The Obama knives are out! I suspect Hank sees the real obama administration now. The guy who should have fallen on his sword is Babbit - a union hack. Babbit appoints a 'political' lawyer to run ATC. How dam dumb can you get?
FAA executive quits over sleeping controllers
By Josh Brown
-The Washington Times
1:46 p.m., Thursday, April 14, 2011
The head of the Air Traffic Organization, a part of the Federal Aviation Administration that oversees the nation’s air traffic control system, resigned Thursday after disclosures of air traffic controllers who were caught sleeping on the job, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt announced.
Hank Krakowski, the chief operating officer of ATO, submitted his resignation in the wake of a slew of reports of air traffic controllers asleep at their posts at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and other sites in recent days. The reports have sparked a full review of operations, according to an FAA statement Thursday.
“Over the last few weeks we have seen examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of a few individuals that have rightly caused the traveling public to question our ability to ensure their safety,” Mr. Babbitt said. “We are conducting a top-to-bottom review of the way we operate our air traffic control system.”
One controller was suspended by the FAA on Wednesday after napping while a medical flight tried to land at a Reno, Nev., airfield. The flight landed safely, but the air traffic controller on duty failed to communicate with the pilot “for approximately 16 minutes,” the FAA said Wednesday.
Following the incident, FAA officials said they will be adding an extra air traffic controller at 27 towers that have only one controller during the midnight shift. The administration also will look at staffing and scheduling more closely during their review.
David Grizzle, the chief counsel to FAA, will serve as acting ATO chief operating officer while the Obama administration searches for a candidate to take over the position permanently, the agency said
“We are all responsible and accountable for safety — from senior FAA leadership to the controller in the tower,” Mr. Babbitt said in the statement.
“I will continue to make whatever changes are necessary to ensure we concentrate on keeping the traveling public safe,” he said.
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