
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 49USC44506]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                     SUBTITLE VII--AVIATION PROGRAMS
 
                     PART A--AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY
 
                           subpart iii--safety
 
            CHAPTER 445--FACILITIES, PERSONNEL, AND RESEARCH
 
Sec. 44506. Air traffic controllers

    (a) Research on Effect of Automation on Performance.--To develop the 
means necessary to establish appropriate selection criteria and training 
methodologies for the next generation of air traffic controllers, the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct 
research to study the effect of automation on the performance of the 
next generation of air traffic controllers and the air traffic control 
system. The research shall include investigating--
        (1) methods for improving and accelerating future air traffic 
    controller training through the application of advanced training 
    techniques, including the use of simulation technology;
        (2) the role of automation in the air traffic control system and 
    its physical and psychological effects on air traffic controllers;
        (3) the attributes and aptitudes needed to function well in a 
    highly automated air traffic control system and the development of 
    appropriate testing methods for identifying individuals with those 
    attributes and aptitudes;
        (4) innovative methods for training potential air traffic 
    controllers to enhance the benefits of automation and maximize the 
    effectiveness of the air traffic control system; and
        (5) new technologies and procedures for exploiting automated 
    communication systems, including Mode S Transponders, to improve 
    information transfers between air traffic controllers and aircraft 
    pilots.

    (b) Research on Human Factor Aspects of Automation.--The 
Administrators of the Federal Aviation Administration and National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration may make an agreement for the use 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's unique human 
factor facilities and expertise in conducting research activities to 
study the human factor aspects of the highly automated environment for 
the next generation of air traffic controllers. The research activities 
shall include investigating--
        (1) human perceptual capabilities and the effect of computer-
    aided decision making on the workload and performance of air traffic 
    controllers;
        (2) information management techniques for advanced air traffic 
    control display systems; and
        (3) air traffic controller workload and performance measures, 
    including the development of predictive models.

    (c) Collegiate Training Initiative.--(1) The Administrator of the 
Federal Aviation Administration may maintain the Collegiate Training 
Initiative program by making new agreements and continuing existing 
agreements with institutions of higher education (as defined by the 
Administrator) under which the institutions prepare students for the 
position of air traffic controller with the Department of Transportation 
(as defined in section 2109 of title 5). The Administrator may establish 
standards for the entry of institutions into the program and for their 
continued participation.
    (2)(A) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may 
appoint an individual who has successfully completed a course of 
training in a program described in paragraph (1) of this subsection to 
the position of air traffic controller noncompetitively in the excepted 
service (as defined in section 2103 of title 5). An individual appointed 
under this paragraph serves at the pleasure of the Administrator, 
subject to section 7511 of title 5. However, an appointment under this 
paragraph may be converted from one in the excepted service to a career 
conditional or career appointment in the competitive civil service (as 
defined in section 2102 of title 5) when the individual achieves full 
performance level air traffic controller status, as decided by the 
Administrator.
    (B) The authority under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph to make 
appointments in the excepted service expires on October 6, 1997, except 
that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may extend 
the authority for one or more successive one-year periods.
    (d) Staffing Report.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall submit annually to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
containing--
        (1) the staffing standards used to determine the number of air 
    traffic controllers needed to operate the air traffic control system 
    of the United States;
        (2) a 3-year projection of the number of controllers needed to 
    be employed to operate the system to meet the standards; and
        (3) a detailed plan for employing the controllers, including 
    projected budget requests.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1178; Pub. L. 104-
287, Sec. 5(9), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3389.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
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---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
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---------------------------------
44506(a), (b).........................  49 App.:1353 (note).             Nov. 3
, 1988, Pub. L. 100-591, Sec.
                                                                          8(a)-
(c), 102 Stat. 3015; Nov. 17,
                                                                          1988,
 Pub. L. 100-685, Secs.  601-603,
                                                                          102 S
tat. 4102.
44506(c)..............................  49 App.:1348a.                   Oct. 6
, 1992, Pub. L. 102-388, Sec.
                                                                          362, 
106 Stat. 1560.
44506(d)..............................  49 App.:1348 (note).             Oct. 3
1, 1992, Pub. L. 102-581, Sec.
                                                                          120, 
106 Stat. 4884.
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---------------------------------

    In subsections (a) and (b), the text of section 8(a) and (b)(3) of 
the Aviation Safety Research Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-581, 102 Stat. 
3015, 3016) and sections 601 and 602(3) of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989 (Public Law 
100-685, 102 Stat. 4102, 4103) is omitted as executed.
    In subsection (c), the words ``institutions of higher education'' 
are substituted for ``post-secondary educational institutions'' for 
consistency in the revised title.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104-287 substituted ``Transportation and 
Infrastructure'' for ``Public Works and Transportation''.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 48102 of this title.
