Reported air traffic control errors up

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Federal aviation regulators say a sharp rise in reported mistakes by air traffic controllers is a matter of improved reporting.

The total last year was more than 1,800, up 81 percent from 2007, USA Today reported. The Federal Aviation Administration said 43 were serious enough they might have caused aircraft to collide.

The agency changed its reporting system after allegations arose that mistakes by controllers were being covered up. The changes, introduced over several years, include no-fault reporting and computer systems that can track errors without human intervention.

"It's in that spirit that we're really trying to encourage the reporting and classification of this information -- because only then do we have a much safer system going forward," said Deputy Administrator Michael Huerta.

Huerta said the agency believes improved reporting is behind most of the spike. But he acknowledged there could be other reasons, including a greater number of newly trained controllers.