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New Audit Announcements

Date

Audit Initiated of FAA’s Air Traffic Controller Hiring Reform

Requested By
Mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020
Project ID
20A3009A000
File Attachment

Every year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must hire new controllers to replace those lost due to attrition. All candidates selected for entry-level controller positions must pass an ATC pre-employment test called the Air Traffic Skills Assessment test. Given the significance of this test in FAA’s controller hiring decisions, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 mandated that DOT-OIG review various aspects of FAA’s ATC hiring practices. In response, we are initiating this audit to assess FAA’s (1) validation of the assumptions and methodologies used to develop the ATC pre-employment test, (2) administration of the test and evaluation of its results, and (3) plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the test in identifying successful ATC candidates.