Flybyz1

NTSB board member J. Todd Inman abruptly departs safety watchdog J. Todd Inman, one of the five members of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, has left the investigative body, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

SCOOP w/ @jonostrower.com: NTSB board member J. Todd Inman abruptly departs safety watchdog (via @theaircurrent.com):

theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

FAA Shuts Down Airspace After U.S. Military Laser Shoots Down CBP Drone Over Texas The deployment of the military’s anti-drone laser weapon to tackle cartel drones had prompted the shutdown of airspace over El Paso, Texas, earlier this month.

The deployment of the military’s anti-drone laser weapon to tackle cartel drones had prompted the shutdown of airspace over El Paso, Texas, earlier this month.

Thank you BlueWave for the inclusion!! 💙🎉

Thank you for the add! 💙🎉

…and the Air Traffic Controllers, Airways Facilities Maintainers, Pilots, Dispatchers keeping the airspace safe and getting us home for the holidays.

Interesting paper.

The primary thing I write about in terms of aviation safety is how long the cascade of events can be prior to an aircraft accident. While failures in the cockpit might exist, they are rarely the first step in what goes wrong. Sometimes the cascade is months or years in the making (i.e. 737 MAX). /1

Pilot narrowly avoids ‘midair collision’ with US air force plane near Venezuela JetBlue pilot calls incident ‘outrageous’ and says US military refueling tanker didn’t have transponder turned on

“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said... “They passed directly in our flight path ... They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”

Our military thinks they can do whatever they want with no accountability 😡

Outrageous is right!

#Pinks

Please give @chasingray.bsky.social a follow and check out her substack.

She keeps our focus on aviation safety!!

NTSB warns that defense bill could undermine aviation safety changes after DCA crash The head of the NTSB is voicing strong opposition to provisions in the defense policy bill. The NTSB says the House bill would undermine safety improvements made after the mid-air collision near DCA.

There is no excuse for allowing any ADS-B waivers in DC airspace. None. If the Black Hawk had ADS- B, there is a high (stratospheric) likelihood the Jan midair would have been avoided.

This bill needs to stop until the provision is removed.

www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...

FAA Administrator Hopes To Hire 2,000 More Air Traffic Controllers This Year For 2025, new Federal Aviation Administration leadership aims to resupply air traffic controllers.

I wanted to drop some air traffic controller figures on you.

In March of this year, Acting FAA Admin Chris Rocheleau testified before Congress that there were currently about 11,000 controllers.

simpleflying.com/faa-administ...

This is a great read and accurately captures key points about the FAA’s history of air traffic modernization attempts. It is an important perspective and well researched. Aviation folks please read and share.
#aviation #aviationhistory #aviationsafety #airtrafficcontrol #avgeeks

Governor Hochul Announces Launch of SUNY Brain Institute With $10 Million Investment to Fuel SUNY Excellence in Life-Saving Research Governor Hochul announced a $10 million investment to launch the SUNY Brain Institute; a multi-campus initiative focused on expanding SUNY’s groundbreaking neuroscience research.

FYI…New York announced $10M in state funds for brain research. #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky

www.governor.ny.gov/news/governo...

If you want some help on the ATC piece, please feel free to DM me.

Thanks for reading!

The focus of the WaPo article on pass rates is misplaced without regard to the candidate abilities. The emphasis has to be getting the best people into the job. The best way to do that is to use the research and selection process with a level of effort and resourcing to meet the current crisis.

Air Traffic Controller Staffing shortfalls by facility.

This is a staffing crisis! It will take an effort equal to or greater than the 1981 recovery…

The people who make it in the workforce are people with top tier cognitive skills and abilities analogous to the skills of athletes in professional sports such as the NFL.

All of this is to say, a few people are much better at Air Traffic Control than most. Controllers are a professional workforce not many people understand or know anything about.

This selection model allowed the FAA to recover staffing levels from the 1981 firing of controllers within a few years.

The washout rate from the Screen at the Academy was about 50%. It was much more cost effective to identify people who could not do the job in the first few months of their careers than to send people to the field and put the burden on field facilities. Even then, field washout rate could be high.

The second stage was a train and test model, the Academy Screen, in which people were trained to separate airplanes and tested on whether or not they could. Asking people to demonstrate that they could do the job was a much more effective predictor of who might succeed.

The first stage was a paper and pencil test through the Office of Personnel Management. However, paper and pencil testing had limits to predicting who would succeed as a controller.

Between the 1970s and 2000s, the Civil Aeromedical Institute had a robust research program on selection of Air Traffic Controllers. As a result of research and existing training models, the FAA and the Academy implemented a 2 stage selection protocol.

There is wealth of research on selection and training of Air Traffic Controllers in the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute’s library archives dating back to the 1970s:

www.faa.gov/data_researc...

CONNIE!!! Soooo pretty! 💕💕💕
#avgeek #aviation #airplane #OSH25

Thank you for posting your pics! Since we can’t get there, much appreciated!

Congratulations! Beautiful combo!

How are you liking the cursive Monoc?

How Does a Fountain Pen Work? The Inner Mechanisms of Pens Our comprehensive guide demystifies the workings of fountain pens, from their intricate nibs to the smooth ink flow, perfect for enthusiasts and beginners alike.

I’ve seen lots of new folks in the fountain pen feed, and I wrote a piece for Goldspot that might be interesting if you want a deep-dive into how fountain pens work.

I think it’s pretty darn good. Glug!

Very welcome. Nice list!