SeaTac Tower: Nobody Home

[Philip S.]

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I just saw a story on my local
news (in the Pacific Northwest) about an incident at SeaTac airport on April
11th, and this is the first I've heard of it.

Apparently, there was a period of about 30 minutes on that day (no mention
as to what time of day) when no incoming flights could get a response from
the tower. The security guard at the tower was eventually asked to
investigate, and it seems that the lone controller on duty had fallen
asleep. The story ended by noting that the FAA now required two controllers
on duty in the SeaTac tower at all times.

Anybody else hear of this? I'm guessing that it couldn't have been during a
busy time, as that would have caused utter chaos. I'm also guessing that
this sort of thing isn't unprecedented.

[Roy Smith]

In article >,
"Philip S." > wrote:

> Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I just saw a story on my local
> news (in the Pacific Northwest) about an incident at SeaTac airport on April
> 11th, and this is the first I've heard of it.
>
> Apparently, there was a period of about 30 minutes on that day (no mention
> as to what time of day) when no incoming flights could get a response from
> the tower. The security guard at the tower was eventually asked to
> investigate, and it seems that the lone controller on duty had fallen
> asleep. The story ended by noting that the FAA now required two controllers
> on duty in the SeaTac tower at all times.
>
> Anybody else hear of this? I'm guessing that it couldn't have been during a
> busy time, as that would have caused utter chaos. I'm also guessing that
> this sort of thing isn't unprecedented.

Any you wonder why there's a special NASA form just for ATC?

[Robert M. Gary]

I guess he wouldn't have fallen asleep had it been busy. :) Surprised
he wasn't woken up when approach tried to call him on the land line.

-Robert

[Morgans]

"Robert M. Gary" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I guess he wouldn't have fallen asleep had it been busy. :) Surprised
> he wasn't woken up when approach tried to call him on the land line.

Depends how deep of a sleeper he is.

I can continue sound asleep, after a good night's sleep, with an
old-fashioned bell ringer phone, on the headboard of my bed! I might wake
up if you set off an atomic bomb in the next county over! <g>
--
Jim in NC

[Peter Duniho]

"Philip S." > wrote in message
...
> Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I just saw a story on my
> local
> news (in the Pacific Northwest) about an incident at SeaTac airport on
> April
> 11th, and this is the first I've heard of it.
>
> Apparently, there was a period of about 30 minutes on that day (no mention
> as to what time of day) [...]

I only saw a brief mention on the evening news last night. They said it was
in the early morning hours.

> when no incoming flights could get a response from
> the tower. The security guard at the tower was eventually asked to
> investigate, and it seems that the lone controller on duty had fallen
> asleep. The story ended by noting that the FAA now required two
> controllers
> on duty in the SeaTac tower at all times.

As if two different controllers couldn't fall asleep at once. :)

Seems to me that there should be some sort of alarm, hooked to the radio and
which goes off if some small number of radio receptions occur without any
transmission by a controller in the tower cab. You'd need to set the number
higher than 1, but fewer than a dozen would probably be fine, and would
probably have woken this guy up in this case.

> Anybody else hear of this? I'm guessing that it couldn't have been during
> a
> busy time, as that would have caused utter chaos. I'm also guessing that
> this sort of thing isn't unprecedented.

Hard to imagine it's the first time, but there is a first time for
everything. :) One hopes whether this was the first or not, it doesn't
happen often, even if it does only happen during the quiet hours of the
morning.

Pete

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Morgans wrote:
> I can continue sound asleep, after a good night's sleep, with an
> old-fashioned bell ringer phone, on the headboard of my bed! I might wake
> up if you set off an atomic bomb in the next county over! <g>


Man, that's not me. I generally will wake up if a butterfly farts in the next
county.

BTW: I seem to recall a similar event at RDU back in the early 1980s.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Roy Smith" > wrote in message
...
>
> Any you wonder why there's a special NASA form just for ATC?
>

There is?

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message
...
>
> Seems to me that there should be some sort of alarm, hooked to the radio
> and which goes off if some small number of radio receptions occur without
> any transmission by a controller in the tower cab. You'd need to set the
> number higher than 1, but fewer than a dozen would probably be fine, and
> would probably have woken this guy up in this case.
>

Just increasing the volume prior to napping works well. So I'm told.

