National Epidemic - Air traffic controllers sleeping on the job

FAA suspends more air traffic controllers for sleeping on the job, adds more controllers including one in Fort Worth

Andrea Ahles
Ft. Worth Star Telegram
April 13, 2011

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is suspending more air traffic controllers for either falling asleep or failing to respond to communications from other towers.

As a result of these incidents, which included one in Texas, the FAA said it is placing additional air traffic controllers on the midnight shift at 27 control towers around the country. These towers are currently staffed with only one controller.

Fort Worth Meacham Airport is one of the towers that will get an additional overnight controller, said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford.

"Air traffic controllers are responsible for making sure aircraft safely reach their destinations," said FAA administrator Randy Babbitt. "We absolutely cannot and will not tolerate sleeping on the job. This type of unprofessional behavior does not meet our high safety standards."

The most recent incidents include:

-Two controllers at Preston Smith International Airport in Lubbock were suspended when they failed to hand off control of a departing aircraft to the Fort Worth Air Traffic Control Center on March 29, 2011. It also took repeated attempts by Fort Worth controllers to reach the Lubbock controllers to handoff an in-bound flight.

-On April 11, an air traffic controller at Boeing Field/King County International Airport in Seattle fell asleep during his morning shift. The controller, who is already facing disciplinary action for falling asleep on two occasions in January, was monitoring local traffic while two other controllers worked arriving and departing aircraft.

-On Wednesday morning, a controller fell asleep at Reno-Tahoe International Airport while a medical flight carrying an ill patient was trying to land. The controller was out of communication for about 16 minutes and has been suspended.