Oh, c’mon! ANOTHER air traffic controller error? This time with the First Lady aboard one of the planes during the confusion? Is someone handing-out “special” treats for those in the docked-pit towers of radar power? How odd is this never-ending trend?
Yesterday, Michelle Obama was on her way from New York to DC when her plane had to abort landing at Andrews Air Force Base due to its way-too-close proximity to a large cargo plane in the same air space.
Apparently, such problems aren’t as rare as one would hope to think.
Per The Huffington Post per The Washington Post: An unnamed federal official told the Washington Post: "In the grand scheme of things, events like this happen fairly frequently. Unfortunately, this one involves a presidential plane."
Do tell, then, how is it that in the midst of the growing pile-up of controller mishaps, another controller at another locale decided to watch a DVD of a film while on the job? Are these people exhibiting ADD/ADHD or what? Could it be that the intense pressure of the job is getting to more than a few of them? Could it be that inefficiency in the system is the culprit? What is the meaning of so many noticeably mentally absent professionals controlling the lives of hundreds/thousands each day flaking-out within the last few weeks?
What’s the message? Obviously there is one or else none of these situations would be on the front page of newspapers and websites every other day. Is it merely a huge wakeup call to the FAA? If so, the message isn’t getting through fast enough. It’s one more reason why anxiety-ridden me will remain on the ground and hope that the trains I take stay on the right track and the conductor isn’t busy texting his or her BFF’s, missing key signals along the way…which has happened.
No one particular way of travel is without risk. Get on a horse, and you could be bucked-off. Get into your car or truck and, well, you know…… Ride in a buggy with a horse at the helm and – Bam – one of the wheels falls off and there you are, halfway between the air with no spare. And on and on and on with the travails of travel.
As written last week, I’m no fan of flying these days. I’ll get back on the horse; will fix the wheel on the buggy; will dive under something solid in a train wreck. My chances of survival on the ground are far better than in the air should something go awry. Unless I’m wearing a parachute, that is.
But then, that’s my perspective. My mission today isn’t to spread fear into the hearty hearts of fliers. But if I were on my way to an airport for a few hours 33,000 feet above ground, I’d certainly want the FAA to get their act together ASAP, wouldn’t you?
It’s important, I guess, for everyone to know what’s going on when communications break down and safety is compromised. At the same time, as it were/was/always shall be, sometimes the less we know the happier we are. And, if that comment holds a tremor of truth, the U.S. will be one of the happiest countries in the world in the near future as we slowly dismantle our educational systems to the brink of non-existence.
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