Air Controllers Removed from Job for Drug Use
Today the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed that 5 air traffic controllers based in Kansas City have been taken off the job because of drug use.
Earlier this month 13 controllers at the southern California center were removed from their jobs for off-duty drug use.
Also today the FAA continued to investigate alleged drug use at the nation’s sixth largest airline, US Air.
Drug use, even off-duty, is banned for controllers under Federal Aviation Administration rules.
So far the FAA has conducted investigations into alleged drug use by controllers at two facilities—Palmdale in southern California and now Kansas City.
In southern California 34 controllers were taken off their radar scopes.
Pending the outcome of investigation, 13 tested positive for drugs, and we were told they could quit or enter a treatment program, or opt for treatment.
Of the roughly 500 controllers at the two facilities only 70 were suspect, and of those only 18 tested positive for drugs.
Still as one FAA official put it, one drug user is one too many.
Right now there is no routine drug testing for controllers though that will change around the first of the year.
There will be pre-employment urine test and test along with the annual physical exam.
According to the FAA, there has never been a fatal accident involving a major US airline in which alcohol or drug abuse was a factor for the controllers or for the pilots.
But there have been a sizeable number of fatal accidents in which commuter pilots, air taxi pilots and private pilots had been drinking, and a much smaller number of cases in which drugs were a factor.