Did you see this? On March 22, an air traffic controller supposedly fell asleep in the control tower around midnight on March 22. Two passenger airliners had to land at Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
While they’re not sure why the Reagan Airport controller fell asleep, according to the National Transportation Safety Board report he was working his fourth consecutive overnight shift in a row. In a recent issue of Time, Meredith Melnick reported that night work is particularly exhausting because its incompatible with the schedules of everyone else. She also points out that shift work is unpredictable and difficult to get accustomed to no matter how many years someone’s been doing it.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, there’s actually a disorder called Shift Work Sleep Disorder. It impacts a person’s circadian rhythm or 24hr rhythmic output of the human biological clock and is considered a disorder because of the frequency with which people suffer from sleep disturbance and excessive sleepiness in trying to adapt to a shift work schedule.
Fatigue in the workplace can be dangerous, especially in jobs such as firefighting, emergency medical services, law enforcement, and transportation where shift work is prevalent. The NSF website goes on to state, “Managers and policy makers who are responsible for writing and enforcing rules regarding employee work hours must address the specific issues of a 24-hour work force in order to succeed and benefit from such a labor force…to ignore the needs of the shift worker is reckless and irresponsible…”
Though I’m no expert, it seems to me an air traffic controller has important and potentially dangerous job responsibilities. So…why was only one controller on duty that night? We know the controller has been suspended and two controllers will now cover the overnight shift together. Further, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has asked the FAA to study staffing levels at other airports around the country.
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment