Reno Air Controller Asleep as Plane Carrying Sick Person Tries to Land

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

For the third time in less than two months an air traffic controller was caught sleeping on the job, and this time a plane carrying a critically ill patient was trying to land.

The controller at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RN) is believed to have nodded off on Wednesday morning and was out of communication for approximately 16 minutes. The controller was the only one on duty handling the few overnight arrivals and departures.

An aircraft transporting a critically ill patient was unable to reach the Reno tower during it's approach, but the pilot was in communication with the Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control and ultimately landed safely without assistance from the tower.

Last month at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport (DCA) a controller on his fourth consecutive overnight shift left the radio tower silent after apparently falling asleep. Two commercial airliners were forced to land on their own.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/air-traffic-controller-asleep-job/story?id=13366260

[monmouth]

1. Here is a nightmare that needs immediate attention. Unbelievable..n/t

[Drale]

2. Everyone who falls asleep doing that job should be punished

but anyone who did it after the first guy, should be punished double hard because they are some of the stupidest people ever.

[tblue37]

10. They should have two operators. They have these people

working unreasonable hours by themselves. That was a significant part of what the Reagan PATCO union busting was all about--gutting safety rules so the airports could save money by not hiring enough controllers.

My guess is it wasn'tthat really the controller's fault, but rather the fault of his working conditions.

[Sherman A1]

12. Agreed

That is the first thing to come to my mind. This is Reaganomics at it's best, understaffed towers are such a source of safety for the public.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. My thoughts exactly.

Maybe the striking air traffic controllers had more than a few good points back in the 1980s...

[dixiegrrrrl]

44. The controllers are paid for by the FAA, not airports, I believe.

Federal employees.
Which is how reagan could fire them.

[AnneD]

13. Being stupid is not a crime....

Otherwise we would have to erect a wall around Washington D.C. as well as several states, and we do not have enough jail space for the remainder. :sarcasm:

[Drale]

16. In this case stupidity can cost lives

I think we are lucky that there has yet to be a disaster that kills people yet.

[AnneD]

40. If you don't count natural disasters...

Like Katrina and Rita you are right. If you do count them that disputes your theory. :spray:

[MindPilot]

26. Oh sure lets just blame it on the workers.

He was probably making too much money as well...clearly contributing to the economic crisis.

If you are going to drag out the right-wing talking points, might as well go all the way.

[Drale]

27. So workers can make no mistakes?

I think you've put them on a pedestal. Whether we like to admit it or not there are bad union workers out there.

[MindPilot]

29. When workers are deliberately put in a situation

which is conducive to a certain type of error, the worker should not be held responsible.

ATC towers should never have only one person.

[IamK]

32. He did not make an error,,, He was asleep on the F'in job,,,,,

[tblue37]

35. Probably after too many overlong shifts and overnight

shifts in a row. That is how they treat workers, especially air traffic control workers since Reagan busted their union for trying to force changes that would help ensure safety by not overexhausting the controllers!

Air traffic controll is meticulous, stressful, exhausting work, and it wears them out if they don't have frequent breaks and reasonable shifts. But the airlines and airports want to squeeze every extra second they can out of their workers, and never want to pay for two, even though two are needed for safety.

[IamK]

38. it can't be that meticulous if planes are landing without them all over....

[8 track mind]

33. I've been in a control tower numerous times

DFW, ABQ, DAL, TUL, ELP, IAH

those people who run the control tower are going nonstop. It's exausting, stressfull work. The higher ups at these places try to get away with running these units with as few people as possible in order to save money. The controllers are overworked, period.

[IamK]

30. asking someone to stay awake at work does not seem like too much to ask....

[tblue37]

36. IF their shifts are of reasonable length, with reasonable breaks! nt

[nickyt]

3. Seems as if an obnoxious buzzer could be set up in the control room to go off

every 15 minutes or so? Oh, that would be nerve-grating (I hate buzzers, bells, etc.), but would most likely keep the controllers conscious -

too much at stake for this to be happening so regularly!!

