Changes to OSH Arrivals procedures?

[flibmeister]

This occurred when NATCA forced a switch from OSH being an invitation-only job for controllers and they brought back the best controllers every year to being a spoils program doled out by the union without regard as to who had the best experience for the job.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!! (Not surprised it's you, Ron <g>). Back in those days, I was the one that taught the FISK class on controller training day-- and the way you described it being worked back then, is exactly the way I taught it.

Then, NATCA got involved, declaring that it "wasn't fair" that the same people were always selected for the prestigious event, and (citing an applicable provision of their contract to which the FAA had previously agreed). imposed a five-year term limit for OSH controllers, as well as a "selection by facility seniority" clause. Although I had the seniority at ORD to be selected, since I'd already worked nine years as an OSH controller, I was done. Even at nine years, I was somewhat low on the OSH seniority pole-- I had worked with (and learned an immense amount from) guys that had worked OSH for DECADES, including one fellow with 25+ years. We were ALL, every controller who had repeatedly demonstrated the special skills needed to effectively work OSH traffic, prohibited from returning-- because we were "too experienced".

The only true OSH controller experience left back then was in the supervisor workforce, which continued with experienced people for many years, since they weren't impacted by the new union policy. They did what they could with the controllers they were given, but what you're seeing now is largely the result of those supervisors retiring-- so nearly everyone working the event these days is "new school". The "old school" is effectively gone.

I understand that there have been some changes to the union policy since it's implementation, but not nearly enough-- most of the problems experienced this year can be directly linked to lack of controller skills, and that lack of controller skills can be directly linked to that sudden slashing of the experience level, so many years ago (1992, IIRC).

In ATC, when the "system" is overwhelmed, the only way to (at least, attempt) to maintain safety is to slow down the problem to match the skill level of the available controller workforce. We saw it happen nationwide in the wake of the '81 strike; those of us that were in ATC prior to that time know that the system has never, truly, recovered. What you saw at OSH this year is very similar, just in a smaller venue. Yes, the system "works"-- but not nearly as well as it did (or it could)

Nonetheless, we are where we are. The one thing in which the FAA and EAA are solidly in agreement is that this year's fiasco cannot be repeated. It's too late to fix it with personnel improvements, so procedural changes are coming. They won't return us to the glory days, and they won't make everybody happy, but we can only play the hand we're dealt. I won't be commenting more here, due my involvement in some far corners of the ongoing discussions. But, when I can, I'll have more on the topic, in a future blog on Avweb.

Denny Cunningham