The federal official who oversees air traffic controllers resigned on Thursday, a day after the latest alarming incident involving an air traffic controller falling asleep on the job.
The resignation of Air Traffic Organization chief operating officer Hank Krakowski comes after an air traffic controller in Reno, Nev., was found to have been asleep while on duty as an emergency services helicopter with a sick patient aboard asked for guidance to land. It was at least the fourth incident of its kind so far this year, including a highly publicized event in March at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday morning that his agency is “not going to sit back and wait for somebody to tell us what to do.” In an interview on CBS’s “The Early Show,” he said that controllers have been engaged in “ridiculous” and “outrageous behavior.”
He’s ordered that every air traffic tower be staffed with two people at all times “so that people have the assurance that these towers are safe, and the controllers can guide planes in and out of airports,” he said.
But, as with any mishap, heads must roll, and the one in this instance is Krakowski. In a statement released Thursday, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbit called the resigning chief a “dedicated aviation professional,” who was stepping down in light of “unprofessional conduct on the part of a few individuals that have rightly caused the traveling public to question our ability to ensure their safety.”
The FAA’s chief counsel, David Grizzle, assumed the role of acting chief operating officer on Thursday, Babbit said.
“This conduct must stop immediately,” Babbit said. “I am committed to maintaining the highest level of public confidence and that begins with strong leadership.”
Source politico.com
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