 |
|
April 15, 2011 - The head of the Federal Aviation
Administration’s (FAA) Air Traffic Organization (ATO),
Hank Krakowski, under pressure resigned on Thursday due
to the number of reports that have surfaced on air
traffic controllers falling asleep in the control
towers.
ATO is the
America’s air
navigational arm of the FAA that employs more than
35,000 air traffic controllers, technicians, engineers
and support workers. ATO is responsible for more than
7,000 takeoffs and landings per hour, and more than 660
million passengers and 37 billion cargo revenue ton
miles of freight a year. ATO safely guides 50,000
aircraft through the national airspace system every day.
There are 9 service units make up the ATO; En Route and
Oceanic Services, Acquisition and Business Services,
Communications Services, Finance Services, NextGen and
Operations Planning Services, Office of Safety, System
Operations Services, Technical Operations Services and
Terminal Services.
|
|
In
California
an air traffic controller feel asleep while a medical flight was
landing. It appears that the pilot and airport staff was
unsuccessful in contacting the controller. The FAA reported the
pilot was in contact with regional radar controllers in northern
California
during the landing.
-
Nevada, at 2 AM the pilot of a
Piper Cheyenne airplane tried to contact the controller at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
After 16 minutes and favorable conditions the pilot landed the
aircraft without incident.
-
Washington DC, two jetliners landed their aircraft at Washington's
Reagan
National
Airport
without tower assistance.
-
Tennessee, reports indicate
that the controller at McGhee
Tyson Airport
in Knoxville
could not be reached by landing aircraft for five hours.
-
Seattle
Washington a controller was
suspended for falling asleep during a morning shift and
apparently this had happen on to other occasions.
The
National Air Traffic Controllers Association has long advocated
for adding two controllers on the midnight shift and had warned
of the dangers of single controllers, long tiring work hours,
many of the towers to not have bathrooms and the controllers are
unable to take a break from being in the tower for 8 straight
hours.
|
