Why Are Air Traffic Controllers Making Excuses for Sleeping on the Job?

This excerpt comes from Yahoo! News. Link below for the entire story.

Much more common is taking a nap on purpose, they said. When more than one controller is assigned to the "midnight" shift, which usually runs from about 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., one controller will work two positions while the other one sleeps and then they switch off, controllers said. 

The arrangements sometimes allow controllers to sleep as much as three or four hours out of an eight-hour shift, they said.

FAA regulations forbid sleeping at work, even during breaks. Controllers who are caught can be suspended or fired. But at most air traffic facilities the sleeping swaps are tolerated as long as they don't affect safety, controllers said.

"We've been in denial about this problem forever so you have widespread abuse of a system," said Bill Voss, a former controller and president of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va. "We could have a far better system if we just admitted what is going on and put some structure around it."

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110415/ap_on_bi_ge/us_sleeping_air_traffic_controllers


I can only speak for myself and those that I served with, but when I was a Radioman in the Coast Guard back in the 80's it was inconceivable to me that anyone would even consider purposely taking a nap while on duty, leaving the radio unmanned. It was a court-martial offense. As a radioman, we would often work rotating 12 hour shifts - 2 day shifts, 48 hours off, 2 night shifts, 72 hours off, and start all over again - listening to radio static from multiple sources, and depending on where you were stationed, you were frequently alone unless you hit the alarm and woke up the search & rescue crew. If you were sleepy, you drank lots of coffee. If that wasn't enough, you stood up and paced, or stuck your head out the window. Whatever it took, we had to stay awake and we did! We even had it set up so that if the radioman had to use the john (toilet) - we would flip a switch that activated the speaker above the stalls so you could still do your job(s). And yes, I once copied a mayday position on toilet paper. Fortunately, I always carried an extra pen in my pocket. Afterwards, I started carrying a notepad. (But I digress).

The point is, we were young men and women enlisted in the military. We didn't get paid much, and those in the military today still don't get paid much. But we did our jobs and we knew right from wrong. These air traffic controllers get paid very large salaries with huge pensions to look forward to. The least they can do is earn it.

Oh - and we never knew if we were going to have a slow watch or a frantic one. It was common for it to go from dead quiet to chaos. I used to communicate with patrol boats, cutters (ships), helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, civilians, the Navy, and other military and law enforcement agencies, all at the same time, all while coordinating with the officers in charge and keeping them informed. So I don't want to hear about how difficult or stressful their jobs are.