The air traffic controller involved in the radio silence incident at Reagan National Airport fell asleep as planes approached the airport for landing, the National Transportation Safety Board says.
The controller, who had 20 years experience, 17 of those at Reagan, told officials he had fallen asleep for a period of time while on duty, according to an NTSB statement. The controller was working his fourth consecutive overnight shift (10p-6a.) The NTSB says it has opened an investigation.
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Anyone else find it incredibly ironic that this happened at REAGAN International? Reagan was the one that fired the air traffic controllers when they were unionized and went on strike.
Speaking from a military point of view, a high-visibility, technical job like that should have had more redundancy. Why was he the only one in the tower? More to the point, why did his supervisors schedule him for such long, exhausting shifts with apparently no relief? I go through this every day aboard my ship. As long as the job appears to be getting done, no attention is paid to the physical and mental toll that is being exacted on the people actually doing the work. It's extremely fortunate that no one was harmed, but hopefully this will open up some eyes in that control tower (no pun intended).
Stay awake or notify of your condition.LIVES DEPEND ON YOU!!!
Poor baby. I'm going on my 3rd year of working nights...and I don't fall asleep at work. I have no sympathy. Fire him...
The overnight is not an excuse! Lots of peeps work overnights without falling asleep!
While I don't defend the fact that this person fell asleep, you seem to have incorrect information. We do not work just straight nights. If we did that, like you, our bodies would adjust accordingly and it would be just like working straight days. However, most FAA controllers at busy facilities work what is called a 2-2-1 schedule every week. For example, here is my normal schedule:
Thursday: 3 PM – 11 PM
Friday: 1 PM – 9 PM
Saturday: 7 AM – 3 PM
Sunday Morning: 6 AM – 2 PM
Sunday Night: 10 PM – 6 AM Monday Morning
The last day which is called a mid-shift, we get off at 2 PM only to get maybe 6 hours of sleep depending on the length required to drive to and from work and family. On average, I get about 4 to 5 hours of sleep on that last day. Now, you work this every single week for 20 years and see if you can keep up.
Solution is simple
Air traffic control should not need another " Libby Zion" in order to call for reformation of its work hrs...it is simple...do not rotate someone so frequently as the body cannot adjust to such abrupt changes in circadian patterns. If the goal of rotating shifts is to keep the person sharp on his skills then have him work one particular shift for a few months then give him sufficient time off to adjust his body to another schedule before requiring him to be responsible for the next rotation in shift.
@ ACV actually, just because it's not on cnn doesn't mean no one makes a stink. We get reamed. It goes on our records. Our stats decrease. We get sued. I'm sure you've heard of medical malpractice? Surgeon's malpratice is close to 100k. Pretty sure that's worth more than your mortgage.
And we do take naps. Ever take a nap to be woken up every 15 min and then try to treat a patient? I'm pretty sure you wake up, go to the bathroom to fix that disaster you call hair, grab some coffee, and "function," but we actually have to "work." Get facts straight before you comment and embarrass yourself nationally.
People, the controllers don't fly the planes, and airliners land at uncontrolled airports every single day. This news is sensationalism at its worst. THIS IS A NON-EVENT! Go back to watching Fox News or whatever it is you soup-for-brains idiots do when you're not blabbering about nothing.
Anyone saying that people could of been hurt or killed are all morons. The flight crews of both those aircraft knew exactly what they were doing when choosing to land without a clearance. The frequency is open so all intentions stated over said frequency would of been heard by anyone tuned into that freq. Im willing to bet they were the only two aircraft landing at that time and the crews are more than capable of maintaining their own separation as well navigation to the runway. Not to mention they have full view of the runway to determine whether or not it is clearly safe to land. Now i dont agree with those decisions given Dulles and Baltimore are nearly 15 min flight time away. No one was ever in any danger of dying regarding. Its merely more of a regulation and paperwork problem.
they need a kick in the azz app for lazy workers..
And for you bozos who think that working a graveyard shift is not all that difficult try even contemplating what an ATC controller has to go through. The stress of the job is unbelievable! If you think that wont fatigue you, you're an idiot. Those folks are highly skilled and highly trained, so your little night job won't even compare to an ATC controller whether he/she works days or nights. Its an unfortunate situation that probably happened due to shortage of staffing. Know this that people in this industry are regulated by duty times and min as well max hours worked per month. He may have been the only person available to work that shift.
Well that sucks for him but thats not an for sleeping on the job.
I've worked nights for TWELVE years. I agree he should not have been up there alone. However, I work four tens a week, no problems. The only times Ive gotten wiped out was when I was working 13 and 16 ten hr shifts straight. 8 hr shifts... Come on.. Serious? They need two people up there at all times. Thats just common sense.
What in the friggen world is only one person doing in a control tower what happens if someone has to pee or poop.. I work nights and 4 in a row is not bad you have to rest duing the day maybe more than avarage... If anyone is to blame it is the ntsb for letting this happen I really do not feel safe flying at night anymore. It is not like airports and airines do not have the money to afford 2 air controller per one tower @ night.... Come on ntsb fix this hugh issue
U worked overnights for 12 years which means u are used to those Hours. If he worked for overnights in a row but it is not his usual hours that is really bad news and NTSB should know better and schedule w safety in mind.