WASHINGTON - An air traffic
controller has been suspended
for watching a movie when he
was supposed to be monitoring
aircraft, deepening the Federal
Aviation Administration's
embarrassment following at
least five cases of controllers
sleeping on the job.
In the latest incident, the
controller was watching a movie
on a DVD player early Sunday
morning while on duty at a
regional radar center in Oberlin,
Ohio, near Cleveland that
handles high-altitude air traffic,
the FAA said in a statement
Monday.
The controller's microphone
was inadvertently activated,
transmitting the audio of the
movie— the 2007 crime thriller
"Cleaner," starring Samuel L.
Jackson— for more than three
minutes to all the planes in the
airspace that the controller was
supposed to be monitoring, the
agency said.
The controller's microphone
became stuck in the transmit
position, preventing him from
hearing incoming radio calls or
issuing instructions to planes
during the incident, the agency
said.
The controller was alerted to
the mishap when he was
contacted by a military pilot.
Besides the controller, the FAA
also has suspended a manager
at the Oberlin center.
In all, the FAA has suspended
nine controllers and supervisors
since late March.
In five of the cases the
controllers allegedly fell asleep.
In another case, the FAA is
investigating why two controllers
in Lubbock, Texas, were
unresponsive to radio calls.
Nearly all the incidents occurred
during overnight shifts when
traffic is light and people
naturally have trouble staying
awake.
The incidents have shaken FAA
officials, made air traffic
controllers the butt of late-night
comedians and raised public
jitters about the safety of air
travel.
FAA Administrator Randy
Babbitt said early Monday,
before the agency had disclosed
the incident near Cleveland,
that he was "infuriated" that air
traffic controllers have been
caught snoozing on the job.
"None of us in this business
can , tolerate any of this,"
Babbitt said. "It absolutely has
to stop."
Babbitt was at a regional radar
center near Atlanta with Paul
Rinaldi, president of the
National Air Traffic Controllers
Association, the union that
represents controllers. The pair
met with about 50 controllers
and other FAA employees as
they kicked off a nationwide
tour of air traffic facilities aimed
at sending a message as much
to the public as to controllers
that unprofessional behavior
won't be tolerated.
Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood underscored the same
message in a series of television
interviews over the past several
days. Even President Barack
Obama joined the chorus,
telling ABC News last week,
"We've got it under control."
But every time administration
officials say they've moved
decisively to contain the
problem, another controller
steps over the line.
The day before the Cleveland
incident a controller fell asleep
while working an overnight shift
at busy regional radar facility in
Miami that handles high-altitude
traffic for Florida, parts of the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Caribbean.
The incidents have raised
concerns about work schedules
that don't allow controllers
realistic opportunities for sleep.
The FAA forbids controllers
from sleeping on the job, even
during the 20-minute to 30-
minute breaks they receive
every few hours. Babbitt stood
by that position Monday.
Instead, the agency said it will
require controllers to have an
extra hour off between shifts—
a minimum of nine hours
instead of eight— to get more
sleep.
Babbitt said at the meeting that
the scandal caused by sleeping
controllers has harmed the
agency's credibility. He said
passengers should never have
to worry about whether a flight
crew is rested, a plane is
properly maintained or air
traffic controllers are on the
job.
"That should never be a
thought for anybody getting in
an airplane in this country," he
said. "And it hasn't been a
thought. But unfortunately, we
have raised that concern."