The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating employees at the Kennedy Airport air-traffic control tower for apparently allowing a school-age child to transmit directions to pilots.
The young boy, apparently under adult supervision, made a handful of transmissions to pilots on a tape deemed genuine by the FAA.
JFK TOWER (Child): JetBlue 171 contact departure.
PILOT: Over to departure JetBlue 171, awesome job.
A male voice, seemingly the adult supervising the child, joins in with a laugh.
JFK TOWER: That’s what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school.
The child is heard communicating with a Jet Blue pilot, on an active runway at one of the nation’s busiest airports. The pilot seems to be impressed.
But FAA officials are not amused, saying in a written statement:
“Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic. This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees.”
A spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association released this statement:
“We do not condone this type of behavior in any way. It is not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day in the advancement of aviation safety.”
And while the transmission may have momentarily broken up the tension in a notoriously stressful profession, there’s a chance the tower employee in question may very well be forced to say goodbye to his job.
The urgent question, one of many, is how the child even got access to an area that is supposed to be highly restricted.
CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg said no one has the authority to communicate with a “sterile” cockpit.
(Source: http://wcbstv.com/ Eli Rowe / YWN-32 / YWN-35)
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16 Responses
Now you know why we say tefilas Haderech. It is a miracle that no one was killed as a result of their “fun”.
It must’ve been Shushan Purim, and the kid didn’t go to cheder 🙂
See this Out Of The Mailbag letter
What was that emplyee thinking?????? I certainly hope he is forced to say goodbye!
I’m with #1 totally. What a miracle that nothing happened. Well, we know Hashem is in charge and that’s why we do say Tefilas Haderech.
We have enough to worry about with terrorists. Now we have to worry about stupid employees too?
The plane that crashed near Buffalo last year was because the pilots were chatting & having fun also. How irresponsible can you get! I agree with Flatbush Bubby…we old ladies talk sense!
A miracle? Maybe it’s a miracle how dumb people are. Since when does a child’s voice cause accidents. Why can’t the FAA get busy with the real stuff? All you hear today is, oh he’s gonna be fired.
Everybody responds to the emotion that it might evoke. No one says any attention anymore to what actually makes a difference. Someone here allowed a child to say the initiating sentence to a pilot who is cruising peacefully. The adult is there on top of him, and continues the conversation. But, Oh! Airplane!?! Fire him.
Koton im gadol omed al gabav – MUTAR!
Big deal! The child was clearly being supervised. The airport should worry more about the unsupervised employees who work in security and the soberness of the actual pilots.
What’s the difference between an actual child and adults with the mentality of a preschooler on the job, who got the job due to racial profiling!
This will continue happening. Listen to the test scores in most areas and you’ll understand for yourself. Go to the airports and see who is working there. Sometimes i feel as if i am in a foreign country!
So perhaps the kid was more capable of the adult!
Did you ever go to the doctor and see a youngster filling out the forms for an older person such as a male sibbling because he is illiterate in English because most post bar mitzva boys are only learning limudei kodesh. Even the English they did learn was maximum on a third grade level!
MoshiachNow01, bist du mit allemen? Fun vamen kumt a yid?
Bestbubby, we mother-in-laws know best. Let’s pray that MoshiachNow01 is not our son-in-law. Ach und vey oyf zein kup.
#10…Clearly you did not comprehend that the child was supervised and gave genuine transmissions. So how you jump to where “it was a miracle no one was killed” would be interesting to hear.
Since you were being mean and clearly violating Shmiras Haloshon, and dragging another person and myself into the pit with you, all I can say is with a mother-in-law like you, who needs enemas. lol. Plus, whoever said I was male?
I mochel you and will continue to read your future posts.
6,
Please pay attention here for a second as I attempt to teach you something.
When the TOWER is communicating with the airplane as was seemingly the case here, the plane is in the airport between the active runway (awaiting departure clearance) & about 1000 feet UP IN THE AIR. The tower also in in contact with the aircraft for the last few miles of the flight until it lands & turns off the active runway. The tower DOES NOT communicate with any aircraft at any other time while it is in the air!!
Therefore the kid seemingly communicating with thr aircraft here was doing so in a very stress full time period of the flight.
To best bubby:
I know who flatbush bubby is hes my friend and hes a yungerman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To all you bubbies (genuine or impersonating)
“get a life”.
chill.
He was supervised and it was a non-critical moment. Even the pilot was ok with it.
It was great for moral.
What’s the big deal if a kid can be a city councilman he can talk on the air traffic control.
If it had just been that one kid that one time, we might be able to say no harm done.
However the latest news is that it was at least two kids at at least two different times.
If such things are allowed with excuses like
“he was supervised” and “it wasn’t too busy then” then others will want to bring their kids in, and sooner or later some kid not properly supervised every second, might G-d forbid, cause a crash and get people killed.
There is a reason 10 year olds, are not allowed drive even supervised even on empty streets.
And a reason they are not allowed to partcicpate in operations even supervised.
One time in one case someone ‘might’ get away without causing life threatening problems, but if many others see they too can do it, sooner or later the mazel for at least one of them, will likely end.