Rare Look Inside the Tough Job of an Air Traffic Controller

PHOENIX - This year the federal aviation administration turns 75 years old -- so to mark the occasion FOX 10 got a rare tour inside the Air Traffic Control Tower at Sky Harbor Airport.

There are some 34 controllers on staff at Sky Harbor. They adhere to rigorous training and high standards. Controllers must retire at age 56.

They make between $75,000 and $120,000 a year -- good money, but a tough job.

327 feet above the ground, it's a lofty perch for this hushed group of air traffic controllers. Here's your rare peek into their high-pressure, highly-specialized world.

Some are ground controllers guiding planes taxiing to and from the runway. Others work tower control, clearing planes to take off and land.

They are responsible for the safety of thousands of passengers every day, so there is no room for small talk.

It takes a certain kind of person to be a good air traffic controller. Somebody with a lot of common sense. A good multitasker.

"Somebody who can see things three-dimensionally. In today's world I equate it to a video game in a lot of ways, somebody who is very good at that type of aptitude," says Phil Freed, Sky Harbor Air Traffic Manager.

Controllers train in a simulator downstairs. It's just like the real thing. The simulator duplicates conditions during the day, night, even during dust storms.

Trainer Erwin Tobey let FOX 10's Steve Krafft try his hand at the simulator, guiding planes taxiing to the runway.

It takes years of experience to get to the top of the tower.

The FAA will be hiring lots of controllers over the next ten years. The agency says some of its newer controllers grew up with video games, and some of the skills you need to play video games are a good match for the skills needed by air traffic controllers. 

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