The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the United States has an outstanding record of aviation safety, with no fatal commercial airplane crashes since 2009. Guest columnist Jeffrey Frankel writes, however, that the frequency of close calls between planes in U.S. airports has increased: About 300 near-collisions were reported over the past year. This alarming surge can be partly attributed to a critical shortage of qualified air-traffic controllers. According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, there are 1,000 fewer controllers working today than 10 years ago, despite the increase in air travel. Despite big advances in computing and satellite-based telecommunications, controllers continue to rely on systems that date to the 1950s. Shockingly, some still use paper strips to keep track of planes. A solution to America's aviation crisis, supported by various experts, would be to adopt Canada's successful approach: Transfer the air-traffic-control system from the Federal Aviation Administration to a non-profit corporation and fund it through user fees. Australia, Germany, Britain and New Zealand, have partly or completely privatized their ATC systems, with significant positive results.