Good to see that our safety is of the utmost importance when travelling in the United States. Remind me never to book the red-eye if I happen to be travelling within American borders. You know you're desperate to stay awake if you're resorting to watching a non-descript "crime thriller" to pass the time...
By Joan Lowy and Ray Henry of the Associated Press
An air traffic controller has been suspended for watching a movie when he was supposed to be monitoring aircraft, deepening the Federal Aviation Administration's embarrassment following at least five cases of controllers sleeping on the job.
In the latest incident, the controller was watching a movie on a DVD player early Sunday morning while on duty at a regional radar center in Oberlin, Ohio, near Cleveland that handles high-altitude air traffic, the FAA said in a statement Monday.
The controller's microphone was inadvertently activated, transmitting the audio of the movie — the 2007 crime thriller "Cleaner," starring Samuel L. Jackson — for more than three minutes to all the planes in the airspace that the controller was supposed to be monitoring, the agency said.
The controller's microphone became stuck in the transmit position, preventing him from hearing incoming radio calls or issuing instructions to planes during the incident, the agency said.
The controller was alerted to the mishap when he was contacted by a military pilot.
Besides the controller, the FAA also has suspended a manager at the Oberlin center.
In all, the FAA has suspended nine controllers and supervisors since late March.
In five of the cases the controllers allegedly fell asleep. In another case, the FAA is investigating why two controllers in Lubbock, Texas, were unresponsive to radio calls.
Nearly all the incidents occurred during overnight shifts when traffic is light and people naturally have trouble staying awake.
The incidents have shaken FAA officials, made air traffic controllers the butt of late-night comedians and raised public jitters about the safety of air travel.