given before for CICs." The CIC training, Peacock said, is laid out in FAA handbooks, and includes a syllabus that is "formal, documented and laid out in a chronological kind of order." "Inconsistent" and "woefully inadequate" is how the Federal Manager's Association describes the training. FMA is concerned about the lack of established quality assurance guidelines to gauge whether the CIC expansion will work, but Peacock said the lack of data showing the expanded program's success doesn't mean that expanding the program won't work. "There may not be any data yet that shows that it works, but there certainly is no data that shows that it doesn't," Peacock said. FMA leaders cite an Oct. 13 memorandum from Department of Transportation Inspector General Kenneth Mead to FAA chief Jane Garvey, to buttress their criticism. "The determination that all air traffic controllers in a given facility will be designated CICs under the expanded program is not reasonable," Mead wrote in the letter. "Without going through the required CIC selection process to ensure that only the most qualified controllers are selected, safety of air traffic operations may be impacted." Having supervisors choose CICs from among the most qualified air traffic controllers is a better plan, FMA's Baker said, and it doesn't force employees to take on responsibilities they may not want to carry. "We've had several meetings with the IG," Peacock said, indicating that the agency was addressing the concerns laid out in the letter. The real issue for critics is likely the link between the CIC program and the reduction in supervisors, said Peacock. "This is not a job-saving issue," the FMA said. "This is removing operation oversight within the agency."