[truthisfreedom]

5. A control tower buzzer should be able to be triggered by a pilot needing attention.

[nickyt]

6. That was my first thought, too, truth - but then that might be too dependent on

fancy technical things working as they should/when they should (I'm not a techie, can barely get on the 'net!) - so that's why I'm thinking, keep it local (and obnoxious) -

[Fuddnik]

25. Controllers have one that they can activate in the cockpit.

That's been known to happen a few times too.

[MindPilot]

28. Umm, there is this thing called radio.

"Reno tower, Delta 2136..."

[CreekDog]

4. Are we so broke that we can't afford to have two controllers on duty in a city as big as Reno?

no we are not that broke. :wtf:

[Billy Burnett]

7. SEE? Gubmint don't work no more, thats why we got to drown it in a bathtub.

:sarcasm:

[LiberalEsto]

8. What kind of hours do the controllers work?

I have to wonder if they have forced overtime, and if the employers make them skip rest and break periods.

[harun]

9. The planes can land by-wire anyway. No big deal.

In a few years the pilots will be able to be asleep.

[SoulSearcher]

15. LANDING is not the problem

Landing ON TOP OF SOMEONE is...

Unless you are OK Sen. Inhofe, that is
(my bad)

[Blue_Tires]

17. But i don't think they can determine if there is traffic on the runway

Besides, in controlled airspace you just CANNOT land without clearance -- Doing so without a life-or-death reason can cost you your job...

I do agree that if a tower is on duty 24/7, then there should always be more than one person working

[SpankMe]

11. Have you ever nodded off in a meeting or at your desk?

The same phenomenon is at work here. Reno at night isn't very busy. So, a lone controller could easily get drowsy in the comfortable chair and quiet, dark environment of the control center in between flights. I bet it happens often. But, these stories are probably coming about now owing to slow news days or new reporting requirements or something like that.

Heck, I got drowsy just typing this.

[SoulSearcher]

14. No excuse - need 2 controllers in a major Tower

Airlines have similar rules re the cockpit of commercial
flights - same should be true for towers of major airports.

[Blue_Tires]

20. For almost every imaginable situation, there is an incident paid for in blood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_3352

[ladywnch]

19. remember to thank Saint Ronney for breaking the ATC's union

so we can have unchecked working conditions and abuse of employees.....I mean, it's only public safety we're talking about here.....nothing of importance.

[SoulSearcher]

21. Unions? Not sure that has anything to do with it

This is just common sense - Unions don't have a patent on that.

[Exultant Democracy]

22. Um unions... YES! It may be common sense but it is why Ronnie crushed to ATC union.

So that all of the safety regulations could be gutted. This situation is a case study for what happens to an industry when it becomes immune from collective bargaining.

[ladywnch]

39. unions set working rules and saw they were enforced.

having one person work four straight overnights was not allowed under the union. And if we are left to rely on businesses' common sense we're in for a world of hurt.

[valerief]

23. You know, these folks oughta have a union. Anyone ever thought of that?

[madmax]

24. Damn!! Fantastic idea.

Wonder why no one ever thought of that. :sarcasm:

[RantinRavin]

31. NATCA

is the air controllers' union

[IamK]

37. they do have a union and thats why theses sleepy jackass' are still working...

Some fell asleep more than once on the job....


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-13/faa-adds-midnight-shift-controllers-after-more-found-asleep-1-.html

One slept while a medical flight with an ill patient tried to land today at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The flight landed safely with help from a California worker. The other controller fell asleep April 11 at Seattle’s King County International Airport, the FAA said. That worker was facing disciplinary action for falling asleep twice on a Jan. 6 shift.


Doug Church, a spokesman for Rinaldi of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, didn’t immediately return a telephone call for comment.
-- he was likely sleeping....

[calimary]

34. Hey! I know! Let's cut the FAA! Isn't that what the GOP is into these days?

And we don't need any of those regulations or funding for air traffic control! Free market! Free market!

:banghead:

[prete_nero]

41. I work in a similar situation.

I am from rural South Dakota and work at the local dispatch center for law/fire/ems...we are obviously low population but are around 10,000 for the city so not exactly 'more cows than people'. South Dakota looked at making it mandatory that dispatch centers (PSAP's) have at least two people on duty at all times. As you might expect there was a lot of very mad local politicians who said we couldn't afford this. So yeah when it comes to money some places it would be a stretch.
There is actually one PSAP in SD that covers EIGHT counties...and they still cannot 'afford' to have two people working all the time. Think of that, one person answering 911 and dispatching for eight different counties.

