Federal Aviation Administration chief Robert Sturgell does have a lot on his plate: Enforcing new rules that regulate the amount of rest flight crews must have during extra-long trips, preparing for the mass retirement of aging air traffic controllers, and dealing with accusations from his own inspectors that FAA supervisors were getting too cozy with the airlines they’re supposed to regulate. But that doesn’t excuse his agency’s inaction on a critical safety matter brought to its attention more than two decades ago.

As documented by our special report today, “Gliding Toward Disaster,” the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been after the FAA for more than 20 years to require all non-motorized gliders – or sailplanes, as they’re sometimes called – to be outfitted with transponders so that other pilots can detect their presence in shared airspace. The NTSB’s recommendations were based on accident investigations and a study that conclusively determined that the highest risk of mid-air collision occurs when pilots rely only on visual flight rules.