The Department of Transportation's inspector general has launched an audit of the Federal Aviation Administration's training of air traffic controllers.
The review, outlined Thursday in a memo by Nelda Smith, the DOT's principal assistant inspector general for auditing and evaluation, follows the FAA's August announcement of plans to "supercharge" recruitment and retention of air traffic controllers.
"[Although] FAA plans to hire at least 8,900 new air traffic controllers by 2028, factors such as attrition, retirements, and program washouts are severely impacting the overall success of increasing the number of certified controllers," Smith wrote.
"Furthermore, the Academy is facing considerable challenges with training, including a shortage of qualified instructors, training capacity limitations, an outdated curriculum, and high training failure rates."
The DOT said in a statement to Bloomberg that it supports the audit.
"We agree with the IG — the previous washout rate at the academy is unacceptable," the DOT said.
"Hiring is up significantly year over year. We look forward to working with their office to continue to improve the process and ensure we hire, on board, and train the best and brightest."
Smith noted that in the 2024 fiscal year, the academy's failure rate was more than 30% for trainees.
"Given the importance of increasing the number of certified controllers to safely manage the NAS [National Airspace System], we are initiating this audit," Smith wrote.
"Our objectives are to assess (1) FAA's efforts to address the Academy instructor shortages, training capacity limitations, and trainee failure rates, and (2) the Academy's progress with updating the air traffic controller training program curriculum."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in January that the administration's efforts to modernize the air traffic controller workforce resulted in the FAA exceeding its 2025 fiscal year onboarding goal, with 2,026 new controllers hired.
"We are moving at the Speed of Trump to address the decades-long air traffic controller shortage and bring about the Golden Age of Travel," Duffy said in a statement.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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