[Roy Smith]

In article et>,
"Steven P. McNicoll" > wrote:

> "Roy Smith" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Any you wonder why there's a special NASA form just for ATC?
> >
>
> There is?

http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/forms.htm

[Gary Drescher]

"Philip S." > wrote in message
...
>
> it seems that the lone controller on duty had fallen asleep.

What happens when the lone controller needs a bathroom break? Are the stalls
equipped with speakers and microphones?

--Gary

[Viperdoc]

In our local tower they pee in the sink (or so they say). I'm not sure what
they do when they have other needs, but I didn't really want to know.

[[email protected]]

>>>In our local tower they pee in the sink (or so they say). I'm not sure what they do when they have other needs, but I didn't really want to know.<<<

The *real* reason for having a sink in the tower cab : )

When I worked in ops at a regional airport the AM controller opening
the tower didn't get a bathroom break until the next controller came
on. On a few occasions I watched the radios for him while he answered
nature's call.

[Roy Smith]

In article >,
"Gary Drescher" > wrote:

> What happens when the lone controller needs a bathroom break?

You think us pilots are the only ones that need to practice holding
procedures to stay current?

[Gary Drescher]

"Roy Smith" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Gary Drescher" > wrote:
>
>> What happens when the lone controller needs a bathroom break?
>
> You think us pilots are the only ones that need to practice holding
> procedures to stay current?

:) But at least we pilots often have the option of landing and taking an
unscheduled break if needed (though not always, of course).

--Gary

[Peter R.]

Gary Drescher > wrote:

> :) But at least we pilots often have the option of landing and taking an
> unscheduled break if needed (though not always, of course).

Amateur. :-) 64 oz Tropicanna orange juice containers work very well and
permit the distraction to be momentary at best.

--
Peter

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Gary Drescher" > wrote in message
...
>
> What happens when the lone controller needs a bathroom break? Are the
> stalls equipped with speakers and microphones?
>

"Lone controller on duty" may mean lone controller in the tower. There may
be others in the facility. Facilities that regularly operate with one
controller actually on duty tend to be small so the bathroom is not far
away.

[A Guy Called Tyketto]

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Philip S. > wrote:
>
> Anybody else hear of this? I'm guessing that it couldn't have been during a
> busy time, as that would have caused utter chaos. I'm also guessing that
> this sort of thing isn't unprecedented.

Clips of it and when Tower come back are at the forums at
http://www.liveatc.net. you will need to sign up/log in (free) to get
to the clips. There's one in particular where EVA31 comes in looking
for landing clearance, find no-one, and go missed.

BL.
- --
Brad Littlejohn | Email:
Unix Systems Administrator, |
Web + NewsMaster, BOFH.. Smeghead! :) | http://www.wizard.com/~tyketto
PGP: 1024D/E319F0BF 6980 AAD6 7329 E9E6 D569 F620 C819 199A E319 F0BF

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[Chris]

"Philip S." > wrote in message
...
> Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I just saw a story on my
> local
> news (in the Pacific Northwest) about an incident at SeaTac airport on
> April
> 11th, and this is the first I've heard of it.
>
> Apparently, there was a period of about 30 minutes on that day (no mention
> as to what time of day) when no incoming flights could get a response from
> the tower. The security guard at the tower was eventually asked to
> investigate, and it seems that the lone controller on duty had fallen
> asleep. The story ended by noting that the FAA now required two
> controllers
> on duty in the SeaTac tower at all times.
>
> Anybody else hear of this? I'm guessing that it couldn't have been during
> a
> busy time, as that would have caused utter chaos. I'm also guessing that
> this sort of thing isn't unprecedented.

Well what about this one then!

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16899725%26method=full%26siteid=50082% 26headline=controller%2ds%2dlunch%2dbreak%2ddelaye d%2dlanding-name_page.html

A PILOT told holidaymakers he could not land at Cardiff International
Airport because an air traffic controller was on a tea break.

Bemused and frustrated passengers on board the flight from Tenerife spent
almost half-an- hour circling the airport until the plane was finally
allowed to land.

The captain of the flight, which landed at 12.40am on Saturday, reportedly
told his passengers that he had "never encountered anything like it" in all
the years he had been flying.............................

