FAA says employee misconduct allegations are reason for FSS closures

After weeks of unexplained closures of flight service stations in northwestern Alaska, the Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed  that the agency has placed several Flight Service employees on administrative leave following allegations of employee misconduct, a spokesperson for the FAA said in an email to the Nugget. “The FAA takes these allegations very seriously and is coordinating with the Office of Inspector General to investigate to the fullest extent to protect taxpayer money and the integrity of the FAA,” the spokesperson wrote.
According to the email, the impacted offices include not only Nome and Kotzebue but also  Utqiagvik (Barrow FSS), Northway, Deadhorse, Palmer and Talkeetna. The FAA said that all impacted stations “will continue to be available including flight plan management, preflight briefings, in-flight support, emergency services, navigation aid monitoring, and communication support.”
The statement said that the FAA will continue to closely monitor operations and provide additional support if necessary. The FAA said that the Fairbanks FSS covers operations for Deadhorse, Barrow and Northway and that the Kenai FSS would cover Palmer and Talkeetna. It did not clarify which FSS would cover Nome and Kotzebue, although the Alaska Air Carriers Association in a letter to the Alaska Delegation confirmed that Fairbanks absorbed Nome and Kotzebue responsibilities. 
The FAA said that most weather observation systems at the closed facilities are operated by the National Weather Service. “If service is disrupted, the FAA will assist the NWS to restore the service as soon as possible or provide personnel to provide weather observations,” the FAA wrote to the Nugget.
In early June, Alaska Airlines had to cancel several passenger and cargo flights to Nome and Kotzebue due to the FSS closure and weather reporting system equipment not reporting visibility conditions. The Alaska Air Carriers Association sent a letter to the Alaska congressional delegation with the urgent request to restore the Nome and Kotzebue flight service stations. While services are not restored, the FAA now publicly acknowledged that the FSS closures were prompted when employees were put on administrative leave due to misconduct allegations.