UMass hopes to train next generation of air traffic controllers in tower simulator

02/03/2025

air traffic control simulator

CHICOPEE - Inside the UMass Transportation Center in Chicopee, you'll find one of the only 360-degree air traffic control tower simulators in the country. The University of Massachusetts Amherst hopes to develop a program using this technology to train the next generation of air traffic controllers. 

"Looking at Baltimore Airport here, it's exactly what you'd see from the tower," a UMTC researcher showed WBZ's Tiffany Chan from inside the simulator. 

Down to the equipment, software and headset. 

Right now, UMass uses this Aviation Research and Training Center to show students all sorts of professions: from pilots and flight attendants to air traffic controllers. 

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