Las Vegas Controller Incapacitation

Poor lady had a problem and it becomes national news, I call BS.
 
PaulS said:
Poor lady had a problem and it becomes national news, I call BS.
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It's kind of a big deal, regardless of the cause. Still, if she had a medical problem, that should be that. If it was something else, then I'm sure we'll hear about it. (Locally, two pilots for regionals died of OD; a look at their FB page showed lots of anti-heroin posts!)
 
it's
3b895832-5a12-4fe7-adbc-0fc841bdcc78_1.7560adb1615c914d45575b9071088964.jpeg
gonna be 3 man mids Or:
 
Kenny Phillips said:
It's kind of a big deal, regardless of the cause. Still, if she had a medical problem, that should be that. If it was something else, then I'm sure we'll hear about it. (Locally, two pilots for regionals died of OD; a look at their FB page showed lots of anti-heroin posts!)
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People get sick all the time, part of life. Agreed it's an issue, but not one of national import. I'm doubting it was an illicit drug issue, but I suppose it could have been.

It probably is a good thing for a pilot to think about. Sole controller starts babbling nonsense then goes silent, what should you do? I'm thinking go back to the last frequency report the problem, or go to the tower freq and say something.
 
Damn, that was tough to listen to. I hope she heals up from that. Doesn't sound right that for a single controller to be alone in the tower at a busy airport like Las Vegas.
 
Even I know that when people are calling up "AA123 spot 16, taxi" it is because tower is doing that work.

And clearance for these guys is coming from a tape between the two pilots.
 
Circled once for 15 minutes trying to raise the tower at San Angelo, TX KSJT. Guy finally answer, apologized and said he was alone and had to go down the hall.
 
PaulS said:
Damn, that was tough to listen to. I hope she heals up from that. Doesn't sound right that for a single controller to be alone in the tower at a busy airport like Las Vegas.
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Busy traffic isn’t the only issue. What if you get hurt. Here there were pilots in the air to detect something was wrong. A slow place where hours could go by before it was detected is an issue. The article said there were two, but one was on break. Was the other one just down droppin a deuce and grabbing a samwich? Or do they do the “you want the first half or the second half” thing. If they do, that’s gonna be history.
 
that was rude of her to choke when people are trying to land and taxi.


I kid, I kid...…..I hope she's ok and that the guys who gave her a hard time early in the recording feel really bad now.
 
Hope it's not the woman I know out at LAS. I think she moved to a slightly different role, but this is concerning.
 
You say this:

eman1200 said:
that was rude of her to choke when people are trying to land and taxi.
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And then you say this:

I hope she's ok and that the guys who gave her a hard time early in the recording feel really bad now.
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The second part is an appropriate post. The first part is just tasteless, considering the circumstances. Kidding or not.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
You say this:



And then you say this:



The second part is an appropriate post. The first part is just tasteless, considering the circumstances. Kidding or not.
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That’s your opinion.
 
Funny, after the Comair crash at LEX, with one controller on duty, I thought the FAA directed at least two controllers on duty. When I was ATC in the Air Force two was the minimum.
 
Had a controller at Eglin Approach doze off one night after midnight. Tyndall or JAX Center tried to handoff an overflight, finally gave up and handed the plane off to Pensacola. He got his pee pee spanked.
 
mscard88 said:
Funny, after the Comair crash at LEX, with one controller on duty, I thought the FAA directed at least two controllers on duty. When I was ATC in the Air Force two was the minimum.
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That’s what I thought as well. When I toured our local tower and TRACON facility, I thought it was mentioned that having a two controller minimum was SOP. Surprising that only one would be in the tower at LAS.
 
If I was a controller, I'd have a stroke every shift.
 
Its been a while since I've flown in/out of LAS in something other than a 737... but the three times I did leave late at night, there was only one person. Last time, the controller was yakking with some 121 guy about a date he went on. Wwhen I switched from ground to tower, he says "We really need to stop meeting like this", and as I was finally exiting his airspace he told me to make sure I watched out for the "BFM called Charleston Peak" and "VFR services terminated, squawk 1200, frequently change your shoes" and then he kept on about his date. hahaha
 
murphey said:
single controller, no ground or clearance. the single controller does all positions.
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Yep, and that's when there's a problem. I don't know if the FAA medical folks treat controllers differently (or do they even need a medical?) but a stroke may be a tough thing to come back from.
 
While one controller on duty seems sufficient at a sleepy or even moderately busy Class D and even Class C, it seems horribly insufficient at a Class B.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Yep, and that's when there's a problem. I don't know if the FAA medical folks treat controllers differently (or do they even need a medical?) but a stroke may be a tough thing to come back from.
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Second Class required in the USAF, FAA the same I believe.
 
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fwiw from another site, talk of possible medical diabetes scenario..
 
Going "CTAF mode" worked before, as someone noted; if the weather isn't bad, it doesn't have to be that big a deal to just self announce/report, even with a moderate amount of traffic.
 
Coming from a former EMT/FF viewpoint, there are many different things that could have caused this. Most very insidious and frightening. I'm in LAS right now, in a community of pilots, and we are all hoping the best for her. I think the pilots did a tremendous job, cept that one guy. I hope the best for her, imagine how frightening it was for her!
 
Why is everyone saying she had a stroke? That information has not and may not ever be released.
 
JonH said:
Why is everyone saying she had a stroke? That information has not and may not ever be released.
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We’re good at speculating and medically speaking seems most probable.
 
That was frightening.

Ryanb said:
We’re good at speculating and medically speaking seems most probable.
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Why is a stroke more probable than e.g. diabetic shock or anything else that causes confusion and slurred speech?

Nauga,
who doesn't think we're 'good' at speculation
 
JonH said:
Why is everyone saying she had a stroke? That information has not and may not ever be released.
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Because that is presented at the beginning of the audio clip in Post #7.

Anyone know where that came from (the stroke info, not the audio itself)?
 
nauga said:
Why is a stroke more probable than e.g. diabetic shock or anything else that causes confusion and slurred speech?

Nauga,
who doesn't think we're 'good' at speculation
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That is also very possible.

Ryan,
Who thinks anything is possible
 
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