
What happens when an air traffic controller is asleep? - yan
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2011/04/14/what-happens-when-an-air-traffic-controller-is-asleep/
======
jnw2
<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.

~~~
icegreentea
Like most serious accidents, the sleep deprived controller is just one part of
what went ridiculously wrong there. Had the controller actually been sleeping
the entire time, and the pilots followed the automated systems, it's entirely
possible that they would have been ok. In addition, the equipment
failure/downtimes severely limited any operator's situational awareness.

It's one of the cruel ironies here, that a completely passed out controller
likely would have lead to a better outcome.

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martinkallstrom
In olden times (yes, this is anectodal), the process of producing
nitroglycerin would be supervised by a person sitting on a one-legged chair,
so that he would not fall asleep.

Source: <http://bit.ly/hO5N1s> (translated from Swedish)

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robriggen
This article is spot on. An excellent description of the way traffic flows
through airspace and the role of ATC in movement of aircraft. I can add that
as a pilot is would be a bit disconcerting and unusual to be on an instrument
approach into an airport and be handed off to the tower only to receive no
response. This would likely happen with only a couple of minutes of the flight
left and at a time when workload is high (assuming IMC conditions). There
would probably be a little confusion before deciding to switch back to the
previous frequency.

Not particularly dangerous - but the pilot does have to be prepared for
handling some atypical tasks on an otherwise routine approach

Edit to note: VFR (visual flight - night or day) would be a non-event (from
the pilot's perspective) with a sleeping controller so long as traffic is
relatively light, as it would be at night most places

~~~
ja27
Yes, for a nearly deserted airport the tower controller isn't as important as
people would expect.

The article doesn't mention it but I believe that the sleeping controller is
also supposed to be handling ground control - planes taxiing and ground
vehicles like fire, security, baggage, etc.

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epochwolf
It's short and it's definitely worth a read. I had no idea that there were
airports without control towers.

~~~
mrkurt
You'd be amazed where you're allowed to land a plane. Private grass field?
Sure, but look out for rocks.

~~~
brazzy
Indeed - Fraser Island off Australia has a (75 mile long) beach that is
officially a public road, with the added regulation that starting and landing
aircraft (which offer sightseeing trips) have right-of-way.

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yread
It might seem like controllers are not that necessary but (similarly to pilots
of modern airliners) they are very important when stuff doesn't go as planned.
Pilots can take over a and pull a Sullenberg, controllers can provide pilots
with information on speed and height in case their instruments don't work
(ground controlled approach style)

------
yread
It actually happens sometimes:
[http://www.rgj.com/article/20110413/NEWS/104130403/Why-
only-...](http://www.rgj.com/article/20110413/NEWS/104130403/Why-only-one-
controller-Reno-tower-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE)

------
mcginleyr1
Surprised no one has mentioned this. Disclamer: ex-employer
[http://www.quintiq.com/news-and-events/news/2010/quintiq-
lan...](http://www.quintiq.com/news-and-events/news/2010/quintiq-lands-
contract-with-us-faa.aspx)

------
thorax
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.

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kovar
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.

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

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

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TheAmazingIdiot
It's really the difference between peer to peer and token ring.

One is done on a general channel which approaches failure the more traffic.

The other uses a "token" to signify communication and passes the token to whom
they wish to speak to.

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astrofinch
For some reason I feel pretty sleepy after reading this.

