By Joan Lowy
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The president of an association that represents Federal Aviation Administration managers who oversee air traffic controllers says a new error-reporting system is hindering the ability of managers to correct controllers' mistakes.

David Conley, president of the FAA Managers Association, told the House transportation committee in prepared testimony Wednesday that a program instituted nationwide in recent months to encourage controllers to voluntarily identify their mistakes without risk of punishment has raised barriers to managers' ability to address problems.

Conley said reporting system's rules sometimes mean managers have to wait for a committee to decide what action, if any, should be taken instead of managers acting immediately on their best judgment.