There hasn’t been a fatal commercial airline accident in the US since 2009. We’re due for one. We’re due for a lot. The New York Times has published the results of its own study that found 300 near-collisions in the most recent year for which there were data.

Over the last 10 years, that number has more than doubled. Incompetent air traffic controllers are a big part of the problem.

Controllers tell pilots which runways to use, when to take off and land, and where to fly. If a controller gets it wrong, he can tell two planes to smash into each other, like a case from New Orleans this summer.