Reno tower taking a cat nap

Roger said:
Ithe Comair crash notwithstanding-anyone who blames that one on the fact that there was only one controller in the tower is an idiot, IMHO.
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Call me an idiot, then. In my humble opinion, anyone who thinks that a second pair of eyes might not have stopped that roll down the wrong runway is kidding themselves. Congressman John Mica kids himself a LOT.
 
RDoug said:
Call me an idiot, then. In my humble opinion, anyone who thinks that a second pair of eyes might not have stopped that roll down the wrong runway is kidding themselves. Congressman John Mica kids himself a LOT.
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Sure, it could have prevented it. But that doesn't change the fact that the pic of a 121 jet failed to verify that he was lined up on the correct runway before pushing the "go" levers forward, and that the controller on duty did not monitor the only aircraft movement happening at his airport. It seems to me more efficient to change training to make sure that such lapses do not occur, vice throwing more very expensive personnell at the problem.

Put another way, how many people do we need to ensure that the only airplane on the airport, piloted by an ATP, makes it to and lines up on the correct runway? If it is more than 3 (captain, fo, and one tower guy), someone isn't performing up to scratch. It might hurt some feelings, but that's the way it is.
 
Just like a professional pilot needs a dog in the crew to bite him if he tries to touch anything, so too does a controller need a parrot on position to squawk if he tries to take a nap in his cot.
 
Well, the FAA has now said you controllers get an extra hour of sleep between shifts, so what is the problem?:p Don't worry about all of the sleep research and facts, we won't deal with that, but you get an extra hour between shifts, so it is all good now!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42632665/ns/local_news-rochester_ny/

link above said:
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government has come out with new scheduling rules to give air traffic controllers more time to rest between shifts. The Federal Aviation Administration has acknowledged there's a widespread problem with tired controllers.
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Roger said:
Sure, it could have prevented it. But that doesn't change the fact that the pic of a 121 jet failed to verify that he was lined up on the correct runway before pushing the "go" levers forward, and that the controller on duty did not monitor the only aircraft movement happening at his airport. It seems to me more efficient to change training to make sure that such lapses do not occur, vice throwing more very expensive personnell at the problem.

Put another way, how many people do we need to ensure that the only airplane on the airport, piloted by an ATP, makes it to and lines up on the correct runway? If it is more than 3 (captain, fo, and one tower guy), someone isn't performing up to scratch. It might hurt some feelings, but that's the way it is.
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Correct.

Well, what do you propose then? It seems asinine to have TWO controllers on duty when there is so little traffic that guys are falling asleep. Maybe we should just close some of these towers overnight when there is nothing going on
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I would venture to guess that an audit would likely find that some towers that are open, could actually close overnight with no issues. Other towers are open for varying reasons overnight. For example, DMA has nothing flying overnight, but the tower is open for potential CBP ops that may need to launch and/or recover; the regular ops that launch at late night and recover at early morning notwithstanding. Most other AFB towers that aren't transport aircraft, are usually closed overnight and often on weekends.
 
Just have people on the same shift until they bid for a better one. As far as proficiency, you are proficient at the shift you work. "But what about when somebody is sick and needs to be covered etc. etc. all related problems?"

I'm going to say it


OMG



They will just have to hire more people... and even worse..... they will have to pay them too!



If proficiency is a problem, make them do one day a week on a busier shift and have them supervised the entire time. But again, this means actually paying people to work and nobody likes that.


It's not a perfect idea (obviously), but it seems reasonable to me.
 
boondr said:
Doug Wicker is pissed.

http://networkedblogs.com/gMkYC
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all i got to say is Doug Wicker is 1000%, thats it in a nut shell folks. thats the SOS from the FFA that ive heard all my working life, i see the mouth moveing but nothing ever comes out thats worth a flying FXXK its always someone elses fault . and you folks wonder why i have such a hate for those in charge of that sick organisation.
 
Roger said:
Well, what do you propose then? It seems asinine to have TWO controllers on duty when there is so little traffic that guys are falling asleep. Maybe we should just close some of these towers overnight when there is nothing going on.
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I would have up/down facilities put BOTH controllers in the tower instead of splitting them. The radar controller could work off the DBRITE and the tower controller could look out the windows...
 
The only thing that 9 hours between shifts is going to lead to is more overtime. The quick turnarounds are great for FAA management because they can have 70% of the controllers needed for a facility, but they cover 100% of the shift slots. The more time between shifts, the more controllers needed...
 
RDoug said:
Wow. Did I really come across that way? Sure as heck hope I did. :soapbox:
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Nah, the blog didn't come across as pissed to me. Very nice write up, by the way.

The post you made earlier in the day however (you know the one) - now THAT is what pissed sounds like...and it was phenomenal :)
 
Wait until the media finds out that there's no one watching the radar when a controller has to do #2!
 
Now they suspended two controllers for watching a movie on the overnight at Cleveland Center. Funny how they told me this is what they did at a certain facility when it was slow!
 
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Call these guys in. They made up with their differences....
 
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