FAA reaches settlement with whistleblower

[The Straight Story]

FAA reaches settlement with whistleblower
By Joan Lowy, Associated Press January 3, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has reached a settlement with an air traffic controller who said he was retaliated against for warning that a takeoff and landing procedure in Memphis, Tenn., had led to near midair collisions.

The FAA agreed Dec. 4 to return Peter Nesbitt to air traffic control duties and transfer him to Austin, Texas, at the same salary, and to pay his relocation and legal expenses, said Leslie Williamson, a spokeswoman for the Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency that investigates whistleblower complaints.

Nesbitt, who has more than 20 years experience as a controller, had asked to return to the control tower at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where he worked prior to the Memphis International Airport control tower.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown confirmed an agreement had been reached but declined to comment further.

In September, the special counsel's office sent letters to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters saying FAA didn't adequately respond to complaints from Nesbitt and other air traffic controllers about the potential for collisions involving planes taking off and landing on runways with intersecting flight paths at airports in Memphis and Newark, N.J.

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