Reagan approach, American heavy on final?

[widgeon13]

Hello, WTF, How could someone get locked out of the tower, have you been locked out of your office? Is there only one person in the tower at that hour of the morning. And over Bam Bam's house as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/us/25airport.html?src=mv

[masraum]

Definitely shouldn't have Mexican food for dinner when you're alone in the tower, I'm thinking. Wow!

[Tim Hancock]

I am sure there will be hell to pay for the ATC guy, but landing at an uncontrolled airport is no big deal.... probably 99% of all my thousands of landings have been without a control tower.

[widgeon13]

Very true, you and I know that but the public doesn't get the same understanding of the situation.

Just heard LaHood is now assigning a second controller for the graveyard shift. Don't think there are many scheduled flights into Reagan after midnight, so now there will be two azzhats sleeping.

[Hugh R]

Common sense dictates at least two. What if the guy has to really go to the can?

[nostatic]

you put on "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida", then hit the head.

oh wait, that's for radio DJ, not ATC.

[looneybin]

Originally Posted by nostatic

you put on "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida", then hit the head.

oh wait, that's for radio DJ, not ATC.

i thought "Freebird" was the I-gotta-go song

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by looneybin

i thought "Freebird" was the I-gotta-go song

First thing I think of when Peter Frampton's "Do you feel like I do" comes on is that the DJ is down the hall for a few minutes.

[Joe Bob]

They suspended the super on duty.....yeah right. The bean counter that cut the second duty guy is the one who should be kicked in the ass.

[VaSteve]

They suspended the super on duty.....yeah right. The bean counter that cut the second duty guy is the one who should be kicked in the ass.

People in PARF gotta think about what gets cut when they scream that thegovernment needs xx percent across the board cuts. All sorts of things get cut.

[wdfifteen]

"Fortunately, at no point was either plane out of radar contact, and our back-up system kicked in to ensure the safe landing of both airplanes.”?

What is the "back-up system?"

[Rikao4]

[Tim Hancock]

This is really not a big deal IMO. As pilot I am required to make contact with ATC prior to entering controlled airspace. If I cannot make contact (happens sometimes when small aircraft call into busy control towers at large airports), I simply cannot enter that particular airspace. These pilots were cleared into the airspace by another ATC controller and landed safely. ATC do not land the airplanes for pilots, they basically are there to maintain seperation at busy airports. Reagan is obviously not busy at night. Two airplanes approaching an airport to land that are communicating on a common frequency is not unsafe by any stretch of the imagination. and happens hundreds of times daily at uncontrolled airports and at controlled airports that are not staffed at night.

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

"Fortunately, at no point was either plane out of radar contact, and our back-up system kicked in to ensure the safe landing of both airplanes.”?

What is the "back-up system?"

Probably Potomac Tracon which could advise of traffic in the area.

I thought this was cute, certainly cheaper than paying for 2nd ATC.

“I am not sure the answer is to have multiple heartbeats at a time of the day when nothing is happening,” said Robert W. Mann Jr., an aviation industry expert in Port Washington, N.Y. “You might have well have a dog in the tower along with the controller. The dog could bite the controller if he fell asleep.”

[450knotOffice]

I was in the crew lounge yesterday morning between flights when I saw the report on one of the news channels. My first thought was what the heck was the local tower manager thinking when he decided to staff the tower with ONE controller? Something like this is almost inevitable with only person in there - at night, with almost nothing going on.

The guys are right about "uncontrolled" landings. It's no big deal, and in fact is the most common sort of landing in aviation - by a long shot.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Common sense dictates at least two. What if the guy has to really go to the can?

Bingo! Thought safety regulations kept any job from working alone???

[cgarr]

Anyone come in no radio using the light gun?

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by cgarr

Anyone come in no radio using the light gun?

Years ago yes, but have not done it in a very long time. Prolly 35 years or so since I have been handled with a light gun.

[Garp]

BBC NEWS | Europe | Silence for slain air controller
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3728541.stm

The former controller was in charge of traffic over Lake Constance late on 1 July 2002 when the incident happened.

Most of those killed in the air crash were Russian schoolchildren
The collision, in which Mr Kaloyev lost his wife, son and daughter, involved a charter flight carrying more than 50 Russian children and a DHL cargo jet.

A preliminary report into the accident found that the controller told the pilot of the Russian plane to descend when its onboard collision warning equipment was telling it to climb.

It was also revealed that only one controller had been on duty when the collision happened. His partner had been on a break.

[widgeon13]

I had heard there are only 2 or 3 flights after midnight into DCA, why pay two people to sleep. I agree two are essential when there is activity.

As Garp demonstrated in the previous post, one was at post and one was on break. They still fuched it up!