Today's Apocalypse Sign: Anybody Can Be An Air Traffic Controller

Article by Mara Gay printed on AOL:

(March 3) -- At New York's JFK airport, directing planes is mere child's play. At least, that's what some air traffic controllers must have been thinking when they allegedly allowed a child to give instructions to pilots from the control tower.

A Boston news station uncovered an audio clip of what is clearly a child's voice giving the all-clear to pilots as they take off and land commercial airplanes on some of the country's busiest runways.

"Jet Blue 171, cleared for takeoff!" the child can be heard telling one pilot.

The boy seems to have made at least five transmissions from the control tower. Adults can be heard on the tape as well, laughing with the under-aged air controller in their midst.

A pilot tells the youngster he's doing an "awesome job." From the air control tower, a male voice suggests a snow day may be to blame. "That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school," he says, sounding bemused.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which requires air traffic controllers to be licensed, is investigating and says it's not sure when the youngster was in the tower.

"Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic," the FAA said in a statement to the New York Daily News . "This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees."

The air traffic controllers union told the News that what happened in the tower "is not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day in the advancement of aviation safety."

Jim Baker, a retired Delta pilot, told Fox News Boston that "I have never ever heard a small kid in the tower giving instructions for an airplane to take off or cross a runway or any kind of instructions."

John Del Signore of The Gothamist blog wasn't laughing either. "That's almost as funny as the time the air traffic controller was joshing around about barbecuing a cat moments before that fatal plane/helicopter collision over the Hudson," he wrote Wednesday morning.
----------------------------------
Now for my two cents worth...

WOW! and oh yeah...WTF????????

How does anyone in the control tower think this is a good idea...in New York no less!! Ya know, the place where planes flew into buildings and landed in rivers...yes THAT New York!

This kids sounds like he is about 5 or 6 years old, tops. He got snowed out of school, why is he not home with his Mom? The Babysitter? Daycare? Something other than being at work with Dad endangering lives.

Does no one remember Murphy's Law any more? Never mind the fact the kid was at the control panel (which in and of itself is incomprehensible) but if anything had happened in the air or on the ground even a near miss, holy shit! We would be hearing about this for days and several people's lives would be altered forever.

Now the real sobering fact: no matter what, this Dad of the Year candidate did not act alone. Everyone in the tower was an accomplice, the pilots who encouraged the kid by joking with him are accomplices, supervisors who even ALLOWED the kid into the tower are accomplices...there may be more.

This was a group fuck-up. At one of the busiest airports in the country.

And lives were put in danger at a time in our existence where airline stuff is heightened security and tense all the time anyway. I know I am sounding like Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" but seriously, it's the facts.

As cute as the kid sounds in the audio and the fact that nothing really happened and all the rationalizations seem to make sense the bottom line is: a kid was giving flight instructions to pilots flying plane loads of unsuspecting passengers. I'm sorry the disciplinary action on this one cannot come swift enough or hard enough.

This guy is going to have to explain to his kid for many years about how daddy fucked up and you can't have the nice birthday party, or the super cool Christmas present, or a pony. Daddy is an idiot, son.

On the other hand, the reverse of Murphy's Law (what ever the hell we can call it) will probably kick in and this dumbass will be as famous as "Sully" Sullenberger after his Hudson heroics.

Shit's weird that way.

Oh yeah...my seat back is forward and tray table stowed. I have also assumed the crash position...

ALERT ALERT ALERT


STM Update:


9251 Followers


3,802,424 Unique Vistors