DC: Air traffic control goes dark, planes have to land themselves

Overheal

http://gizmodo.com/#!5785259/air-traffic-control-abandoned-as-two-passenger-planes-try-to-land

Scary sounding circumstance,

Brian Barrett — Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, two DC airliners approached Washington DC's Reagan National Airport. They waited for guidance from air traffic control. And waited. And waited. And waited. They never got a response. The two pilots—responsible for the safety of a combined 165 passengers—managed to land only by coordinating between themselves, giving each other regular status updates and confirming with their airlines which runway they were supposed to approach. A third plane was able to land a half hour later, only after ATC had been restored. Here's the audio of one of the pilots receiving word that he was going in blind:




As The Washington Post points out, planes land at small airports without air traffic control guidance all the time. But at a major hub like Reagan, maintenance workers are crossing over runways late at night, sometimes towing jets in their wake. The only way incoming pilots are aware of their positions is from air traffic control.
So what happened? No one's saying yet, but there seem to be two distinct possibilities. One is that the operator somehow got locked out of his tower, which happened two years ago at the much smaller Teterboro airport. The other is that he simply fell asleep early into the graveyard shift.
Pushing tin is no easy job, and a few hiccups—the average number of errors is 1 in 84,000 flight operations, or double that in NYC—are inevitable. But a mistake on this scale could have had grave consequences. And while the FAA has ordered Reagan to place two air traffic control officers on the midnight shift, that's kind of like putting up a stop sign only after a schoolbus collides with an ice cream truck. And makes you wonder how many other major towers are understaffed, just waiting for the next lockout.

So apparently they only had 1 ATC in the graveyard shift and he either fell asleep, was taking a poo, or any number of things, but it couldve turned out very bad.

Incidentally, anyone flying into DC soon? Have a safe trip!

Saila

It was a 'told ye so!' exercise stemming from the notion these planes are so good they can land themselves the case has now been closed on that arguement

Was reading yesterday that there's a shortage starting to appear in the ATC market... Old guys retiring and not as many people taking it up.

Very well paid job so I was a bit surprised.

Overheal

Deleted User wrote: »

Was reading yesterday that there's a shortage starting to appear in the ATC market... Old guys retiring and not as many people taking it up.

Very well paid job so I was a bit surprised.

It's also very high stress and pressure. From what I've read in the past a lot of people "wash out" after near misses and things. Not because they get fired most of those times but because of the stress of saying the wrong thing and having 2 planes and 300 people crash into eachother in a ball of flames.

Yea there's some good audio clips on youtube worth listening to.. Really gives you an idea of just how ridiculous it can be trying to keep control of the situation.

chin_grin

So what you're saying is the planes didn't land themselves the pilots were.........................flying blind.

YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

tricky D

What's worse about this one is the normal approach to Reagan which isn't straight in. The planes kind of follow the Potomac only turning about 30 degrees to head straight in for the last mile of the approach. I guess it is so the planes don't go over the Whitehouse. If there are workers or planes crossing at Reagan, they'll only see the aircraft approaching at the very last minute, unlike most approaches which are straight for miles and planes can be seen coming in for a few minutes giving a hell of a lot more warning.

It's a very strange experience seeing the runway you're going to land on out the window while you're thinking, we'd better turn soon or we won't make it. It would be a bit of a nightmare for pilots without auto-land functions.

drdeadlift

Does regan not have a procedure for this?
If it were only the both of them together near the airfield im sure tcas would be of help

gargleblaster

he fell asleep. if they're reporting that this meant the traffic control went dark there, that must mean he was the only one on duty. or they just want an attention-grabbing headline. i wonder which it is.

krudler

John McClane could have sorted it out

tricky D

drdeadlift wrote: »

Does regan not have a procedure for this?

Dulles is just 25 miles up the road, so they could have gone there.

Manic Moran

drdeadlift wrote: »

Does regan not have a procedure for this?
If it were only the both of them together near the airfield im sure tcas would be of help

The official procedure is that if the tower is shut down for some reason, it moves to the CTAF. (Common Air Traffic Freq), which usually is the tower freq at towered airports anyway. The the 'planes co-ordinate with themselves, just like a light aircraft airport does.

However, the practical/recommended procedure is when the en-route or approach controller instructs you to contact tower and contact cannot be regained, to go back to the previous frequency and notify the controller of the problem. They should then be able to pick up a 'phone and dial.

It would be a bit of a nightmare for pilots without auto-land functions.

