Cleared to land on runway ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[monster]

Air Traffic Controllers appear to be falling asleep on the job left, right, and center. Is this a result of cutting staff budgets to a point beyond safety? Or a result of a more litigious and news-aware internet society? Or just the same old same old, but more of a problem now because there's more traffic?

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/s...ays/46087082/1
-suspected-of-sleeping-on-the-job-government-says/46087082/1

[plthijinx]

hell even pilots fall asleep at the wheel. i've almost done it. long flight, lack of sleep, sheer boredom. use of the autopilot and/or having it coupled to your fms (flight management system) you're sitting there doing nothing. then bam! you nod off. i damn near fell asleep flying the geronimo back in '06 after hurricane rita flying a racetrack for hours (holding). had the autopilot on and was turning the heading bug 180 degrees every two minutes. as for the controllers, they need to switch coffee brands or something. unfortunately it happens.

[monster]

Not so different from driving, really.... but why the "sudden spate' of reported ATC incidents?

[plthijinx]

easy. because of the publicity of the dude at reagan airport more are being reported publicly. there is a rash of guys n gals who are either flying the plane or ATC that fall asleep. it's quite common actually for one pilot to sleep while the other fly's the plane. henceforth why it's a good idea to have two controllers in the tower. at center? there are at least 15 to 20 people in there. in the tower? only 1. maybe 2 if they are lucky.

[Spexxvet]

It's Reagan's fault

[Happy Monkey]

I've got to admit, even in this era of cutting budgets and vilifying government employees, I was somewhat shocked that there was ever only one person in an air traffic control tower. That's insane.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

I've got to admit, even in this era of cutting budgets and vilifying government employees, I was somewhat shocked that there was ever only one person in an air traffic control tower. That's insane.

Seems like if you raised the fees on an airline ticket by like 25 cents, you could fix the problem, and even raise enough money at the busy airports to subsidize the smaller ones.

[Undertoad]

All I know is when I landed at northeast philly with lisa one night, the dude said he wouldn't be there to clear us when we took off, because they only manned the tower until 11pm.

[plthijinx]

Originally Posted by glatt

Seems like if you raised the fees on an airline ticket by like 25 cents, you could fix the problem, and even raise enough money at the busy airports to subsidize the smaller ones.

they already pay landing fees. which vary from airport to airport. for years now some in the gubmint have been pushing for user fees which basically means that if you want to use ATC then you must pay a fee. many are against this because, well, it's been free in the states since the inception of ATC. to fly is already expensive enough. 100LL avgas is insanely expensive right now. to add on more fees just seems, well, wrong.

[plthijinx]

oh, also, many many airports in the states don't have a controller let alone a tower. it's all "self-announce" your position and intentions. for example: "andrau traffic 7716C 10 miles west, inbound landing, andrau" then once closer "andrau traffic 7716C 5 miles west, will be entering a mid field left down wind for runway 34, andrau." you always say the airport name in front of and at the end of your radio transmission as many airports share the same frequency. this cuts down on confusion. the system works. unfortunately there are from time to time mid air collisions. but actually, the one time i almost met nose to nose with a piper lance was at a towered airport. we both broke left right at the last possible moment. i got on the radio with a beavis voice and said "umm howzitgoin?" to which he replied that he was "brushing his teeth" to make a long story short the controller realizing his mistake of how he told us to enter the pattern, cleared me to land number two behind the lance. nevermind the fact that i damn near number two'ed my pants!

[plthijinx]

ugggghhhhh. really?

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration changed air traffic control work schedules Saturday, acknowledging it has a widespread problem with fatigue after another controller fell asleep on duty — this time in Miami.

"We are taking important steps today that will make a real difference in fighting air traffic controller fatigue. But we know we will need to do more. This is just the beginning," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement.

yeah. seems like it. article here

i'm gonna *yyyyaaawn* go to bed. see y'all laters.

[plthijinx]

ATC: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz OH! 16C (pronounce the C as charlie) runway 17R cleared to zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[tw]

Originally Posted by monster

Air Traffic Controllers appear to be falling asleep on the job left, right, and center. Is this a result of cutting staff budgets to a point beyond safety? Or a result of a more litigious and news-aware internet society?

This was the reason why unions were and get created. So that management has to, for example, make schedules so that employees can do their jobs properly. Employees falling asleep on the job is a classic example of management mismanagement. And of a union that (apparently) is also not doing their job.

However in a country that wants to blame everyone but top management and the rich for all problems, then unions find it difficult to protect and increase America's productivity. Public was so easily manipulated as to even blame unions for GM's crappy and anti-American products. Not much difference here.

Solution: management must make productive work possible. Obviously that was not happening. So they were blaming sleepy controllers rather than the reasons for sleepy controllers.

Ironically, the first controller to fall asleep was a manager – not a union employee. Recently management in charge of ATCs was fired. Time is necessary to fix a mess obviously traceable to his leadership.

Everyone has a simple test for their own mental abilities. Freecell. Every game is winnable. Games are lost mostly because the subconscious mind is not working properly. Test yourself. How more often do you lose at Freecell when exhausted? And did you know how exhausted you really were? Use Freecell as a benchmark test to learn what really exists verses what you feel.

[plthijinx]

FIFY: Obviously that is happening.

ok, here's one from here

A White House plane carrying Michelle Obama came dangerously close to a 200-ton military cargo jet and had to abort its landing at Joint Base Andrews on Monday as the result of an air traffic controller’s mistake, according to federal officials familiar with the incident.

and....

The Federal Aviation Administration, already dealing with a series of controversies involving controllers sleeping and watching a movie on the job, sent a team of investigators Tuesday to the Warrenton radar control center, where the mistake was made.

wow! i did not know this concerning wake turbulence, normally it's a 2 mile separation:

Because an airplane’s wake causes severe turbulence and, in extreme cases, can cause a plane that enters it to crash, the FAA has strict standards on how much distance controllers should maintain between planes.

A fully loaded C-17 can create such turbulence that the FAA requires a five-mile separation behind it. The presidential fleet 737 already was far closer than that when the handoff took place from the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility in Warrenton.