I hope the FAA has a very fat wallet

It's my understanding that the second controller would be staffing the radar
position and not a tower position. Not defending only one controller on
duty but if two were on duty what their assigned duties would accomplish.
Al

"Ron Lee" wrote in message
...
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:


"FUBAR" wrote in message
...

If the controller staffing had been according to FAA orders(2
controllers), maybe the second controller would have been keeping an eye
on the active field(That's what controllers do) and the other is filling
out some worthless Government paperwork? Controller screams abort on
departure frequency and maybe an aborted and embarrassed takeoff is the
only result.


Maybe. Maybe a second controller wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.
After, two well-qualified, experienced professional pilots didn't catch
the
error.

I read a report that the FAA also questioned the utility of two
controllers in preventing this accident. Of course that could be
driven by legal issues but ultimately the pilots were responsible
(hence pilot in command).

Ron Lee

Two-Controller Policy

The FAA in November 2005 clarified that at least two controllers are
required in towers that use radar to direct planes at and near airports.
Planes that violated separation standards in the Raleigh-Durham area of
North Carolina prompted the FAA staffing change, said Laura Brown, an agency
spokeswoman.

FAA officials learned after the accident that the policy hadn't been
followed in Lexington and ``directed the facility manager to ensure that a
minimum of two controllers are on duty at all times,'' Brown said in an
interview.

Lexington has a radar room in the same tower from which controllers can look
out windows to direct traffic on the ground. FAA workers there can monitor
the radar from the radar room or from the top of the tower. The controller
on the overnight shift the morning of the Comair crash was doing both of
those functions.

Weekend traffic levels at Lexington average about six aircraft per night
between midnight and 6 a.m., Brown said.


"