Nah, I just had a look at the approach plates. Runway 1 is dead easy, and 19 simply follows a radial to the DCA VOR. Once you hit 0.5nm on the DME (distance from the nav station), which is 0.4nm from the runway threshold, you either see the runway and make the right turn and land, or you don't see the runway and you make the right turn and pull up.

NTM

Silverfish

Manic Moran wrote: »

Nah, I just had a look at the approach plates. Runway 1 is dead easy, and 19 simply follows a radial to the DCA VOR. Once you hit 0.5nm on the DME (distance from the nav station), which is 0.4nm from the runway threshold, you either see the runway and make the right turn and land, or you don't see the runway and you make the right turn and pull up.

NTM

Oh right, good to know. I'll do that so.










(What? )

Manic Moran

Silverfish wrote: »

Oh right, good to know. I'll do that so.

(What? )

I've always thought that flying is dead easy. Pull the stick back, houses get smaller. Push the stick forward, houses get bigger. It's all the bloody regulations that get you....

It's more or less the same as saying "Drive down that road there. When you get to the junction, make a right at the lights. You'll see the pub right in front of you. If you don't, it means you've gone too far, turn around and try again"

Here's the map.
http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/1103/00443VDG19.PDF

NTM

jackiebaron

Oh the irony of it all. Wasn't it Reagan who fired all the controllers in the 80's and smashed their union in a bid to cozy up to his corporation sponsors thus paving the way for deregulation and union busting of all industries ever since. The latest attempt which succeeded is to destroyed the unions of teachers, cops and firemen in Wisconsin.

dr gonzo

I find it amazing that the FAA like all other equivalent organisations have two pilots on every plane by law but the air traffic control tower can have just one at certain times, that seems mental to me tbh.

Overheal

dr gonzo wrote: »

I find it amazing that the FAA like all other equivalent organisations have two pilots on every plane by law but the air traffic control tower can have just one at certain times, that seems mental to me tbh.

Watch them change that now.

dr gonzo

Overheal wrote: »

Watch them change that now.

Very true.

jackiebaron

Overheal wrote: »

Watch them change that now.

They won't change it. That would be spending money that directly helps Joe Public with no visible benefit to Joe Private.

evercloserunion

Deleted User wrote: »

Was reading yesterday that there's a shortage starting to appear in the ATC market... Old guys retiring and not as many people taking it up.

Very well paid job so I was a bit surprised.

It has one of the highest suicide rates of any profession doesn't it?

And there was an air traffic controller a few years back who was murdered by the husband of a woman who was killed in an air crash, even though his employers cleared him of fault after an investigation.

Overheal

jackiebaron wrote: »

Oh the irony of it all. Wasn't it Reagan who fired all the controllers in the 80's and smashed their union in a bid to cozy up to his corporation sponsors thus paving the way for deregulation and union busting of all industries ever since.

No, perhaps you're thinking of Ronald Reagan who fired the workers after they were told that is what was going to happen if they continued to strike in violation of already existing rules: {5 U.S.C. (Supp. III 1956) 118p.} - those workers that violated federal law were banned from federal service until Clinton later revoked the order.

The latest attempt which succeeded is to destroyed the unions of teachers, cops and firemen in Wisconsin.

It hasn't done anything yet, as it hasn't gone into effect. Since you're fond of Conspiracy Theories (among other things, such as putting words in people's mouths) I'd think you'd be more interested in the Democrat-Union circle jerk: whereby Unions fund democrat campaigns with Union dues received from Union members, frequently from jurisdictions which can mandate you join a Union to remain employed, as opposed to a Right to Work state. The Wisconsin protests are interesting in that Democrats fled the state, blocking a "legitimate vote" and hence abandoning democratic principles, you know, of Democracy. AKA. they didn't have the votes to block it, so they ragequit.

rossie1977

if it had been san francisco they could have parallel landed without the tower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xAMJ9MK3jg

sdanseo

Manic Moran wrote: »

The official procedure is that if the tower is shut down for some reason, it moves to the CTAF. (Common Air Traffic Freq), which usually is the tower freq at towered airports anyway. The the 'planes co-ordinate with themselves, just like a light aircraft airport does.

However, the practical/recommended procedure is when the en-route or approach controller instructs you to contact tower and contact cannot be regained, to go back to the previous frequency and notify the controller of the problem. They should then be able to pick up a 'phone and dial.



Nah, I just had a look at the approach plates. Runway 1 is dead easy, and 19 simply follows a radial to the DCA VOR. Once you hit 0.5nm on the DME (distance from the nav station), which is 0.4nm from the runway threshold, you either see the runway and make the right turn and land, or you don't see the runway and you make the right turn and pull up.

