NEW YORK - An air traffic controller at New York's Kennedy Airport was suspended for allowing his young son to radio instructions to several pilots.
The few quick exchanges between the elementary-school-aged child and jets waiting to take off from JFK, one of the nation's busiest airports, appeared to delight pilots at the time.
"I wish I could bring my kid to work," one said, wistfully.
But the Federal Aviation Administration suspended the controller and a supervisor Wednesday after recordings of the calls were posted on the Internet, then reported on by a Boston television station.
The media is making too big of a deal of this, but that was a pretty damn stupid thing for the guy to do. Mostly because he should have known how people would react when they heard about it.
Dumb, yes. Worthy of dismissal, no.
Did anybody crash?
No?
Not a story worthy of national news time.
Did anybody crash?
No?
Not a story worthy of national news time.
The only thing I don't get is why on earth was the child with him at his work?
I consider that unacceptable and, as a manager in the past, would have sent an employee home if they brought their child with them.
That, actually, is why they gave him the boot - it's against policy and hes in direct violation of that policy and that's what happens.
It's, also, against policy to allow family and friends to visit as well.
I visit air traffic control towers all the time. You don't know what you're talking about.
The FAA said it has also barred unofficial visits by friends or relatives to FAA air traffic operational areas while it reviews its policies.
It involves airline travel. People freak out over everything.
If people had a clue how the regional carriers operated they'd never get on an airplane.
None the less - I can't imagine why someone would bring a child to work. Children can be nothing but distractions. What if the child (now up to two on record, not just the one initially reported) but what if the child threw a mega temper tantrum or decided to run amuck pushing all sorts of buttons?
I used to take my daughter to legislative committee meetings at the state capital on a regular basis. She'd sit there quietly and read a book or color. The state legislators thought she was charming as hell. She also used to come to my office in the police department on a regular basis and hang out at my desk. She never caused any problems and it delighted the guys in my unit, who teased the crap out of her.
FWIW, I used to take gang members home to my house for dinner on a regular basis, as well. Of course, those were the good old days, back in the 90s, when people were slightly less uptight than they are now.
I don't think the issue relates at all to the fact that a child was brought to work. The issue is that a child was brought to you a job that entails traffic control and traffic safety. People where I work bring their kids to work on a regular basis. It's not a problem. Our job doesn't entail safety issues.
I brought my daughter to the gang unit office where guys were investigating cases and planning search warrants. And, I brought my work home to my house (I felt like there was minimal risk, but there was still some risk). These days, that would be forbidden as it would be called a lawsuit waiting to happen. But allowing my clients to interact with my kids, cooking for them, having them eat with my family--that was seen by my clients as a huge act of trust and a privilege.
Personally, I think the concerns are overblown. I guess there are so many badly behaved children out there that people have forgotten that this used to be rather commonplace for many of us.
aps said:In this circumstance, the safety of planes and their passengers was at issue.
To add, this posed a very dire safety concern - what made the pilot feel ok with an unfamiliar and unidentified voice over the air? What if the tower was taken over in some bizarre terrorist attack and some idiot was streaming out commands or something?
Any risk was to your daughter. I don't see the correlation with the situation at hand.
I don't see how people think that children going to work with their parents is appropriate for every job. It depends on the specifics of the job. In this circumstance, the safety of planes and their passengers was at issue. Children have no business being there. I don't care how quiet they are. They are a distraction, whether a positive one or a negative one.
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