What happens when an air traffic controller is asleep? • Hacker News Board

Re: What happens when an air traffic controller is asleep?

#21

Post by bonzoesc » Fri, Apr 15, 2011, 12:07 PM UTC

kovar wrote: post #13

Hanscom Field is a bit smaller than DCA. A Cirrus is a bit smaller than a 737 (or whatever the planes landing at DCA were.) DCA is, oddly enough, immediately adjacent to Washington D.C. and Hanscom is hundreds of miles from D.C. If the sleeping controllers were at Hanscom rather than DCA, this situation wouldn't have blown up nearly as far.

A Cirrus is quite a bit smaller than a 737; their biggest seats seven, and the smallest 737 built today seats over a hundred.

Re: What happens when an air traffic controller is asleep?

#22

Post by gulbrandr » Fri, Apr 15, 2011, 12:59 PM UTC

This article suits one HN guideline perfectly: "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity".

Re: What happens when an air traffic controller is asleep?

#23

Post by Erwin » Fri, Apr 15, 2011, 7:20 PM UTC

jnw2 wrote: post #8

http://www.avweb.com/news/sayagain/191072-1.html has a (now retired) US air traffic controller's thoughts on a fatal collision involving two of the three planes a European controller was responsible for. It suggests that not all cases of sleep deprived controllers are harmless.

In a macabre follow up to the crash, the (Danish) ATC on duty was murdered by a Russian man who had lost his wife and children in the crash. 3 years later the man returned free to Russia, was hailed as a hero and given the position of a deputy minister in North Ossetia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_%C3%9Cberlingen_mid-air_co...

Re: What happens when an air traffic controller is asleep?

#24

Post by thorax » Sat, Apr 16, 2011, 2:17 AM UTC

One important note that isn't mentioned here. From what I understand, major/towered airports often have crews working the ground at night (due to the low traffic), towing planes, etc, and communicating with the tower over their own frequencies. Not expecting an unmanned tower themselves, they could easily try to "wing it" as best as they could to get their job done.

Sure pilots can avoid each other on the normal control frequencies, but the situation on the ground could be unexpectedly dangerous to ground crew/vehicles, especially in a night landing.