Crosswords2 mins ago
Air Traffic Controller 'Left Shift Early' Before American Airlines Disaster
//An air traffic controller was given the job of two people after one worker clocked off early on the evening the American Airlines jet and U.S. military helicopter collided in Washington, DC, according to a report.
Airplane and helicopter traffic is normally handled by two separate controllers until 9:30 p.m., but a supervisor allegedly merged the two jobs before the allotted changeover time, a source told The New York Times. A preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report concluded that staffing levels were “not normal” at the time.///
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by naomi24. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.As usual we're getting all the conspiracy theories in early. A lot of people listen to and record air traffic controller and pilot conversations, this is not illegal. On youtube I have heard the conversation before the accident. The ATC warned the helicopter of the airliner and the pilot replies he has visual contact. Therefore the two men involved at this point were aware of events, what happened afterwards will be the subject of further investigation. Also it was not a training flight for the helicopter pilot, it was a refresher flight. In other words like a qualified driver taking an advanced drivers test. These refresher flights take place on an annual basis to maintain their flying qualifications.
naomi, I'm afraid the BBC is as good as anybody else with theories.
Clone, there is a lot of talk at the moment about the controller handling both the aircraft and helicopter at the same time. This is quite normal, on a busy period a controller is handling 20-25 aircraft on their frequency, simultaneously.
>>> "A lot of people listen to and record air traffic controller and pilot conversations, this is not illegal"
As this thread refers to the USA, that's correct. However listening to ATC transmissions in the UK is an offence under Section 48 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006.
Irrespective of any conspiracy theories, what is clear is that the pilot of the military helicopter ('PAT25') wasn't acknowledging any ATC transmissions, contrary to standard procedures (where pilots routinely 'read back' all information and instructions given to them). That might suggest some sort of radio failure.
Chris, saw something about this on news earlier. It is the law in the UK that all transmissions from ATC are repeated from aircraft to make sure they have been heard properly but from the ex ATC controller they were speaking to it is not the case in the USA. Often nothing is repeated. Maybe a change will now take place over there.
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.