SFO Controllers Share Experiences

Following a near-miss at SFO last month due to an error on the part of a controller with 20 years experience, several area controllers recently shared their experiences with the (CA) Palo Alto Daily News.

One controller saw his job as piecing together a 3-dimensional jigsaw puzzle constantly in flux, which, he said, can be an adrenaline rush and a challenge.

Because the work is so intense, the FAA requires controllers to take frequent breaks to avoid burnout.

The goal, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor, is to give controllers breathers every two hours, but that does not always happen.

A controller at Oakland Center, which monitors air space stretching from Australia to the western US, said his work involves monitoring as many as 22 planes at once.

As an "en route" controller, Conde tracks planes for hours at a time.

"On a clear, blue, sunny day, things are working pretty well," Conde said. "It's not that big of a deal for someone who has been doing it for 20 years. But every day there is some sort of an issue, whether it is something minor to something major."

Minor problems include having to deal with a sick passenger or having to reroute a plane after a warning light goes on.

Major problems could include a runway "incursion," like the one that happened on May 26 at SFO in which a pilot was forced to take off unexpectedly in order to avoid a collision.

That incident, reported by ANN, remains under investigation by the FAA and NTSB.

The incident occurred when the controller cleared SkyWest Airlines flight 5741, to land on runway 28R. The same controller then cleared Republic Airlines flight 4912 to take off from runway 1L, which intersects runway 28R, according to the NTSB.

After the SkyWest airliner touched down, the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS) sounded in the tower, and the controller told the SkyWest flight crew to "Hold, Hold, Hold" in an attempt to stop the aircraft short of runway 1L. The SkyWest crew applied maximum braking -- that resulted in the airplane stopping in the middle of runway 1L.

Realizing the aircraft was traveling too fast to stop, the captain of Republic Airlines flight 4912 took control of the aircraft from the first officer, and initiated an immediate takeoff.

According to the crew of SkyWest 5741, the Republic Airlines aircraft overflew theirs by 30 to 50 feet.

"The initial FAA tower report estimated the aircraft missed colliding by 300 feet," the NTSB report stated.

Mistakes Can Happen During "Lull" Times

Contrary to what might be popular belief, Conde said it is easier to make mistakes during lulls in air traffic.

"When you are really, really busy, your mind is working at a really high rate, trying not to miss anything. As that comes down, the adrenaline comes down."
 
FAA officials said controller workload is expected to grow because air traffic will increase, in some places by as much as 75 percent by 2025. Additionally, 70 percent of the current pool of air traffic controllers will retire within the next decade.

The FAA has 14,600 controllers nationwide and wants to have 16,100 by 2016. Veteran controllers can make up to $130,000 a year, but new hires make about $50,000 a year and can earn up to $95,000 after five years.

"It's exhausting (at times)," acknowledged Steve McCoy, an approach controller in Sacramento. "It's not a demanding job, but it's very mentally fatiguing."

McCoy's job, working in a windowless area filled with radar screens, includes lining up airplanes for landings at airports from Monterey to Red Bluff before turning pilots over to local airport towers or "en route" controllers.

"We get them airborne and we get them down," he said. "It can be confusing at times, especially when you are working more than one sector (of airspace) at a time. You can't afford to second-guess yourself."

The confusion, said McCoy, who has 25 years' experience as a controller in the Navy and with the FAA, may happen when two pilots try talking to him at the same time. That causes technical problems that prevent him from hearing either pilot. He said in those cases he may have to jump from conversation to conversation on different radio frequencies.

At the busiest times, said SFO's Dave Caldwell, tower controllers could be talking to 15 planes at one time. Caldwell has 27 years of experience with the Navy and FAA.

"Working with aircraft on the ground is a challenge because we are limited on space," he said.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org, www.ntsb.gov