Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 08/28/2026 5:21:25 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
Two air traffic controllers left work early the night an Air Canada regional jet smashed into a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport, killing two people in March, according to reports.
The Federal Aviation Administration is moving to fire the two controllers who left work about an hour before their shifts ended on March 22 — leaving two remaining controllers to handle more than twice the usual volume of traffic on the night of the deadly collision, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
That evening, the Air Canada regional jet barreled into the Port Authority fire truck while it was crossing the runway in a fiery collision that killed the two pilots in the cockpit and injured 39 others on board.
The two firefighters inside the fire truck were also injured, but ultimately survived and have been placed on leave.
Leaving early is referred to as an “early shove” and is a longstanding practice in the industry, according to current and former controllers, the Journal reported.
Managers have at times allowed controllers to cut loose before their shift ends, for example, when they have only a break left.
The FAA, however, views the practice as a form of timecard fraud. Current and former officials with the federal agency argue that controllers may still be needed for emergencies, even if they are on break.
The agency has axed more than 10 controllers for alleged timecard fraud or abuse of leave policies, signaling a more aggressive approach under the Trump administration, people familiar with the matter told the outlet.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the March crash and determining the role tower staffing may have played in the fatal collision.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
DEI hires? Would not be surprised.
Earlier Story:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4371812/posts
I hope they fire the supervisors as well.
If those two left with the permission of the supervisor then the liability lands square on those shoulders.
Longstanding informal rules can be the death of efficiency.
Cut out early but still on the clock.
If they skipped their break and left early while working their allotted total time, how is that a problem?
If they leave the tower shorthanded by taking a break, whenever that break is, that’s a management and manpower issue, not fraud.
If only one can be on break at a time by the rules, the supervisor is the one at fault, not the employee.
Employees ask for special consideration all the time and if the supervisor allows it, that’s not on the employee.
“If they skipped their break and left early while working their allotted total time, how is that a problem?”
Perhaps that works at Walmart or DMV. But…. “AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS”?
They don't hire enough staff so those on shift work through their breaks. It's a regular occurrence.
In order to avoid breaking the law and also avoid claims for overtime for working through their breaks, managers let staff leave prior to the end of the shift.
Again, management decision. Employees can ask. Management says yes or no.
-PJ
Hmmm, why is that? Were they in a wrong place?
They drove across a runway directly into the path of a landing aircraft.
Hmmm, why is that? Were they in a wrong place?
I've seen nothing to say they entered the runway without authorization. (Although failing to see the blindingly bright headlight of the landing aircraft is questionable).
I suspect the leave is medical since the crash was intense.
Exactly. Management is at fault, not the employee.
I think we may need to hire more FAA air traffic controllers.
Correct that it’s on the supervisor.
Leaving a bit early instead of taking a break earlier in the day in some lines of work arguably makes little difference. If one is on a widget production line, for example.
In some other lines of work, it can be huge problem. For example, if while on ‘break’ one remains obligated to respond to emergent matters of life and death, it could make a huge difference. Imagine a cop on break. A call about an armed robbery a block away comes in. End of break, back on duty. It’s similar for ATCs, where their presence on site, whether on or off break, provides the ability to respond to serious emergencies.
But, the author (Zoe Hussain) didn't say that the accident happened while the shift was short of people because of this early shove, just that the accident happened the same night. At least I didn't see her mention that.
Cut out early but still on the clock.
~~~
It’s even worse if they got paid for it, but even if they didn’t, this seems like stupid rediculous problem to me.
Burger flippers making minimum can’t just leave their jobs an hour early, and the worse thing that happens if/when they did is someone has to wait longer for their royale with cheese. How is it that people directly responsible for transportation safety can leave their jobs early without anyone to cover for them?
But this was an “informal” process. The way I read it is that if an agent has a 1 hour lunch break per shift, but only 1 hour left on their shift then the supervisor would allow them to leave early. On the time card they would appear to have worked their entire shift, but they did not “adhere to their schedule.”
I’ve had to staff call centers in the past. People would try to do this crap all the time. But when staffing a situation like this you need bodies in the seats. If there were call outs or not enough staff there are going to be times when you are short.
While I don’t know for sure, I imagine there are FAA regs about taking breaks and consecutive work hours. I would also the think the union would have something to say about that stuff.
Based on what I read, this is a scheduling problem and if the supervisors were dancing around the “shift adherence” rules, then they should get fired as well.
Many of any companies efficiency and accuracy problems end up being the result of bad or poorly trained supervisors.
As far as staffing is concerned, it was easy to get more agents in my call centers. Banking calls are not difficult to train for; ATCs are a different story. The lead time must be measured in years.
This is not as simple as, “they left early.”
If the workload doubles, then no one should go home until things calm down. We’re not talking flipping hamburgers. Hundreds of lives can be at risk all in the same timeframe and area. I know it’s a mind-blowing job, but I don’t see how one can walk away without handing off one’s station.
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.