US EditionA private company runs the control tower where a B-52 got too close to a passenger jet. It’s more common than you might think
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, JUL 23 – About half of U.S. civilian airport control towers are privately operated under FAA contract, with investigations ongoing into a near-collision involving a Delta jet and B-52 bomber.
- During a planned B-52 flyover near Minot airport, staffed by private company controllers, a Delta Air Lines regional jet performed an `aggressive maneuver` to avoid collision, approved by the FAA.
- The FAA’s Contract Tower Program started in 1982, and about half of US civilian airport control towers are operated under contract by private companies, with a 2020 audit by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General finding they match FAA safety records and reduce costs.
- SkyWest, the FAA and the military are investigating, with the FAA noting that contract controllers meet FAA standards and the private contractor operates 93 towers handling over eight million passengers annually.
- McCormick said `The contract tower program has operated safely, effectively and efficiently,` noting oversight needs to be strong, despite private staffing, to ensure safety.
- McCormick cited the 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike, adding oversight needs to improve, as the program originated then.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Close call between B-52 and passenger jet puts focus on small airports
The evasive action an airline pilot took to avoid a B-52 bomber in the skies over North Dakota has focused attention on the way small airport towers are often run by private companies without their own radars.Neither one of the pilots of the bomber or of the Delta Air Lines jet seemed to know the other plane was there before the airline pilot saw the B-52 looming in its path. The incident last Friday is still under investigation. But the Air For…
A private company runs the control tower where a B-52 got too close to a passenger jet. It is more common than you might think
The Minot, North Dakota control tower where a Delta Air Lines regional jet had to perform an “aggressive maneuver,” to avoid colliding with an Air Force B-52 bomber, isn’t staffed by the Federal Aviation Administration, but rather air traffic controllers working for a private company.
Air traffic controllers didn't warn a B-52 bomber crew about a nearby airliner
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Air traffic controllers at a small North Dakota airport didn't inform an Air Force bomber's crew that a commercial airliner was flying in the same area, the military said, shedding light on the nation's latest air…
"No one told us anything," said the pilot, who had to explain to the passengers what had happened.
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