[Chris]

"Greg Farris" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, says...
>
>
>>
>>The captain of the flight, which landed at 12.40am on Saturday, reportedly
>>told his passengers that he had "never encountered anything like it" in
>>all
>>the years he had been flying.............................
>>
>>
>
> Well, apparently he was not used to flying into Milan, Italy where ATC
> staff
> received work suspensions two years ago when it was found that the entire
> staff
> was outside playing soccer, leaving the Linate tower unattended!

In Milan football is serious stuff.

[Mike Schumann]

Also remember the mid-air in Switzerland a couple of years ago where the
controller took a break in the middle of the night.

Mike Schumann

"Chris" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Philip S." > wrote in message
> ...
>> Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I just saw a story on my
>> local
>> news (in the Pacific Northwest) about an incident at SeaTac airport on
>> April
>> 11th, and this is the first I've heard of it.
>>
>> Apparently, there was a period of about 30 minutes on that day (no
>> mention
>> as to what time of day) when no incoming flights could get a response
>> from
>> the tower. The security guard at the tower was eventually asked to
>> investigate, and it seems that the lone controller on duty had fallen
>> asleep. The story ended by noting that the FAA now required two
>> controllers
>> on duty in the SeaTac tower at all times.
>>
>> Anybody else hear of this? I'm guessing that it couldn't have been during
>> a
>> busy time, as that would have caused utter chaos. I'm also guessing that
>> this sort of thing isn't unprecedented.
>
> Well what about this one then!
>
> http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16899725%26method=full%26siteid=50082% 26headline=controller%2ds%2dlunch%2dbreak%2ddelaye d%2dlanding-name_page.html
>
> A PILOT told holidaymakers he could not land at Cardiff International
> Airport because an air traffic controller was on a tea break.
>
> Bemused and frustrated passengers on board the flight from Tenerife spent
> almost half-an- hour circling the airport until the plane was finally
> allowed to land.
>
> The captain of the flight, which landed at 12.40am on Saturday, reportedly
> told his passengers that he had "never encountered anything like it" in
> all the years he had been flying.............................
>
>

[Peter R.]

Mike Schumann > wrote:

> Also remember the mid-air in Switzerland a couple of years ago where the
> controller took a break in the middle of the night.

Are you stating that the only controller on that night took a break, which
led to the mid-air?

If so, that is incorrect. There was one controller and he was working both
the high airspace and an approach. The controller couldn't reach the tower
of the airport to properly hand off an Airbus flying the approach, which
raised his workload. When he spotted the potential conflict between the
Russian aircraft and DHL 757, he issued a descend command to the Russian
airliner.

Roughly at the same time, the copilot of the DHL 757 left to use the
bathroom, and when the TCAS alert sounded in their cockpit, the flying
pilot responded but did not make the call that they were descending. When
the copilot returned, he made the call, but was stepped on by another
transmission.

Don Brown has a column about this accident and he describes all the links
that led up to this accident:

http://avweb.com/news/columns/191072-1.html

--
Peter

[Peter R.]

"Peter R." > wrote:

> Mike Schumann > wrote:
>
>> Also remember the mid-air in Switzerland a couple of years ago where the
>> controller took a break in the middle of the night.
>
> Are you stating that the only controller on that night took a break, which
> led to the mid-air?

Ah, disregard my post, Mike. Perhaps you were referencing the second
controller taking a break. I initially interpreted your post to mean the
one and only controller took a break, as I most likely was misled by the
subject of this thread.

--
Peter

[Greg Farris]

I have not read the journalist's report, but if he is suggesting the accident
was not the controller's fault, or was a shared fault with the flight crew,
that is in contradiction to the official reports at the time. The Swiss
controller could not be reached because he was on the phone for personal
reasons - the emergency phone, which French controllers tried to use to
contact him, was out of order. The Swiss controller then issued an avoidance
order which was in contradiction to the TCAS order, and this was the direct
cause of the accident.

GF



In article >,
says...

>
>If so, that is incorrect. There was one controller and he was working both
>the high airspace and an approach. The controller couldn't reach the tower
>of the airport to properly hand off an Airbus flying the approach, which
>raised his workload. When he spotted the potential conflict between the
>Russian aircraft and DHL 757, he issued a descend command to the Russian
>airliner.
>
>Roughly at the same time, the copilot of the DHL 757 left to use the
>bathroom, and when the TCAS alert sounded in their cockpit, the flying
>pilot responded but did not make the call that they were descending. When
>the copilot returned, he made the call, but was stepped on by another
>transmission.
>
>Don Brown has a column about this accident and he describes all the links
>that led up to this accident:
>
>http://avweb.com/news/columns/191072-1.html
>
>--
>Peter

[Peter R.]

