Near Collisions above New York Hotly Debated

Senator Charles Schumer is blasting the Federal Aviation Administration for the recent spike of airliner near-misses near or above New York. There were five near misses last month, compared with just three in all of 2006. A near-miss is defined as any time planes are flying less than 500 feet from each other. With the sudden increase in such near-disasters during May, aviation officials have been prompted to investigate for any common denominators. A representative of the air-traffic controllers' union said the recent rash of such incidents is indicative of a decreased safety margin in air travel. The air-traffic controllers union says it has been having a tough time recruiting people to the stressful job as the most experienced personnel retire. It further says New York's three main airports are understaffed with controllers. New York's senior senator has called for the FAA "to be turned inside out and upside down" with a renewed focus on passenger safety. The most proximate near-miss involved a Continental jet headed for Newark Airport on May 2nd. It came so close to another aircraft that pilots had to take evasive action after receiving a last minute aural collision warning. Four days earlier at JFK, an American Eagle aircraft came within 200 feet on takeoff of a helicopter that was also taking off. There were two other near misses at Newark and one upstate at Stewart Airport in Newburgh. The FAA disputes the claim that it's controller understaffing related. In a statement it said that: "the retirements of controllers and issues raised by the union, such as under-staffing, have no relation to the fact that pilots have reported near mid-air collisions."