Error Puts 3 Planes on Same Path at LAX

Are controllers given medical substance abuse tests after an incident
like this?

With an attitude like this:

"We're human beings and we do make mistakes," said Bob Marks, vice
president for the regional office of the National Air Traffic
Controllers Assn.

Is it time Air Traffic Controllers be made to suffer some physical
consequence (like those of the people aboard the aircraft) if their
errors result in an accident?

Pilots have their lives on the line; why shouldn't controllers tasked
with similar responsibility have the same Sward Of Damocles hanging
over their heads?

Would you be comfortable flying with a _pilot_ who was that nonchalant
about errors?

What sort of consequences are ATC personnel subject to as a result of
an operational error? Retraining? Suspension? Loss of certificate?
Loss of pay? Dismissal? Incarceration? Restitution?


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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...nes-california
Error Puts 3 Planes on Same Path at LAX

An arriving jet passes within 275 feet of one flight as another
aircraft crosses the runway.
By Amanda Covarrubias, Times Staff Writer

Two planes flew dangerously close to each other at Los Angeles
International Airport on Friday after an air traffic controller
directed three aircraft to use the same runway at the same time,
officials said Wednesday.

Federal aviation officials will investigate the incident, and then the
FAA will classify it as to severity. Officials attributed the incident
to human error on the part of the controller.

"We're human beings and we do make mistakes," said Bob Marks, vice
president for the regional office of the National Air Traffic
Controllers Assn., who added that the incident involved a veteran
controller who is set to retire this year.

....

Friday's incident began a few minutes before 11:30 p.m. when a
Southwest Airlines jet that was about to land on the airport's
northernmost runway was diverted by an air traffic controller to a
nearby runway.

Moments later, the controller told a regional SkyWest plane that it
could cross the same runway as it taxied to the terminal. He also told
an arriving Air Canada jet that it could cross the far end of the
runway in the Southwest flight's path.

The SkyWest aircraft was making its way toward the runway and stopped
short when its pilot saw the Southwest jet approaching. The Southwest
aircraft flew within about 275 feet of the SkyWest plane, according to
the initial investigative report, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

As the Southwest jet touched down, the Air Canada plane crossed its
path at the far end of the runway on its way to the terminal. Seeing
the Air Canada plane, the Southwest pilot slowed and turned onto a
taxiway, never getting closer than 5,600 feet to the other aircraft,
Brown said.

The FAA has not determined what led the controller to switch the
Southwest aircraft to the other runway as it prepared to land.

But typically, Marks said, controllers make such decisions in order to
use runways more efficiently.

The incident marked the first such near miss of 2006. Officials said
it pointed to the need to rework the runway configurations at LAX,
which has had one of the worst records for runway safety violations in
the nation in recent years.

Last year, the airport had five near-miss incidents. It had seven in
2004, nine in 2003, six in 2002 and nine in 2001.

"We've worked very closely with the city to identify what we can do to
improve runway safety at LAX," Brown said. "Our primary focus is on
reducing all runway incursions. We take them all seriously because we
see them as precursors to accidents, and our main goal is to prevent
runway collisions."

Although the controllers' union has complained in the past that
understaffing can lead overworked controllers to make more mistakes,
Marks said staffing did not appear to be a contributing factor on
Friday. He estimated that four controllers were on duty in the control
tower, the usual number for that hour of the night.
....