European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 14, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine crowded skies overburden air traffic controllers United press International he collision of an Jerome Ico jetliner and a Small piano Over los Angeles in the world s most crowded airspace once again has confronted the Nalion with a chilling question docs our air Frallic control by slim work the system is stressed we re stressed and we need  said Jim Mccann. A controller at Chino Airport 40 Miles East of los Angeles controllers can Only last so Long at this Pace " the aug 31 Accident killed All 67 people aboard the colliding planes and at least 15 people on the ground in Cernos outside los Angeles the National transportation safety Board which is investigating is not expected to Complete its inquiry for two months but officials say this much is known the Pilot of the Piper Cherokee Archer wandered into a strictly controlled zone surrounding los Angeles International Airport without informing air traffic controllers As required. The controller on duty was working two positions and did not see the Blip on his radar screen transmitted by the single engine plane s transponder an electronic device that enables controllers to keep track of an aircraft. The Piper was not equipped with the instrument that would have Given the controller its Altitude and showed it was headed toward the Aero Mexico dc-9 approaching the Airport neither aircraft took evasive action indicating the pilots never saw each other. The Pilot of the Small plane who was in route with his wife and daughter to an Outing in the mountains had recently moved to Southern California and apparently was confused by the Complex air control system. The increasing number of weekend flyers who often flout regulations and Fly ill equipped planes that heighten the risk of collisions in the nation s crowded skies has prompted Calls for new restrictions. Additionally congressional critics and air traffic controllers contend the 1981 controllers strike which reduced their number from 16,200 to 12,750, has compromised air traffic safety. Nowhere Are the skies As crowded As in Southern California which has nearly one third of the nation s air traffic. Federal aviation administration officials estimate that there Are 27,000 licensed pilots in los Angeles county which has 16 airports. Another 9.000 pilots Are licensed in neighbouring san Diego county where a spa jetliner and a Cessna 172 collided in 1978, killing 144 people. The los Angeles Basin without a Shadow of a doubt has the highest population of aircraft on any Given Day in the world said Dennis Wright air control and airspace coordinator for the National business aircraft association of America. I think the system is Safe As Tang As everyone follows the  but Faa officials say that at least once a Day Small aircraft violate the air space surrounding los Angeles International Airport and about half the time controllers must reroute other aircraft to avoid collisions. Officials acknowledge that suspension of a private Pilot s License because of such violations is infrequent. Private pilots say the violations result from confusion Over a Complex traffic control system that fragments the Basin into several areas overseen by different airports and flight control centers. The traffic control area around los Angeles is the most Complex piece of regulated airspace a the United states said Steve Basset spokesman for the aircraft owners and pilots association. Tjie eol Letlon on aug. 31 of an Aero Mexico jetliner and a Small plane Rale the question does our air Frame control system work the Accident took place in the world s most crowded airspace Over los Angeles. James Rapattoni a retired Twa Pilot who owns a Small plane complains that there Are so Many controlled areas near airports and military restricted areas on the West coast that boundaries Are difficult to distinguish. Available charts he adds Are inadequate Anthony Skirlick an International Airport controller testified three years ago that it was Only a matter of time before a plane collision occurred above Southern California. The area s control system he said is the most inadequate in the country and should have been redesigned 10 years  until the aug. 31 collision the private aviation Industry took Pride in the fact that 1985 was the safest year on record and accidents declined even More this year. But Faa statistics released three Days after the disaster showed the number of close Calls Over California has More than doubled in the past five ears and now occur at a rate of one every two Days. Nosb figures show the Accident rate of private planes is Many times that of commercial aircraft. For reasons that May have to do with the greater number of inexperienced recreational fliers on weekends 40 percent of general aviation accidents last year occurred on a weekend. Bassett speaking for the owners of private air planes cautioned against a knee Jerk reaction by government officials. The biggest problem we Deal with is the perception of legitimacy that an air Carrier has More of a legitimate right to be in the air than an Airliner he said. We Don t come in conflict with air carriers. They re the veins in the air transport network and we re the  indeed general aviation s Overall record clearly has been improving. Nosb figures show Accident rates for each 100,000 hours flown have declined steadily from t3 9 in 1975 to 8.5 in 1985. The trend appears to reflect improved Industry technology and training along with a decline in pleasure flying resulting from escalating insurance rates and costs of up to $2 a gallon for High octane aviation fuel. But Mccann. The Chino Airport controller who worries about the stress on controllers said extra Effort by the controllers is the Only thing keeping the air traffic control system together. A report released in March by the general accounting office noted there is a shortage of controllers stemming from the 1981 strike when 11,000 controllers walked off the Job. Claiming they were fed up with working conditions. When they refused to return to work president Reagan fired them. Repeated congressional attempts to allow fired controllers to be rehired have been thwarted by the administration and the Faa. At los Angeles International Airport control Center there Are now 36 employees 16 fewer than before the strike and five fewer than now authorized by the Faa. Nosb officials say the controller who was monitoring the doomed Aero Mexico jetliner and Piper had at least six other blips on his radar screen. At the same time he was responsible for transferring control of various sectors to other adjacent sectors a Job that usually requires another trained expert. Nosb officials said such doubling up is Normal during Light traffic such As the minutes proceeding the collision. But Kathy Heel a controller at the regional Faa facility in Palmdale calif., said that on a Clear Day such As when the Accident occurred the skies Over Southern California Are so crowded that her radar screen is filled. Even if you see every plane up there you can t track every one she said. It s  sunday september 14, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13