ABC 6 NEWS) � A scary situation in the sky. As not one but two planes land at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC with no one guiding them in.
Now, an investigation into why, shows the air traffic controller that should have been there was asleep on the job.
That incident has prompted a nation-wide investigation by the federal aviation administration, looking into airport tower staffing issues.
So it may surprise you, here at home, there are many times no one is manning air traffic.
Around eleven o'clock the f-a-a controller that's up in the tower at the Rochester airport goes off duty. No one will replace that person until 5 in the morning. Meaning, no one will be working for about six hours.
But airport officials say don't worry, its all part of the plan.
Overnight it's quite inside the control tower at the Rochester International Airport. That's because crews here, like at many smaller airports, have worked out a system.
"It's a pretty standard operation, I suppose, they have staff that come in, mans it for the hours they're supposed to be there and they go home," says airport manager Kurt Claussen.
But Claussen says when no one's manning the tower, pilots know what to do.
"They broadcast their position and tell other aircraft their intention we really don't have a lot of air traffic at night. The five am to 11 pm. covers all of our scheduled air carrier service, all of our cargo service," Claussen says.
And in the assistant manager's 20 years here he's never seen any problems that even come close to the one at the Reagan National Airport.
"I was pretty surprised," says Claussen.
So were some passengers, like Kristina Neal, who are now thinking a little more about procedures.
"It makes you a little nervous that there seems like there should be some type of stop gap or something type of oversight over whether people are sleeping or not, But yea, especially at bigger airports, you expect there to be safety measures for that,� says Neal.
But FAA officials assure folks they're taking action.
"This incident has given us cause to take a good look at this and we're going to review this," says the FAA's Randy Babbitt.
Investigations aside....
"I'm confident and comfortable with their ability to manage their jobs and do what they need to do," says Claussen.
As for the number of flights that come into this airport every night, there's only one or two in the span of those six or so hours.
To put that into perspective for you, we're told in airports where controllers work around the clock will get at least that many flights every hour.
Now, an investigation into why, shows the air traffic controller that should have been there was asleep on the job.
That incident has prompted a nation-wide investigation by the federal aviation administration, looking into airport tower staffing issues.
So it may surprise you, here at home, there are many times no one is manning air traffic.
Around eleven o'clock the f-a-a controller that's up in the tower at the Rochester airport goes off duty. No one will replace that person until 5 in the morning. Meaning, no one will be working for about six hours.
But airport officials say don't worry, its all part of the plan.
Overnight it's quite inside the control tower at the Rochester International Airport. That's because crews here, like at many smaller airports, have worked out a system.
"It's a pretty standard operation, I suppose, they have staff that come in, mans it for the hours they're supposed to be there and they go home," says airport manager Kurt Claussen.
But Claussen says when no one's manning the tower, pilots know what to do.
"They broadcast their position and tell other aircraft their intention we really don't have a lot of air traffic at night. The five am to 11 pm. covers all of our scheduled air carrier service, all of our cargo service," Claussen says.
And in the assistant manager's 20 years here he's never seen any problems that even come close to the one at the Reagan National Airport.
"I was pretty surprised," says Claussen.
So were some passengers, like Kristina Neal, who are now thinking a little more about procedures.
"It makes you a little nervous that there seems like there should be some type of stop gap or something type of oversight over whether people are sleeping or not, But yea, especially at bigger airports, you expect there to be safety measures for that,� says Neal.
But FAA officials assure folks they're taking action.
"This incident has given us cause to take a good look at this and we're going to review this," says the FAA's Randy Babbitt.
Investigations aside....
"I'm confident and comfortable with their ability to manage their jobs and do what they need to do," says Claussen.
As for the number of flights that come into this airport every night, there's only one or two in the span of those six or so hours.
To put that into perspective for you, we're told in airports where controllers work around the clock will get at least that many flights every hour.
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