My point is this: when you have a service that needs to be covered 24/7 and you try to have that coverage with the least amount of employees possible you inevitably give those employees very strange shifts. This past rotation we were down a SINGLE employee out of 6 and during that time I worked four different shifts a week, that included two short turn arounds (8hrs off and back to work again) in a row. This was my NORMAL schedule.
Even when fully staffed most PSAP's give their people schedules with two or more differing shifts in a week, maybe not so many short turn arounds.
Okay now add on top that the fact that half the time (or more) you work completely alone. That means for 8 hours I cannot leave the dispatch station...to eat, to take a break or anything...that means if I have to use the bathroom I either con a police officer to cover the phones or I go without. That means if there is any kind of incident going on I go for EIGHT hours without a pee break. This is all because people don't want to pay for two people to be on at one time.

Okay so right now you might be thinking all I'm thinking about is myself and my bodily functions. Not so.
Now remembering I'm the only one here lets think about a scenario: I get a call from you reporting that a significant other is having a heart attack, of course we start CPR and ems and all that, but at the same time I get a report of shots fire and people down at the local grocery store. Who takes priority? Who gets put on hold? Okay so yeah it would be amazing if no one ever got put on hold or in line for help...but I can tell you with two people you are much more able to prioritize and take care of everyone. Its almost exponential the way it works. One person focuses in on the bad call, the other on the barking dogs, noise complaints, etc.

Now after all that just what is my dang point? There is no excuse for falling asleep at such an important job as dispatching or air traffic controlling. You need to find something to keep you awake, some how. But saying that people like this are all lazy or bad workers is just as wrong as them falling asleep. In this job you are pretty much set up to fail. Until the staffing gets to AT LEAST two people all the time, and things like short turn arounds are greatly eliminated this issue WILL continue.

Think I'm still just complaining? Try this, tonight when you go to bed set your alarm clock so that you will get up in the middle of the night after 6 or fewer hours of sleep. Now go to your computer and sit there for eight hours. You cannot move more than 10ft from it, you are not allowed to play games, watch videos, eat and most importantly use the bathroom. I wonder if after the 7th hour of sitting at that computer you won't get just a little bit sleepy...no not really? Okay eight hours is up, sleep for four hours and do it again...and AGAIN. Tired yet?
This is expected and no excuses are accepted.

Excuses are not made by the true professionals in air traffic controlling or dispatching. This doesn't change the fact that they are treated like crap.

[No Elephants]

42. Why are we hearing about so many incidents in the last few months?

Did something change, or has this been happening all along quietly, but only now getting publicized?

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. A few bits of info about controllers, perhaps useful.

From Wiki:
"Typically, controllers work "on position" for 90 to 120 minutes then they get 30 minutes break."

but if you are the only one there all night long, I guess that does not apply.
and
Research has shown that when controllers remain ‘in position’ for more than two hours without a break, performance can deteriorate rapidly, even at low traffic levels. Many national regulations therefore require breaks at least every two hours."

except, apparently, in the U.S.:
"However psychophysiological research in the United States has not supported the widespread perception that air traffic control is an unusually stressful occupation,
"Thus, it is clearly inappropriate from the psychological perspective to describe ATC work, as is commonly done in the popular press, as an unusually stressful occupation. Popularized accounts of controller stress deal with the exceptional rather than the typical controller or facility."

Isn't that interesting? Countries all over the world EXCEPT the US consider the job stressful and demanding.

[melm00se]

45. having worked several jobs that involved either 3rd shift work

or swing shifting (swing shifts are the worse...tough to get into a rhythm).

there is absolutely NO excuse for falling asleep on the job.

get up.
walk around.
do jumping jacks.
do something

but certainly NOT this:

In February, a controller in Knoxville, Tenn., went to sleep on the job during a midnight shift. Sources told ABC News that the controller made a bed on the floor of the control tower with couch pillows.

that's what we used to call "premeditated sleep in the 1st degree"