ATC Training Increasing?

[danhagan]

Never had it before, but multiple issues on one flight to Austin recently.

On two landings (Class C and a Class D) controllers were already giving me an 'Exit taxiway Mike or whichever as the main(s) were barely making contact and the nose is nowhere near ready to come down ... also the taxiway was nearly abeam me each time they did that Heavy crosswinds on both so just gave them a fast "unable" on each as I was busy getting the plane settled down.

Got denied flight following from ABQ Center which was a FIRST in 14 years of flying. Not heavy traffic so not sure why. There was a broken cloud layer with bases at 2500 and mist, but nothing too serious. Had to wait until near San Angelo and got it there ...

 

[Caramon13]

Come fly down here at Sarasota airport, they will straight up try to kill you if you aren't paying attention. They have a lot of new people in training.

 

[keen9]

Heh, that is a frequent occurrence for me on landings. I've trained myself to not answer, then call "say again" when I'm done landing even if I know what they said since I should be ignoring it. Train me not to listen, and the controller might learn to wait when it happens enough. I assume they are just used to jets with two guys up front.

 

[Velocity173]

Well, I don’t know about increased training but my brother just retired from ATC last week. A big part of why he retired was the newer controllers they’ve been getting are increasingly bad. Lazy, don’t study, multiple errors, etc. Didn’t even wait til mandatory (56) age. Called it quits at 50.

 

[danhagan]

You guys' responses make me nervous

 

[Velocity173]

You guys' responses make me nervous

Friend of mine who works QA in the FAA - “The new ones suck!!! There is really no accountability for poor performance. I see it everyday...”

Millennials I tell ya!

 

[Kenny Phillips]

I hope that every single time you guys get a bad instruction, you note the time and the authority (tower, ground, departure, etc.)
If there are no complaints, the idiot trainers (and you can feel free to read that either way!) may think everything is OK.

 

[Bell206]

The ATC hiring minimums were changed in 2013 that placed "diversity" above skill. A lawsuit was filed after thousands of ATC trainees were "purged" from the system. Can't wait till that applies to neurosurgeons as well......

"Case Summary
The ....... dropped a skill-based system for selecting and hiring air traffic controllers (ATCs), and replaced it with a new system designed to favor applicants on the basis of their race. ..... The FAA purged its system of thousands of previously-qualified, ready-to-hire applicants simply because they did not fit the right biographical profile. The government endangered public safety and owes restitution for this grave injustice."

https://mslegal.org/cases/brigida-v-u-s-department-of-transportation/
https://mslegal.org/press-releases/2500-aspiring-air-traffic-controllers-who-were-harmed-by-the-faas-racially-discriminatory-hiring-policies-/

 

[Kenny Phillips]

The ATC hiring minimums were changed in 2013 that placed "diversity" above skill. A lawsuit was filed after thousands of ATC trainees were "purged" from the system. Can't wait till that applies to neurosurgeons as well......

"Case Summary
The ....... dropped a skill-based system for selecting and hiring air traffic controllers (ATCs), and replaced it with a new system designed to favor applicants on the basis of their race. ..... The FAA purged its system of thousands of previously-qualified, ready-to-hire applicants simply because they did not fit the right biographical profile. The government endangered public safety and owes restitution for this grave injustice."

https://mslegal.org/cases/brigida-v-u-s-department-of-transportation/
https://mslegal.org/press-releases/2500-aspiring-air-traffic-controllers-who-were-harmed-by-the-faas-racially-discriminatory-hiring-policies-/

Yeah, and in some areas they won't hire a police applicant that's too smart. Really.
Give me the best and brightest for all safety-related jobs, please.

 

[Timbeck2]

Friend of mine who works QA in the FAA - “The new ones suck!!! There is really no accountability for poor performance. I see it everyday...”

Millennials I tell ya!

I can confirm that as well. At one time not too long ago we had a 95% wash out rate but I think its down to about 60% now. We got blamed for poor training methods. (which were very stringent in order to provide good controllers) The fix was to lower the standards for minimum passing on practical certifications. As a watch supervisor, I find myself "stacking the deck" on a daily basis just to keep what's left of my hair.