Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishAir traffic controllers who sleep at their posts, defy their bosses, and ignore critical safety protocols can avoid punishment thanks to a mind-boggling ‘immunity’ scheme revealed today by DailyMail.com.The ATSAP – Air Traffic Safety Action Program – strikes an astonishing bargain with tower staffers: report your errors and close calls voluntarily and face ‘no punitive or disciplinary actions’.By logging incidents openly, the Federal Aviation Administration hoped it could spot systemic problems that might otherwise be swept under the rug and cause accidents.But insiders warn the Obama-era policy has devolved into a dangerous loophole that allows mistake-prone controllers to dodge accountability and put millions of passengers at risk.’It started with good intentions but it’s become the ultimate get out of jail free card,’ said a veteran flight controller working at one of our nation’s busiest airports.’If controllers screw up they go online, file an ATSAP report and walk away with zero consequences. Management can’t touch them so long as they fill the form in.’Prior to 2010, the FAA could decertify or even fire a controller for committing two serious errors in as many years.But ATSAP has made it progressively harder for managers to criticize, sanction, or order mandatory retraining for staffers earning comfortable $140,000 salaries, according to a senior FAA source. DailyMail.com has learned of the Obama-era policy that has devolved into a dangerous loophole that allows mistake-prone controllers to dodge accountability and put millions of passengers at risk The ATSAP – Air Traffic Safety Action Program allows tower staffers to report their errors and close calls voluntarily and face ‘no punitive or disciplinary actions”It’s shameful. There’s no accountability,’ the source warned, pinning the blame on Timothy Arel, current Chief Operating Officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization and a longtime advocate of ATSAP.DailyMail.com has learned of a controller at a busy radar facility in the western US who has kept his job despite filing an estimated 100 ATSAP reports.The mishaps include multiple ‘loss of separation’ events – when two planes get too close to one another – according to a vexed colleague.’It’s turning into a very lax culture,’ the co-worker revealed. ‘A lot of the newer trainees just don’t take the job seriously or appreciate how critically important it is.’Another controller based in Arizona earned the moniker ‘deal a day’ because of the sheer number of ‘deals’ – errors, in aviation lingo – he made.But his career didn’t suffer because, like his western counterpart, he filled out ATSAP reports within 24 hours of each mistake to benefit from blanket protection, according to our sources.’ATSAP allows you to voluntarily and confidentially report safety concerns so that they can be analyzed and promptly addressed,’ the program’s website promises.’If you file an accepted ATSAP report you will not be subject to decertification or disciplinary action.’ The ATSAP website even includes a diagram depicting the reporting process, which concludes with the Event Review Committee (ERC) determining what actions need to be taken to resolve the safety issue, and no consequences for the employee The FAA controversially replaced its peer-reviewed cognitive exam for aspiring air traffic controllers with a ‘biographical’ quiz to prioritize minority applicants during the Obama era (stock image) Incidents involving ‘gross negligence or illegal activity’ are supposed to be exempt from its guarantee of immunity.But sources tell us only a fraction of reports submitted via a confidential web portal are rejected by an Event Review Committee comprising two FAA officials and a representative from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).Documents shared with DailyMail.com reveal multiple examples where staff were able to sidestep punishment for napping at their desks, insulting colleagues or breaching rules.These include a tower controller at El Paso International Airport who was ‘unresponsive’ for 21 minutes in October 2023.He ignored 23 radio transmissions, some from an incoming air ambulance, before a colleague finally reached him on a landline.The assumption, according to our source, is that the controller was asleep. But after self-reporting via the ATSAP website it’s understood he faced no further consequences.Another controller awoke with a start when nudged by a co-worker at North Las Vegas Airport on September 18 last year, according to internal documents.’I verbally said ‘wake up’ to get his attention. At that time, he opened his eyes and he glanced around as if to see what was going on,’ the colleague observed. One source has pinned the blame on Timothy Arel, current Chief Operating Officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization and a longtime advocate of ATSAP Arel, a 33-year FAA veteran, has ultimate responsibility for the safety of the 50,000 airplanes that navigate the nearly-30 million square miles of US airspace every day ATSAP INCIDENTS ASLEEP AT THE CONTROLS A controller at El Paso International Airport was ‘unresponsive’ for 21 minutes – missing multiple radio messages from an approaching air ambulance. The tower staffer ignored 23 transmissions between 1:30am and 1:50am on the morning of October 17, 2023. When a colleague finally reached him via a landline he stammered and sounded as if he was ‘under water’, according to a transcript obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. Bosses suspect the controller fell asleep but sources say he faced no punitive action after submitting an ATSAP. TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORTHis supervisor warned him multiple times the two planes were too close for comfort as the 13-seater business jet lined up on final approach. But instead of commanding the Cessna Citation to ‘go around’, the controller shrugged off the warning and cleared it to land at Scottsdale Airport. It touched down 5,700 feet from a plane taking off from the same runway – less than the minimum safe distance of 6,000 feet. The controller remarked: ‘I will eat it.’ But when a manager tried to suspend him for 10 days over the November 23, 2022 incident, a union rep warned the punishment was a ‘willful and purposeful violation of the ATSAP program.’ WING AND A PRAYER A controller working at North Las Vegas Airport gambled with lives when he was caught snoozing on the job. The slumbering worker was rumbled when a co-worker returned from his break on September 18 last year. ‘I verbally said ‘wake up’ to get his attention. At that time, he opened his eyes and he glanced around as if to see what was going on,’ the colleague observed. ‘He then leaned forward, bowed his head and said “amen”.’ It was the second time that the same controller had been flagged for being ‘inattentive on duty’ – yet no further action was proposed. BULLYING BEHAVIOR He yelled at a trainee and labelled his bosses ‘f*****g clowns’ in a series of angry outbursts at an air traffic control center near Dallas Fort Worth Airport. Managers proposed a two-week suspension and warned the veteran air traffic control specialist about his ‘bullying-type behavior’. But they were ordered to rescind the punishment because the $175,000 per year staffer had filed an ATSAP report. An official from NATCA – the National Air Traffic Controllers Association – fumed in an email to senior FAA management: ‘Once again, your managers are attempting to use events reported and accepted into the ATSAP program as the basis for discipline.’ ‘He then leaned forward, bowed his head and said ‘amen’.’It was the second time in a month that the same controller had been flagged for being ‘inattentive on duty’, according to a leaked email chain.Noting the intervention of ATSAP, the discussion concluded: ‘Not planning any further action.’In November 2022, an operations supervisor at Scottsdale Airport alerted a controller that an incoming flight would have inadequate ‘runway separation’ from a departing plane.The controller shrugged off his demand for a ‘go around’, cleared the aircraft to land and told his stunned superior: ‘I will eat it.’Management tried to suspend him for 10 days but the punishment was rescinded because of an ATSAP report, according to our source.’Has this impacted aviation safety? Oh, hell yes,’ warned John Gilding, a retired controller and air traffic control supervisor.’I can’t think of another job where management is handcuffed from taking corrective action against a person who is borderline incompetent.’Imagine a hospital where a doctor has a nasty habit of sawing off the wrong leg. He fills in a report and he’s good to go because they’ve got this immunity program.’The next day he’s back in surgery. That’s how stupid this is.’DailyMail.com has previously reported on a series of controversial FAA policies dating back to Barack Obama’s first term as President that critics have linked to an erosion in aviation safety.The regulator came under the microscope after 67 people perished in January’s midair collision between an American Eagle jet and a military chopper at Reagan National airport, the first in a recent spate of deadly crashes.One such policy was the FAA’s 2013 decision to scrap its skills-based air traffic control entry exam in favor of a dumbed-down ‘DEI’ quiz asking about high school grades, sports and personality traits.The move was panned as a cynical effort to boost minority hiring while excluding elite, mostly white college grads, following years of pressure from the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees.ATSAP came about after similarly aggressive lobbying from NATCA, a powerful labor union representing an estimated 20,000 air traffic controllers, according to Gilding, a former lecturer at Arizona State University.The union’s persistent push to gain influence and shield its members from disciplinary measures paid off when Obama entered the White House.’The controllers know where their bread is buttered and that is with the Democratic Party,’ Gilding told DailyMail.com.’All these labor unions had to do was wait for the right political environment in Washington, D.C. to push their agenda.’Then the instructions came from the top down to basically give them what they were asking for.’Things could unravel in a hurry if President Donald Trump and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy take aim at their predecessors’ policies, Gilding added.But for now, ATSAP retains the iron-clad support of senior FAA figures, including President of Air Traffic Services, Rolando Caparas, who has chided managers for doubting the program.’I’ve recognized an obvious lack of knowledge on ATSAP and its respective processes,’ Caparas fumed in a July 2023 email exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com.’The expectation is that you will operate in a manner that shows you believe in the program, you support the program, and that you embrace the program.’ The Federal Aviation Administration’s controversial hiring practices and lax policies have come to light amid a recent string of plane collisions and accidents across the country; pictured above is the Delta aircraft that crashed at Toronto airport last month President Donald Trump sensationally blamed the January 29 Ronald Reagan National Airport crash on DEI Caparas’s zeal for ATSAP is matched only by Timothy Arel, a 33-year FAA veteran, according to multiple sources within the regulator.Arel has ultimate responsibility for the safety of the 50,000 airplanes that navigate the nearly-30 million square miles of US airspace every day, transporting an estimated 2.9 million passengers.’He cares about keeping his job and to do that means keeping the union happy,’ a senior official told DailyMail.com.’If Trump and Duffy are serious about safety the leadership has to change. You’ve got to cut the head off the snake.’A NATCA spokesman said the purpose of ATSAP was to promote a ‘culture of safety and continuous improvement in the air traffic control system.’‘ATSAP is a nonpunitive aviation safety reporting program that encourages controllers to report concerns without fear of retribution, but that does not mean that no actions can be taken,’ the spokesman insisted.‘ATSAP does not prevent the FAA from conducting performance discussions, skills enhancement training, or investigating controller actions that fall outside of ATSAP’s protections.’The spokesman listed incidents involving criminal activity, substance abuse, alcohol and gross negligence – defined as ‘knowingly introducing a substantial and unjustifiable risk’ – as examples of exempt activities.Neither the FAA, nor the Department of Transportation, provided a comment prior to publication.
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