Sir James

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/na...c754c2&k=32553

Skygirl

How can the FAA allow only one controller to be working? What if the controller gets sick, or has to go to the bathroom? I don't care how slow traffic may be at any given airport, at any given time, there should be more than one controller there. I have never been worried much about my safety when I fly,well except the first few times I flew an airbus and heard those strange hydraulic noises, but I got over that. (Settle down airbus pilots, I'm flying airbuses to LAX and LAS and over the next few days, and fly on them all the time)...
I might feel apprehensive now though, when I fly into the smaller airports at off hours. It looks like the blame for this tragedy is going to be spread around to more than just the pilots.

Seattlecfi

Most small airports only have 1 controller during slow times. There are many airports that have no controllers on duty when airliners are landing and departing during overnight hours.

Skygirl

Well that flight left shortly after 6AM on a Sunday. United alone probably has 15 flights leaving SFO between 6-6:15AM on any given morning. Now I know that LEX has no where near the traffic as SFO, but I bet they had more than just that single Comair flight that morning. What about all of the cargo guys flying in and out in the middle of the night? Who is looking out for them in these airports? To me it seems unacceptable to have just one body in the tower as long as that airport is operating.

Seattlecfi

LEX was supposed to have 2 controllers if 1 of them were working radar. If they weren't working radar, only 1 was required. There just isn't the traffic need for more than 1.

There are many mornings around 6am that I depart airports where there are multiple air carriers departing before the tower opens. KAZO opens at 6am. I think there is only 1 controller then, and multiple aircraft departing.

When the tower is closed, you treat it as any other uncontrolled airport. The tower was undermanned that morning, but no one will ever know if the proper staffing would have prevented the crash.

miker1369

I beg to differ as an air traffic controller the FAA has cut our staffing everywhere not just the little airports. The FAA is trying to get as much as they can for as little cost as they can until something happens, then the FAA will play clean up, staff us up for a little while until people forget and then go right back to the way it was.

As far as the little airport, Birmingham ATCT is busier than ATL on a lot of its mids. A lot of these smaller airports have maint facilities for the airlines, TYS-has BTA and a NWA commuter hanger. They also have small cargo operations, Check Haulers, Medical Flights, etc. LEX has around 10 flights between 5:30 and 6:30 A.M. While that may not be much to you, it is to the one controller working everything. That lone controller could be giving you a clearance on the ground, while working on a handoff to ZID with an A/C out of 9,000 twenty miles away from the airport, working on a release with TMU for an A/C going up to LGA and taking a UPS point out on an aircraft going into SDF.

I know when it comes to safety, I don't mind if there are ten controllers in that tower at 6:00 A.M. all the more eyes to watch over me. But why would you even say that you are alright with one controller? That is like saying you would be alright with one pilot in a 737, I know I wouldn't be. Maybe it is just a lack of understanding from you on what exactly we do.

So in closing for you to say there just isn't enough traffic to have more than one, how do you know? Do you work there? Are you an air traffic controller? We are suppossed to have more than one so we can have checks and balances, so we can watch over the sky's safely. Instead of saying they don't rate the second controller because they aren't busy enough, you as a pilot should be screaming at the FAA to add that body in the tower. Wether it could have saved the COMAIR flight or not, and the fact that we will never know, we should look at the fact of it could have and demand the FAA lives by its own policies.

CargoBob

The blame lies w/ the pilots! We are all capable of making mistake, so I mean no disrespect to the crew...but come on, blaming the FAA and controller is a little overboard.

I happen to enjoy quiet uncontrolled fields and LEX at 0600 is pretty quiet.

If you think they need two guys in the tower at all times--even at 0600 in LEX, then you better staff 6 FAA controllers. 2 on duty, 1 on a restroom brake, 1 on a smoke brake, and 1 in a classroom receiving continuation training and the occasional government mandated Diversity Awareness/Equal Opportunity/Social Progress/Affirmitive Action/Civil Rights/Anti Homophobia Class...AKA DAEOSPAACRAH Class.

If you ever held a govt job you will know what I'm talking about.

It was a tragic mistake, investigate it and come up w/ some effective and efficient recommendations...notice I left off solutions...accidents happen.

Freightpuppy

C'mon CB....you know it's the concrete contractor that paved the runways fault! Oh yeah.....it's also the airplane wheel manufacturer's fault.

GEOFFREY

I totally agree with Cargo Bob. The primary cause of this accident rests with the pilots. True, there was only one controller, but that did not result in the pilots taking the wrong runway. I have flown in and out of LEX many times. I know the area. What is wrong with blaming the pilots if they were wrong?

miker1369

I am not saying not to, that is up to the NTSB on who to blame. I am not putting blame on anyone. All I am saying, aviation used to be all about safety, all the things that you or I do we do for a reason, we have redundancy so we can catch each others mistakes. Now aviation including the FAA is all about cost. The controller cleared the aircraft for the right runway and had to go on doing other work, it’s not the controllers fault. All I was saying is if ATC had the staffing that they are supposed to, the controller could have been looking out the window and maybe just maybe it could have been prevented, since it was in 1993 at LEX.


ACN: 256788 (76 of 130)
Time / Day
Date : 199311
Local Time Of Day : 0601 To 1200
Day : Sat

Assessments

Primary Problem : Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident : Pilot Deviation

Narrative

ACFT WAS CLRED FOR IMMEDIATE TKOF (TFC INSIDE THE MARKER) ON RWY 22. WE TAXIED ONTO RWY AND TOLD TWR WE NEEDED A MOMENT TO CHK OUR DEP ROUTING WITH OUR WX RADAR (STORMS IN THE AREA, RAINING AT THE ARPT). WE REALIZED OUR HDG WAS NOT CORRECT FOR ASSIGNED RWY AND AT THAT MOMENT TWR CALLED US TO CANCEL TKOF CLRNC BECAUSE WE WERE LINED UP ON RWY 26. WE TAXIED CLR AND HELD SHORT OF RWY 22 FOR LNDG TFC. WE TOOK OFF ON RWY 22 AND PROCEEDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE POOR VISIBILITY AND WX (RAIN), CONFUSING RWY INTXN AND TWR'S REQUEST FOR AN IMMEDIATE TKOF. SUGGEST POSSIBLE WARNING PAGE (SIMILAR TO HOUSTON HOBBY) TO CLARIFY MULTIPLE RWY ENDS.

Synopsis

FLC OF AN MLG ACR ACFT INADVERTENTLY TAXIED INTO POS FOR TKOF ON THE WRONG RWY.