A recent recruitment effort by the Federal Aviation Administration solved the agency’s shortage of air traffic controllers while creating a new conundrum: too few instructors to train them. It may not be an easy problem to solve. Teachers at the FAA’s Oklahoma training academy endure long hours, undesirable living conditions, and earn relatively low hourly wages, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources. To help fill the gaps, the FAA intends to hire teaching assistants and other so-called “expert educators” who lack experience as controllers.
✈️ FAA’s AI Roadmap – Big Step for Aviation
The FAA shared its first AI Safety Roadmap. This isn’t only about business jets, it’s for all of aviation: airlines, drones, helicopters, and more.
Key points made simple:
🔹 AI will roll out slowly, starting with small, low-risk uses like drones.
🔹 “Learned AI” (trained before flying) is safer to use first. “Learning AI” (changes while in use) is still tricky and needs research.
🔹 Early uses will be in predictive maintenance, digital twins, and training simulators.
🔹 FAA will treat AI with the same care as avionics and software before approving it.
Bottom line: AI is coming to aviation, but safety leads the way.
What do you think will be the first big win for AI in aviation, maintenance, training, or compliance?