Joan Lowy

There are too few fully qualified controllers at more than a dozen of the nation's busiest air traffic facilities stretching from Atlanta to Anchorage, according to report released Tuesday by a government watchdog.

The government is falling short in ensuring airline pilots keep up their flying skills and get full training on how to monitor sophisticated automated control systems in cockpits, according to the Transportation Department's internal watchdog.

The federal government will require many drone aircraft to be registered, a move prompted by the growing number of reported close calls and incidents that pose safety risks.