Reagan Airport Incident Sparks Sleep Deprivation Debate Of Air Traffic Controllers
Posted on 25 March 2011. | Posted by Bob Michaelson
Reagan Airport Incident Sparks Sleep Deprivation Debate Of Air Traffic Controllers (image Wikipedia)
Debate continues about the late night staffing at air traffic control towers in the wake of a serious incident where a control tower supervisor fell asleep for 30 minutes on Wednesday. His nodding off had left no one in control of the planes coming into Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
When the incident took place, the controller/supervisor was working his fourth successive night on the night shift (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). As more details about the incident came out Thursday, federal officials suspended him.
The National Transportation Safety Board stated that the pilots on both the United Airlines Airbus A320 jet (Flight 628) coming in from Chicago and American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (Flight 1012) coming in from Miami had continually tried to reach the Reagan tower controller between 12:04 a.m. and 12:28 a.m.
Despite the grievous error, both airlines were guided safely into the airport by controllers at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control, which is 40 minutes away in Virginia. Controllers there also tried to awaken the supervisor by telephone. Neither flight was in danger during the communication breakdown.
Federal investigators are looking at the effects of fatigue on the veteran Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supervisor. He has 20 years experience on the job with 17 years being at the Reagan airport. Speaking with the NTSB investigators, he told them he had fallen asleep while on duty because of the work schedule at the airport.
The incident has certainly sparked further debate on what is the suitable staffing level for air towers. It also follows a series of safety incidents linked to distracted and/or overworked controllers. The NTSB made a safety recommendation Monday, urging the FAA to bar controllers from doing their administrative duties while performing air traffic duties. An increase of errors was noted at Chicago’s O’Hare International airport as veteran controllers were distracted because they were training the new hires.
Two known fatal accidents in the past 15 years have been attributed to the tiredness of air traffic control tower staff.
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