NTM

Are you sure you're in the army and not the air force? :P

I always hated the FAA plates. They look cluttered. The IAA ones are insanely easy to read.

dr gonzo

So he was asleep and has already been suspended.

Link

Capt'n Midnight

Deleted User wrote: »

Was reading yesterday that there's a shortage starting to appear in the ATC market... Old guys retiring and not as many people taking it up.

Very well paid job so I was a bit surprised.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_Tin

Fizman

Manic Moran wrote: »

Once you hit 0.5nm on the DME (distance from the nav station), which is 0.4nm from the runway threshold, you either see the runway and make the right turn and land, or you don't see the runway and you make the right turn and pull up.

NTM

Acronym fail.

omg a kitty

The dozy bastard fell asleep!

evercloserunion wrote: »

It has one of the highest suicide rates of any profession doesn't it?

And there was an air traffic controller a few years back who was murdered by the husband of a woman who was killed in an air crash, even though his employers cleared him of fault after an investigation.

Was that from the Bashkirian Airlines and DHL crash in Switzerland? If it is I believe his entire family was killed in the crash...not trying to be smart

Manic Moran

Fizman wrote: »

Acronym fail.

Fine. Slant distance from the nav station then, if one must be precise, but at that altitude the difference is fairly academic.

are you sure you're in the army and not the air force?

Quite sure. In fact, the seven hours drive it takes me to get to my unit is what prompted me to get my pilot's certificate. One of the fringe benefits of the military here is that once your have your basic pilot rating, the government will pay for most of the cost of all subsequent ratings, so I'm slowly working my way up with a goal of certified flight instructor, instrument, multi engine. Should be a good retirement gig. No way I could afford that if it wasn't for the army.

If it had been San francisco they could have parallel landed without a controller

Actually, that's not true. The parallel approach to SFO requires at least two controllers. In practice it needs three controllers and two radios on each airplane. Plus special training of the pilots.

NTM

WoollyRedHat

Before I saw the date, I thought this was a case of taking earth hour a bit too seriously

jackiebaron

Overheal wrote: »

No, perhaps you're thinking of Ronald Reagan who fired the workers after they were told that is what was going to happen if they continued to strike in violation of already existing rules: {5 U.S.C. (Supp. III 1956) 118p.} - those workers that violated federal law were banned from federal service until Clinton later revoked the order.
It hasn't done anything yet, as it hasn't gone into effect. Since you're fond of Conspiracy Theories (among other things, such as putting words in people's mouths) I'd think you'd be more interested in the Democrat-Union circle jerk: whereby Unions fund democrat campaigns with Union dues received from Union members, frequently from jurisdictions which can mandate you join a Union to remain employed, as opposed to a Right to Work state. The Wisconsin protests are interesting in that Democrats fled the state, blocking a "legitimate vote" and hence abandoning democratic principles, you know, of Democracy. AKA. they didn't have the votes to block it, so they ragequit.

Forcing through a measure simply because you have a majority isn't DEMOCRACY.....it's pluralism. So 11 people out of 20 vote to burn someone's house down and the only way they can effect that vote is that they have all 20 dragged to the voting floor by state police then the fitting thing for those who disagree with the motion is to flee the state thereby putting themselves beyond the reach of state troopers. In a bullsh!t situation like that I would say that the only option IS to flee the state since the motion will pass whether you vote for or against it. Cancelling the quorum by absconding is the only option they had.

Riddle101

krudler wrote: »

John McClane could have sorted it out

Damn You!

I was going to say, it's a shame John McClane wasn't around. He might have been about to do something about it.

Overheal

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/uk-usa-faa-controllers-idUSLNE73601020110407

2nd controller in Tennessee found intentionally sleeping while on duty. "Intentionally?": He brought a pillow and blanket to work.

Logical Fallacy

Deleted User wrote: »

Was reading yesterday that there's a shortage starting to appear in the ATC market... Old guys retiring and not as many people taking it up.

Very well paid job so I was a bit surprised.

Beyond stressful though. I know some ATC guys and some pilots, the pilots seem to have a much easier time of things.

Manic Moran

They also have an age limit. In my early 30s I was too old to change to an ATC career.

NTM

tonysea

"managed to land only by coordinating between themselves, giving each other regular status updates and confirming with their airlines which runway they were supposed to approach."

Bad time to be on Facebook!;)

Logical Fallacy

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

Beyond stressful though. I know some ATC guys and some pilots, the pilots seem to have a much easier time of things.

Definitely agree.... Thus the high reward.