Retired Airline Pilot Voices Safety Concerns About Newark Airport

A retired United Airlines pilot has some serious safety concerns regarding a busy airport in New Jersey ... and he's got a message for the federal government.

Tom Mannello joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked him if it's safe to fly into Newark Liberty International Airport in the wake of air traffic controllers experiencing radar outages.

The former commercial pilot says it's only moderately safe to fly into Newark these days ... explaining why staffing shortages, budgets, construction and Mother Nature are all contributing to issues for air travelers.

The Newark airport lost radar on April 28, with air traffic controllers unable to communicate with, or even see, surrounding aircraft in the sky for a full minute and a half, resulting in major scheduling disruptions. At least five controllers took trauma leave for 45 days following that incident, further exacerbating staffing shortages. Then, just this morning, the same airport experienced the same problems from the same center, for about the same amount of time.

Newark isn't the only airport Tom's worried about ... but he tells us he's going to fly as a passenger soon ... so it's not like he's telling folks NOT to fly at all.

Tom says air traffic control problems have been building for years, and he's got some advice for the feds as the Department of Transportation announces plans to overhaul the existing system.

Tom was scheduled to fly United 23 on 9/11 until the plane was grounded on that fateful day -- and there's evidence the plane was targeted by terrorists -- and he kept flying for United after the Sept. 11 attacks ... so he's not easily shaken, which makes his concerns here all the more alarming.