Aviation agency's weather forecasting plan runs into turbulence

By Mike M. Ahlers
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A plan to consolidate meteorologists from 20 Federal Aviation Administration facilities nationwide into two locations got an icy reception on Capitol Hill Thursday, when members of both major parties said the FAA is trying to fix a system that isn't broken and risks endangering air safety.

Under the plan, now in its third version, the FAA would take 84 National Weather Service forecasters stationed at FAA centers across the country, reduce the number to 50 through attrition, and consolidate them in two locations.

Forecasters in Silver Spring, Maryland, would assist air traffic controllers in the northern half of the U.S., giving them guidance about thunderstorms, lightning and air turbulence.

The remaining forecasters would work in Kansas City, Missouri, assisting controllers in the southern half of the mainland U.S. Alaska, the only state to have it's own FAA center, would remain unchanged.

The FAA said the proposal would allow around-the-clock staffing and would allow forecasters at the centralized locations to focus their attention on areas of severe weather, increasing aviation safety. Technological changes have made the current system, set up 30 years ago, outdated, the agency said.

But the air traffic controllers' union says face-to-face communications with meteorologists is vital to their work.

Rep. Brad Miller, D-North Carolina, chairman of the House subcommittee reviewing the proposal, agreed. "Perhaps (consolidation) will result in a greater 'critical mass' of expertise in one place," Miller said. "But the down-sizing of the staff will leave each forecaster responsible for more air space, and deprives air traffic controllers of a forecaster to stand over their shoulder in a weather crisis," he said.

Rep. Paul Broun, R-Georgia, said his own experience as a private pilot had demonstrated the need for reliable weather information. "This may seem like trivial bureaucratic bickering, but it has real-world implications to both commerce and airline passenger safety," he said.

"I don't like this change as a pilot... and I think it's not going to be a good change for pilots," he said.

Weather Service union representatives said the plan is driven by a misguided effort to save money. Under an interagency agreement, the FAA currently pays the National Weather Service approximately $12 million annually for weather services. The FAA provides basic equipment, space and supplies for the Weather Service meteorologists are each of the FAA's 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs), where controllers keep watch over high-altitude air traffic.

By consolidating operations, the FAA says it could save $2 million a year. But union representatives say transition costs of about $12.8 million would push any cost benefit even further into the future.

The Weather Service says it will make the changes the FAA wants provided that a pilot program shows it will not harm aviation safety. The National Academy of Sciences has agreed to evaluate a pilot project, said National Weather Service Director John Hayes.