In air control towers, enough workers?

Last month's crash of a Comair jet is reviving a controversy over whether the Federal Aviation Administration's efforts to increase efficiencies and save money are jeopardizing air safety.

At issue is the role of air traffic controllers, the safety cops who guide planes across airport tarmacs as well as the nation's 17 million square miles of airspace.

When the Comair jet crashed on takeoff in Lexington, Ky., one air traffic controller was on duty, rather than the two required by the FAA. Critics see evidence that the air traffic control system is dangerously understaffed. The FAA and its supporters deny that, saying the problem is work-schedule inflexibility imposed by the controllers' union and Congress.

The dispute raises a deeper safety question, say aviation analysts: Should the FAA, which regulates airline safety, continue to be allowed to regulate itself?

"It's not a good idea, no matter how honorable or well-intentioned" people may be, says Clint Oster, an aviation expert at Indiana University at Bloomington. "When you regulate yourself, it's a whole lot easier to grant yourself a few small exceptions. As a friend of mine said, 'If Delta had decided to fly a few of their planes with one pilot instead of two, you think they'd be flying the next day?' "

Last week, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation started an investigation to determine whether the FAA's Air Traffic Control facilities are properly staffed. The dispute will continue until that independent review is complete.

There is one thing no one argues about.

The lone air traffic controller in the tower that morning cleared Comair Flight 5191 for takeoff on the proper runway, then turned to do some paperwork, according to people familiar with the investigation.

It's impossible to know whether a second controller, if one had been on duty, would have noticed the small jet racing down the wrong runway and prevented the crash that killed 49 of the 50 people on board.

Union representatives, for their part, say they've been warning Congress for the past five years about the seriousness of a staffing shortage. There are currently about 14,300 air traffic controllers, some 1,000 fewer than in 2000, when air traffic reached a peak.

After the 2000 recession and the 9/11 attacks, air traffic dropped sharply. As a result, the FAA says, it didn't need as many controllers because the number of aircraft each controller handled had decreased. Today, air traffic has recovered to within half a percentage point of 2000 levels. Moreover, the increase in the number of corporate jets and small commercial jets has significantly boosted traffic at some of the busiest airports.

As a result, the union says, air traffic control towers routinely operate with fewer staff than they did five years ago, eroding safety.

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