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Return to Article: FEATURES Fearless Flier

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  In 3 months Blakeys term is up and she will have left behind nothing but a wake of destruction. Her management methods of fear and intimdation has destroyed the safest ATC system in the world. Delays will be at an all time high this summer because of controllers working 8-10 hour days 6 days a week. She did this all in the name of Union busting. That's right....she is jeapordizing your safety to bust the controllers union (NATCA).

  The end result will be massive retirements, low morale and several accidents. as for me, I am taking the train to the train.

  Tom Rudolph Posted July 17, 2007 8:39 AM
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  She may say that this is the safest time in aviation history, and that no "major" crash [excepting one) occurred under HER watch, but I can guarantee WHEN, not IF, a small plane crashes due to the preflight information [not] obtained from her sub-par Lockheed Martin preflight breifing services, the families of those killed will consider it a "Major" crash.

  Moreover, the current push to revamp the funding is going to KILL general aviation as we know it today, and it's only then that she, and America, will realize that the pool of commercial pilots that the airlines picks from, is grown from the GA system. If that system is impacted, we are going to lose our pool of experienced pilots, and then things get REALLY dangerous... for the commercial fliers.

  Steve Jones Posted June 9, 2007 8:16 AM
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  Time will tell how great Blakey is or was. But as one who deals with her contract programs and business metrics day in and day out, I have three words of advice for you that fly .."BUY THE INSURANCE"!

  AtRisk Posted June 8, 2007 8:15 PM
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  James,

  How'd that "union rhetoric" about short staffing on the midnight shifts work in Lexington? Keep your head in the sand, James...and enjoy your next flight.

  John Carr Posted June 8, 2007 12:25 PM
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  The taxpayers are tired of hearing union rhetoric about poor working conditions, reduced pay scales, imposed dress codes, and how poorly Ms. Blakey has managed the FAA. She has tried move the FAA towards fiscal responsibility. Capping controller "runaway" salaries, eliminating costly work rules, and adjusting controller staffing levels to match demand are management actions that have been long overdue. Thanks Ms. Blakey for leading the FAA in the right direction and restoring management rights in the work place.

  James Posted June 7, 2007 10:07 PM
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  Good to see the FAA hasn't changed Blakey, she did PR before she got there and never stopped.

  The privatization of the Flight service stations is a disaster for the customers, the purpoted savings are already drying up and she included savings from closing facilities that are still loaded with operating ATC equipment.

  Not a problem for the spinmiester Blakey though, all she needs to do when it ends up billions of dollars over budget is rebaseline (an FAA term for increasing the allocated budget when they overspend on contractors so they can claim they are on target) like she has done for the Billions of dollars she has overspent on other contractors.

  Not a problem for her, she works for the trustworthy white house.

  first hand witness Posted June 7, 2007 5:50 PM
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  I am still amazed at the fact that the men and women who grounded several thousand aircraft in a moments notice on sept.11 are even in this situation. If our government considers these folks "heroes" then show it. Instead we are seeing mass retirements in the agengy due to way things are actually going. Being in the agency 8 years, I must say the worst is yet to come. It is sad when you come in to work and you see a face that has been in the system 2 years training someone else on how to do the job. That is not only pathetic, but it is also scary. Fasten yours seat belts please....We are about to encounter some severe turbulence folks!

  anthony Posted June 5, 2007 8:52 PM
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  Ask any pilot you know of the absolute debacle of privitizing the Flight Service Stations. Pilots call us controllers all the time for things because they can't get through. Lockheed Martin is already coming back for government bailouts..there goes all the savings along with ruining the FSS's.

  Ask any controller you know of the massive amounts of overtime now used due to the inability of the Administrator to staff the ATC system properly. Morale is as bad as i have seen anywhere.

  David Posted June 5, 2007 12:54 AM
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  Quoting from the article: "Blakey estimates the contract saved taxpayers $2.2 billion."

  It'd be nice if Ms. Blakey would remember to revise *all* her figures. Not just the ones that help her sell her case.

