UMass hopes to train next generation of air traffic controllers in tower simulator
CHICOPEE - Inside the UMass Transportation Center in Chicopee, you'll find one of the only 360-degree air traffic control tower simulators in the country. The University of Massachusetts Amherst hopes to develop a program using this technology to train the next generation of air traffic controllers.
"Looking at Baltimore Airport here, it's exactly what you'd see from the tower," a UMTC researcher showed WBZ's Tiffany Chan from inside the simulator.
Down to the equipment, software and headset.
Right now, UMass uses this Aviation Research and Training Center to show students all sorts of professions: from pilots and flight attendants to air traffic controllers.
Air traffic controller shortage
"Right now, we have a controller shortage in this nation," the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers' Association, Nick Daniels, told CBS Mornings. "10,800 certified controllers are out there doing this job day in and day out where there should be 14,335."
Wednesday night's fiery crash over Reagan National Airport shows how crucial these jobs are. An American Airlines plane with 60 passengers and four crew members on board collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
The FAA's website states that you have to be younger than 31-years old with years of rigorous training before you can even apply to be an air traffic controller.
The technology at the UMTC is a replica of the real thing steps from Westover Municipal Airport. UMass hopes that in the future, they can offer meaningful hands-on experience to train an industry desperate for skilled workers.
