The R man, or Radar Controller, in the 1970s, had ultimate responsibility. I got fully rated in 1972 and didn't completely realize the awesome responsibility I had been handed. There was no backup plan if I made a mistake like there is today.
Today if a controller makes a mistake between two planes the computer makes the screen start flashing to show where, if nothing is done, there will be a conflict between the two planes in question within the next couple of minutes, giving the controller the opportunity to correct his mistake. The controller is then visited by the supervisor, taken off the position, and shown the error he has made.
In addition, if no correction still hasn't been made, the airplanes computers will then automatically make the planes in question turn or change altitude to avoid a collision.
There were no such backup systems when I became fully rated. And since we weren't clairvoyant and couldn't see into the future it was perfectly natural for us to accept how things were. I basically treated the job like a video game because, I think to have done otherwise, would have put too much pressure on me.
If I went around thinking about the fact that I literally had the lives of thousands of people depending on my words and actions, it might have been much more difficult for me.
A very close call
I had been fired in 1981 for striking against the government. I got rehired in 1995. Sometime between those two years, the FAA instituted a system where they set up a command center in Washington. This command center communicates with each of the 20 regional air traffic control centers around the country to determine based on numerous factors when planes could take off so that there would be minimum or no holding.
Before that changed, planes would take off from their airports depending mostly on the local weather and the weather at their destination. But primarily the airlines themselves scheduled their takeoff times when they thought the public would want to depart, and that caused major traffic jams.
As a consequence, continued flight into the New York center airspace would depend on what controllers could safely handle.
If a controller at that time felt that he was being saturated and could no longer safely handle any more planes, the controller in the previous center would be told to "spin" the airplane at the boundary. And it worked the other way too. When we were handing our airplanes off to the radar controller who handled the flights into Laguardia, Newark or Kennedy, they would tell us to spin our planes if necessary. Sometimes planes could be holding out at the various fixes for hours.
One day, in 1979, the weather was extremely poor in the New York area and I was working sector 19, which normally handed off to Newark and Laguardia. One of the planes that was holding was a Pan American 747. After holding there for several hours, the pilot told me that he could not hold any longer and asked me to find an airport for him that had weather good enough for him to land.
I immediately called Newark and they said that there had been a slight change in the weather and to turn him over. I then put the 747 on a heading for Newark and changed his frequency to Newark's. I then continued working my flights. About a half hour later I received a call from Newark and was told a bone chilling story.
The Pan Am flight landed OK but as it was taxiing in, each of the four engines shut down due to lack of fuel and had to be towed in to the ramp!!
Before that changed, planes would take off from their airports depending mostly on the local weather and the weather at their destination. But primarily the airlines themselves scheduled their takeoff times when they thought the public would want to depart, and that caused major traffic jams.
As a consequence, continued flight into the New York center airspace would depend on what controllers could safely handle.
If a controller at that time felt that he was being saturated and could no longer safely handle any more planes, the controller in the previous center would be told to "spin" the airplane at the boundary. And it worked the other way too. When we were handing our airplanes off to the radar controller who handled the flights into Laguardia, Newark or Kennedy, they would tell us to spin our planes if necessary. Sometimes planes could be holding out at the various fixes for hours.
One day, in 1979, the weather was extremely poor in the New York area and I was working sector 19, which normally handed off to Newark and Laguardia. One of the planes that was holding was a Pan American 747. After holding there for several hours, the pilot told me that he could not hold any longer and asked me to find an airport for him that had weather good enough for him to land.
I immediately called Newark and they said that there had been a slight change in the weather and to turn him over. I then put the 747 on a heading for Newark and changed his frequency to Newark's. I then continued working my flights. About a half hour later I received a call from Newark and was told a bone chilling story.
The Pan Am flight landed OK but as it was taxiing in, each of the four engines shut down due to lack of fuel and had to be towed in to the ramp!!
"Routine" work
At times the radar controller's job is fairly routine. The thing is, just as in flying, you never know exactly when "routine" could quickly turn into a very scary scenario . A lot of it depended on the weather.
Many of the sectors we are in charge of are fairly small and all you need is some bad weather to make the planes turn off course to avoid thunderstorms. And sometimes when they do that the planes will start leaving your airspace requiring coordination with adjoining sector controllers to see if there will be any conflicts. One plane deviating isn't too bad but if that happens in the middle of a rush of traffic and both sectors are busy, things can get out of hand in a hurry. This is when the watch supervisor (the person in charge of the whole center for that shift) had to be on the lookout for situations that could occur like that and stop or slow the traffic.
Many of the sectors we are in charge of are fairly small and all you need is some bad weather to make the planes turn off course to avoid thunderstorms. And sometimes when they do that the planes will start leaving your airspace requiring coordination with adjoining sector controllers to see if there will be any conflicts. One plane deviating isn't too bad but if that happens in the middle of a rush of traffic and both sectors are busy, things can get out of hand in a hurry. This is when the watch supervisor (the person in charge of the whole center for that shift) had to be on the lookout for situations that could occur like that and stop or slow the traffic.
Sometimes it was a new trainee. I was working a string of flights going down South one night during what we called "the 9:30 push". I had about 20 or so planes, most of them going to Florida. Everything was very routine. This was during the days when we used "shrimp boats" to follow the targets.
During that push a trainee decided to put a strip in the bottom of the bay (which lay directly over the scope). Well he did the unthinkable and knocked down all the strips above the one he was handling. All 20 strips came crashing down on top of my shrimp boats causing me to almost have a stroke. I was so upset I threw my pencil into the ceiling where it probably still is today (not really). Anyway I managed to reidentify all of my flights before there was a problem. I never did find out who the trainee was.
During that push a trainee decided to put a strip in the bottom of the bay (which lay directly over the scope). Well he did the unthinkable and knocked down all the strips above the one he was handling. All 20 strips came crashing down on top of my shrimp boats causing me to almost have a stroke. I was so upset I threw my pencil into the ceiling where it probably still is today (not really). Anyway I managed to reidentify all of my flights before there was a problem. I never did find out who the trainee was.
How to become an air traffic controller
First of all, there is an age limit of 31. Since it normally takes at least 1 year to be hired after you take the test, it is recommended that you start the whole process no later than age 29 and much earlier if possible.
The job can be a very satisfying one since whatever you've done during your shift is final. That is, you don't bring it home and dwell on it normally. The next day is a brand new day. The job is an important job. The people who do it well are respected both by their peers and by the general public. And the job pays very well.
The job can be a very satisfying one since whatever you've done during your shift is final. That is, you don't bring it home and dwell on it normally. The next day is a brand new day. The job is an important job. The people who do it well are respected both by their peers and by the general public. And the job pays very well.
Recently, however, the sequestration in congress has shut the door on new hires. But that does not mean that hiring will not start in the near future. So all you twenty somethings go to http://www.faa.gov/jobs/job_opportunities/airtraffic_controllers/ to get information.
do this often to see when tests will be given in your area. Also, once they do open up the job again, you are not restricted to the area that you live in. You can apply to any part of the country that you may be interested in.
do this often to see when tests will be given in your area. Also, once they do open up the job again, you are not restricted to the area that you live in. You can apply to any part of the country that you may be interested in.
Since the job is very much sought after, it would behoove anyone interested in it to at least go to the local library and look at the testing material. In order to be considered, a grade of over 90% is usually what is needed to get hired. So reading the material that shows what must be done to get such a grade is very important.
Next Week
Next week's blog will get into my return to the FAA after a break in service of over 13 years!
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