  The FSS contracting out has been re-estimated (as opposed to re-baselining-- another FAA tactic under Ms. Blakey's leadership) to now only save the taxpayers 1.7 billion dollars. That's the first year correction on a 10 year contract. And that is before Lockheed Martin requested approximately $170 million more because they guessed wrong too -- apparently.

  It was interesting to learn that Lockheed was a client -- before they became a contract winner. Interesting -- but not surprising.

  Don Brown Posted June 4, 2007 9:24 PM
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  "After Sept. 11, FAA chief Marion Blakey set out to fix aviation, even if it meant ruffling some feathers."

  Not even close to her true mission: Privitize the Air Traffic Control System, even if she has to severely damage it in the process.

  Kevin Campbell Posted June 4, 2007 8:17 PM
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  If there ever was a perfect example of a hit woman for the Bush administration, Marion Blakey is it. You can shower this pathetic example of a manager with platitudes all you want in this article but the very near future will bear out the plane(sic)wreck coming based on the reasons stated in the previous comments.

  Dan Dorfman Posted June 4, 2007 7:19 PM
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  I am an air traffic controller in the F.A.A. I would check your sources. I am not getting a 9 percent pay increase over the next 5 years. In fact not only am I getting a ZERO percent increase in pay over the next five years, I LOST a 10 percent premium in C.I.C. pay. I would be glad to share my pay stubs with you.

  Lou Scarozza Posted June 4, 2007 6:32 PM
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  She should absolutely be fired!

  CRUSTY Posted June 4, 2007 3:16 PM
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  As a 18 year employee of the FAA, I can truly say, without a doubt, she is the worst administrator the agency has ever had. She has never even had a vfr pilots license, has destroyed employee moral to an all time low, and is going to destroy the air traffic control system and jeopardize the the safety of the flying public. Any employee or gov't official that can't see this is either walking around with blinders on or drinking the coolaid. In the immortal words of one, "if you aren't totally apauled, you aren't paying attention." Her doctor husband was a huge Bush election contributer. Hmmmmm.....Yep that's why!

  Dan K. Posted June 4, 2007 12:16 PM
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  Marion Blakey will go down as the worst FAA Administrator in history and the balloting won't even be close.

  On Blakey's watch the largest privatization of government jobs in history took place, a colossal failure by any measure. Pilots are unhappy, the system is imploding and the 2,500 displaced employees are screaming "I told you so." Meanwhile aviation safety is degraded by lost or dropped flight plans and pilots who fly without weather briefings rather than wait on hold for hours.

  Blakey forced jailhouse work rules on so many employees that not only are retirees heading for the exits, but new hires are rejecting employment offers from the FAA. And who wouldn't? Why would someone with a college degree in ATC and a mountain of student loan debt want to join the FAA for just over eight bucks an hour? You can make more at 7-11 than at the FAA Academy, and students who attend with their spouses and children are eligible for---and often receive---public assistance and food stamps. The result? A staffing crisis that has the Congress concerned, the DOT IG nervous.

  Blakey's habit of "rebaselining" projects to give the appearance of being on time and budget was described by Republican Senator Kit Bond as "a game of three card monte." Senator Murray questioned if Blakey's tactics were "appropriate or accurate." The DOT IG shared the Senator's skepticism, noting that the WAAS system is shown to be "on budget" even though costs have grown from 892 million to 3 billion. It's no wonder Blakey imposed deep pay cuts and freezes on 98% of her controller workforce....she has squandered billions of taxpayer dollars.

  Projects from STARS to FTI to ASDE-X are hopelessly delayed, their deployment schedules cut, their functionality suspect. ATC modernization has turned from a robust series of programs to a pathetic joke, a patchwork of incompatible systems waiting for Blakey's next billion dollar folly.

  Blakey has trained her management team to lead by threats, intimidation and fear. Employees are put at personal risk, whether from dangerous carbon monoxide poisoning in New York, toxic mold in Detroit or a childish insistence on removing weather radios from control towers even as tornadoes bore down on Daytona Beach Tower. Discipline for minor offenses is way up. Employee morale is in the toilet.

  Marion Blakey is the worst, hands down.

  John Carr Posted June 2, 2007 12:40 AM