Greg Farris > wrote:

<snip>
> The Swiss controller then issued an avoidance
> order which was in contradiction to the TCAS order, and this was the direct
> cause of the accident.

How was the controller going to know that his avoidance order conflicted
with the TCAS resolutions?

--
Peter

[Greg Farris]

In article >,
says...

>How was the controller going to know that his avoidance order conflicted
>with the TCAS resolutions?
>

OK, I went back and read the article you pointed to before replying this time.
I agree it's a pretty good article, and leaves some unknowns and imponderables.
There are significant differences between the (relatively forgiving) writer's
description of the events and the (comparatively harsh) accounts given by the
European press at the time. One would imagine that the article written by the
technically qualified author would give a more faithful account - although
some of the indispoutable facts at the time did not help the Swiss controllers.
Notably the fact they immediately tried to blame the accident on the Russian
crew, saying they did not respect their clearances. This was vociferously
refuted, and finally disproven, leaving the Swiss controllers with a bit of a
credibility problem. There may also have been some "opportunism" on the part of
the French controllers, who made public statements condemning their swiss
counterparts (perhaps trying to shield from any attention coming their own way
in the investigation).

The article suggests the controller was preoccupied with getting the phone
system working. The press articles at the time suggested instead he was
blocking the phone system with an extended, personal call, and was either
oblivious to or uncaring of the fact that the emergency line was out of order.
There is a significant difference in responsibility assumed between these two
versions.

This being Europe, it is likely the controller(s) will be charged in the
investigation, and hauled into court sometime over the next few years to find
out whether their actions will be considered "criminal" or not. At that time we
could expect to have a full and detailed report of the whole thing. Sad story,
in every aspect.

GF

[Peter R.]

Greg Farris > wrote:

> This being Europe, it is likely the controller(s) will be charged in the
> investigation, and hauled into court sometime over the next few years to find
> out whether their actions will be considered "criminal" or not. At that time we
> could expect to have a full and detailed report of the whole thing. Sad story,
> in every aspect.

Sad to report, but the controller was murdered by a grieving relative
sometime after the accident.

http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/10/26/66272.html

--
Peter

[Greg Farris]

In article >,
says...

>
>Sad to report, but the controller was murdered by a grieving relative
>sometime after the accident.
>
>http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/10/26/66272.html
>

Yes, I remember that now - That's not justice.

GF

[Margy Natalie]

Gary Drescher wrote:
> "Roy Smith" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>In article >,
>>"Gary Drescher" > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>What happens when the lone controller needs a bathroom break?
>>
>>You think us pilots are the only ones that need to practice holding
>>procedures to stay current?
>
>
> :) But at least we pilots often have the option of landing and taking an
> unscheduled break if needed (though not always, of course).
>
> --Gary
>
>
zip-lock bags

[Philip S.]

in article . com, Robert M.
Gary at wrote on 4/18/06 9:09 PM:

> I guess he wouldn't have fallen asleep had it been busy. :) Surprised
> he wasn't woken up when approach tried to call him on the land line.
>
> -Robert
>

I wonder if any pilots have had the nerve to crack wise with the tower about
this yet?

Suggested call-ups to Seattle Tower at 4AM:

"Seattle Tower, XXXXX inbound for the ILS on runway Two-one, rise and
shine."

"Seattle Tower, you sound sleepy...am I calling at an inconvenient time?"

"Dude, can you come bail me out?"

[Morgans]

"Philip S." > wrote

> I wonder if any pilots have had the nerve to crack wise with the tower
> about
> this yet?
>
> Suggested call-ups to Seattle Tower at 4AM:
>
> "Seattle Tower, XXXXX inbound for the ILS on runway Two-one, rise and
> shine."
>
> "Seattle Tower, you sound sleepy...am I calling at an inconvenient time?"
>
> "Dude, can you come bail me out?"

LoL!!! It might be worth a late night flight, just to try out one of those
lines on them! <g>
--
Jim in NC