Larry Dighera wrote:
It seems to me, that the most equitable policy would be for individual
ATC personnel responsible for operational errors to have the added
personnel responsibility to make monetary restitution to the estates
and survivors subjected errors they committed.

That giant sucking sound you would hear would be every traffic
controller immediately retiring, quiting, or otherwise exiting.
Furthermore, there would be no job applicants under those conditions.

NOW, who ya gonna call?

Besides, no one ELSE in this country is held responsible for their
mistakes (it sometimes seems like that, anyway...)

I know we treat ATCs like gods, and we do everything they tell us to,
and we pray to them to save our souls when we are stupid sometimes....
but after all, doggone it, they are human. Which means that if they
make a mistake and someone gets hurt, they'll feel real bad for a long
time. I used to know a former ATC guy. His lunch was pepto-bismol,
which he claimed he needed for ATC stress.
I don't like their union much, but all the controllers I've talked to
have been real nice and helpful, even when I was in the middle of a
mistake.

I also observed a tower controller make a couple mistakes in a very
busy pattern. It was still up to us pilots to see the problem and take
proper action.