For now, the skies remain safe, officials say, but the shutdown is stressing the nation’s air safety system

Quoted: Jirs Meuris, an assistant professor of management and human resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said his research with truck drivers has shown that “financial worry is associated with a higher probability of a preventable accident.” And while “many air traffic controllers suppress their feelings of financial anxiety, this suppression actually makes people more error-prone as well because it takes cognitive effort to do so,” Meuris said.