The head of air traffic control in the United States resigned on Thursday after an embarrassing spate of cases in which controllers were found napping on the job. The resignation of Hank Krakowski was accepted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Randy Babbitt, who promised a major shake-up of the system to win back public trust in its safety.
"Over the last few weeks we have seen examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of a few individuals that have rightly caused the travelling public to question our ability to ensure their safety," he said in a statement. "This conduct must stop immediately. I am committed to maintaining the highest level of public confidence and that begins with strong leadership."
Babbitt said FAA chief counsel Dave Grizzle would assume the job temporarily while the search for a permanent director of Air Traffic Organisation was carried out. Last month two jets carrying a total of 165 people were forced to land without help at Reagan National Airport, just a few miles from the White House, because the lone controller on the night shift had fallen asleep.
The FAA has revealed that another air traffic controller at a major airport in Seattle has fallen asleep several times, most recently during a morning shift on Monday. What appeared to be the final straw came on Wednesday when a controller at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada fell asleep on the job, forcing a medical plane carrying an ill patient to land unaided. The FAA has also suspended two workers for a March 29 incident in Lubbock, Texas.
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