this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Looks like the TCAS system has been doing a fine job, which it was designed to do.
For those who don't know, there is a system onboard every modern airliner that has one job: detect planes at (roughly) same altitude, heading towards each other. It then very clearly tells one plane to pull up while telling the other to dive.
Pilots are instructed to follow TCAS above anything else they might hear from controller or captain.
TCAS is why we have nearly no mid air collisions, especially considering the amount of planes sharing the same crowded space near airports.
This is cool, but I'm annoyed at how blase this whole comments thread is.
Even if we were to go another ten years without a crash, the traffic controllers are burning out. That's not fair to them. That's not fair to make people work at the edge of their capability, struggling each day to manage to provide people another unappreciated close call.
The FAA should set requirements on air traffic controllers per flight or day and enforce them. Not enough controllers to fly safely? That's a real shame that flights have to be cancelled.
If it affected passengers and CEOs, this issue would be solved much faster.