VANDALIA -- There are men and women whose job it is to keep us safe when we fly in and out of Dayton International Airport, they are trained weather weather observers, who aren't sure their jobs are safe.The weather observers work hand and hand with air traffic controllers, gathering data in their weather station on site and then feeding it to air traffic controllers.The system does have limitations, it doesn't know the difference between freezing rain and ice pellets.'' Sam Walker, an aviation forecaster for the past 33 years, There are no thunderstorm, lightening sensors at Dayton Airport. The weather observer is the thunderstorm observer. But that could all change, weather observers are now on a month to month contract with the FAA. The contract was supposed to dissolve at the end of May, but it was just extended through September.It's like waiting for a pink slip, you don't know what's going to happen, Walker told us.He says he is also concerned about what would happen to our safety if he and his team are let go. The Government would train its FAA workers to take on the responsibility.Their focus is not only going to be on aircraft, they're going to have to monitor the weather conditions at the Airports, and that will take their focus away from what they were trained to do, which is controlling aircraft., Walker says.An FAA spokesperson would not comment any further on the situation other than to say these weather observers are still on the job with their contract running through the end of September.

свернуть