OK, so it’s not the most important issue of the week. But it’s the one that bugged me the most.
And that’s the story of the air traffic controller at New York’s JFK airport who took his kids to work – and actually let them take over the microphone to direct traffic on a couple of outgoing flights.
There’s so much about this story I can’t believe.
For starters, how could that employee possibly be so clueless? What if there had been a sudden emergency, like another plane taxiing onto the same runway, where a split second decision had to be made?
And why did the pilots just laugh and go along, as if it was just a funny stunt? Are they that careless about proper safety procedures? Did they really want their flight operations guided by a 7-year old?
But my first concern is: Why should anybody, other than trained personnel, be allowed in an airport tower? Any outsider is an obvious distraction from what we are all told is the most stressful job in the world.
It’s hard to believe the FAA didn’t act sooner, but they’d better crack down quick – before somebody lets a 7-year old take over controls of a 747.
That’s my parting shot for today.
