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news:4a8s13hnhvo9hkjucfj77h87k2opr06e8s@news...
>
> WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two airliners had to circle for 18 minutes and a
> plane ferrying human lungs for transplant was briefly delayed Friday
> while an airport's lone air traffic controller took a bathroom break,
> the controller's union said.
>
> The union on Tuesday cited the Friday incident at the Manchester, New
> Hampshire, airport as evidence that air traffic control facilities are
> understaffed.
>
> "There should never be one person in the tower, because it's not
> safe," said Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic
> Controllers Association. "It's just added proof that the system is
> stretched to its limits, and these are the type of things that are
> happening."
>
> Federal Aviation Administration officials responded that staffing is
> sufficient, that the bathroom break was handled in accordance with
> policy, and that travelers were not endangered or unduly
> inconvenienced.
>
> While drawing vastly different conclusions about the significance of
> the event, the FAA and the union gave details that generally matched.
>
> Both said the controller, whom neither named, had been on duty at
> Manchester-Boston Regional Airport about two hours and 40 minutes
> Friday when he had to take a bathroom break.
>
> Because the only other employee in the tower was not certified to
> handle takeoffs and landings, the controller notified FAA's Boston
> consolidated terminal radar approach control, or TRACON, that he was
> taking the unscheduled break.
>
> FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the controller, who had handled 60
> aircraft during the first three hours of his shift, acted responsibly
> by waiting until a slow period before taking his bathroom break.
> Boston TRACON assumed responsibility for the airspace and placed two
> aircraft in a holding pattern until the controller returned.
>
> Peters said the break lasted 12 minutes, but said a few additional
> minutes may have lapsed as the planes were realigned to land.
>
> "It's the FAA's position that the staffing that was present at
> Manchester was sufficient to safely handle arrivals and departures at
> that time of the evening," Peters said. "He was only gone for 12
> minutes, so while there may have been a slight delay in the aircraft
> landing, certainly the controller did what he had to do."
>
> Union spokesman Church said Southwest Flights 1187 and 2379 were
> delayed 18 minutes. He provided CNN with an FAA "traffic management
> log" indicating an 18-minute lapse during a "bathroom break."
>
> Passengers on the aircraft were probably not informed of the reason
> for the delay, Church said, adding, "They'd probably be angry."
>
> During the controller's break, a Lifeguard flight pilot radioed the
> tower and spoke to a trainee, who was not certified to conduct
> controller operations. The trainee told the pilot he would have to
> wait 10 minutes for the controller to return.
>
> The pilot replied that he had "lungs on board," Church said.
>
> Peters acknowledged that the Lifeguard flight was told it had to wait
> 10 minutes, but said there was no indication from the pilot that the
> delay would cause problems.
>
> The FAA and the controllers' union have skirmished repeatedly in
> recent months about staffing levels at airports.
>
> The union says controllers are often forced to work overtime,
> contributing to fatigue, which results in safety lapses. But the FAA
> says most overtime is voluntary and said instances of involuntary
> overtime are rare.
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/11/tower.break/index.html
>
So what prevented the aircraft from landing?
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