Posted on 08/13/2009 10:42:57 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The air traffic controller at Teterboro Airport was on the phone with his girlfriend during the mid-air collision over the Hudson River.
His supervisor had wandered off and wasn't even in the tower.
Horrified officials called their actions "unacceptable," even though they were not blamed for Saturday's crash.
Both controllers - who were not immediately identified - have been suspended and will likely be fired.
Crash probes by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration revealed the two controllers seriously deviated from their assignments at the time of the collision.
Nine people died when a single-engine Piper plane with three aboard clipped a Liberty Helicopters sightseeing chopper carrying a pilot and five Italian tourists. Both aircraft plummeted into the river.
The NTSB and FAA discovered the controller lapses by listening to audio recordings from the Teterboro tower.
"We learned that the controller handling the Piper flight was involved in apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone at the time of the accident," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
I think both guys need 30 years in prison...and they ought to make a 6-minute training video out of this. Thirty seconds of the training video ought to show the wreckage and the loss of life. The remaining 5.5 minutes? Show life in prison. Air Controllers should be forced to watch the training video every six months...to remind them of what its like to screw up on the job.
Government incompetence: coming soon to a hospital near you. :D
Obamacare, in the air...
>His supervisor had wandered off and wasn’t even in the tower.
Horrified officials called their actions “unacceptable,” even though they were not blamed for Saturday’s crash. <
Unbelievable.
They may not have created the original crash course of the two aircraft but they sure as hell didn't do their part to keep track and make warnings accordingly. To say they could not be blamed is in-your-face BS and simply covering their butts.
I suspect that the people who ignored their responsibilities will have no assets left after the relatives of the survivors take them to court.
I still remember the ‘good old days’ before all these marvelous toys were invented when we were caught off guard while playing pocket pool...
I thought the plane and copter were flying under VFR rules and were too low to be tracked by FAA radar. That being said, the lack of attention by the controller during that time could have caused problems for other planes taking off or landing at Teterboro.
“I think both guys need 30 years in prison...”
Then I guess we are fortunate that we are a nation (mostly) where punishment is prescribed by law and guilt is determined by a preponderance of the evidence.
I’m not condoning in any way the lack of attention by the controller...BUT...If in fact the aircraft was flying to low to be tracked by radar and flight rules were VFR, how could the controller have known there was any danger?
If only the guy had been speaking with his boyfriend, then no problem....
Don’t you know. The locals can do no wrong and the out of towners are always at fault.
And even if he did have them "painted" , how would he have communicated...were both those pilots monitoring a specific radio frequency under VFR? Is VFR flight following required in that area?
Oh those lawyers will love that....really opens up a govmint goodies jar...Altman's estate must not be big enough....
I lived in northern NJ and flew out of Essex County Airport. Flight following is not required when VFR applies. I always maintained 100 AGL when in that area around the major airports in NY and never ran into a conflict with the NY controllers.
Seems like you have some local knowledge then...the tape I saw last night cleary showed the Piper flying right into the helo from behind...definetely a rule breaker under VFR, unless the helo had made a last second move one way or the other...if they are not being followed, why is a controller(s) being considered for some degree of blame? I don't get it. Myself, ASEL with about 500, but that 500th was back in the 70s. Been so long, I don't know if ASEL is still a valid abbreviation.
TETERBORO, NJ TETERBORO (TEB) AMDT 5 08325 (FAA) TAKE-OFF MINIMUMS: Rwy 1, 400-2¼ or std. w/ min. climb of 294' per NM to 500. Rwy 6, 300-1½ or std. w/ min. climb of 263' per NM to 400. Rwy 19, 600-2¼ or std. w/ min. climb of 352' per NM to 700. DEPARTURE PROCEDURE: Rwys 1,6, climb to 900 via heading 040° before proceeding on course. Rwy 19, climb to 900 then climbing right turn to 2000 via BWZ R-104 before proceeding on course. Rwy 24, climb to 1100 before proceeding on course. NOTE: Rwy 1, multiple vents
Now if the controller(s)did not monitor the Piper's departure, to see if these procedures were being followed...and being on the phone....uh oh....
Those are IFR departure procedures and may not apply to a VFR departure.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.