=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/07/11/i= nternational1954EDT0769.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, July 11, 2002 (AP) Report: British air controllers say increased workload compromising safety JANE WARDELL, Associated Press Writer (07-11) 18:52 PDT LONDON (AP) -- The number of instances in which air traffic controllers said they were = so overworked that plane safety was jeopardized doubled in the first half of this year, the National Air Traffic Service said Thursday. There were 44 reports filed during the first six months of this year by controllers who believed their workload was excessive to the point of compromising safety, the agency said. That compared with 20 filed during the same period last year. The agency is a partnership involving the government, the airlines and staff. Regarding reports of planes flying too close, the service said the reported number of such incidents fell to their lowest level since records were compiled starting in 1990. The total number of commercial and general incidents -- mainly private pilots -- for 2001 was 194, or three fewer than the previous record low year of 2000. At the same time, the UK Airprox Board said the number of high-risk incidents involving military aircraft reached an 11-year high -- to 27 from 16. The aircraft proximity board is an independent group of air traffic controllers, military pilots, civilian pilots and military controllers who examine all incidents in British airspace and develop solutions to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Also, the January opening of a new, multimillion-dollar computerized control center and a training program for 62 new controllers has caused increased delays, a service spokesman said. "We have 62 controllers under training and as soon as their training is complete the situation will ease," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity. "We actively encourage all employees to report any incident which they think may have compromised safety, so we can learn from it. We wanted an open reporting system and that's what we are getting." Communications boxes used to train controllers were withdrawn following = an incident earlier this year in which two passenger planes flew too close to each other. The spokesman said new equipment, which proved reliable in trials, was d= ue to be installed next week. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP