NEAR-COLLISIONS ON RISE in Washington area's skies amid influx of inexperienced controllers. In an otherwise decent article about Washington D.C.’s crowded skies, there’s this:

"It's the air traffic controller that's supposed to control this situation, not the onboard warning system,” said John DeLisi, deputy director of aviation for the National Transportation Safety Board. "When it had to kick in and do its thing, that wasn't a good controller."

Partially correct. The onboard warning system, TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System) is indeed a “when-all-else-fails-and-things-are-rapidly-becoming-unglued” system of last resort.

What’s missing is the role of the pilot. When I last flew as pilot-in-command, admittedly a long time ago, it had been drummed into me that it is the pilot, not the flight controller, who is ultimately responsible for safety of flight.

A good pilot listens to his flight controller’s instructions, as he should. But the ultimate responsibility is his alone.