Fri, Oct 27, 2006
NATCA Not Surprised
The Federal Aviation Administration
is investigating why an air traffic controller responsible for
directing planes in the Charleston, SC area fell asleep on the job
early one morning last month.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen says the unidentified employee
was found asleep in the control tower of Charleston International
Airport about 6:00am on September 13, by a co-worker arriving for
the next shift.
"He allegedly dozed off for a few minutes," Bergen told The
Associated Press. "We're looking into the circumstances surrounding
the allegations that someone was sleeping on duty."
According to media reports, no flights were affected by the
dozing controller... although five commercial flights were set to
take off in the next half-hour. The controller in question was also
responsible for handling all traffic within the Class C airspace
surrounding the airport... and planes flying in and out of four
other airports in the area.
Doctors have since cleared the employee to return to work.
Bergen would not comment on whether the person was penalized.
A spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
-- union for the approximately 14,200 air traffic controllers
nationwide -- said he's not necessarily surprised that a controller
was found napping -- as most airport towers are understaffed, and
controllers have to work six day work weeks to fill in the
gaps.
"This is a tired work force, no doubt about it," said Doug
Church. "There are fewer controllers handling more traffic than
ever before."
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