An air traffic controller who watched movie on duty
April 19th, 2011 - 6:54 pm ICT by IANSLondon, April 19 (IANS) An air traffic controller in the US watched a movie while on duty and he was outed when his microphone was activated resulting in the movie’s soundtrack being heard by all planes in the airspace he was supposed to be monitoring, it was reported here.
The controller watched the 2007 crime thriller “Cleaner” on a DVD player Sunday at a regional radar centre in Cleveland, Daily Telegraph reported.
His microphone was activated and that led to a brief transmission of the movie’s soundtrack to all aircraft in the airspace which he was supposed to be monitoring, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The microphone then got stuck in the transmit mode and it prevented him from hearing incoming radio calls or issuing instructions to planes for more than three minutes.
Eight controllers and supervisors have been suspended by the FAA since late March for allegedly losing contact with aircraft, the media report said.
In five instances, the controllers allegedly fell asleep.
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Tags: air traffic controller, airspace, crime thriller, daily telegraph, dvd player, faa, federal aviation administration, instances, london, microphone, planes, radio, regional radar, three minutes