While major air crashes have declined sharply over the last decade, several recent high profile accidents and incidents have given the airline industry a black eye.

The latest incident was reported this week: A controller twice brought his young son to work at the control tower at New York’s Kennedy International, one of the nation's busiest airports, and allowed the child to radio instructions to pilots.

The Federal Aviation Administration suspended the controller and his supervisor pending completion an investigation into the incident last month.

"This is a stunning example of a lack of professionalism, not following the rules, not using common sense," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a Senate committee on March 4.

“This lapse in judgment not only violated FAA’s own policies, but common sense standards for professional conduct. These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “We have an incredible team of professionals who safely control our nation’s skies every single day. This kind of behavior does not reflect the true caliber of our workforce.”

Meanwhile, all unofficial visits to FAA air traffic control operational areas, such as towers and radar rooms, will be suspended during the investigation. Babbitt directed a team to conduct a full-scale review of air traffic control policies and procedures related to facility visitors.

In a statement responding to the Kennedy International tower incident, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said it doesn't "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 everyday in the advancement of aviation safety.”

The matter involved a few quick exchanges between the elementary school age child and jetliners waiting to take off from Kennedy International. They appeared to delight the pilots. "I wish I could bring my kid to work," one is heard to say.

Recordings of the air traffic control traffic were posted on the Internet, then reported on by a Boston television station. On the recordings, which last about a minute, the boy repeats instructions fed to him by his father.

Radio chatter between controllers and pilots is routinely streamed live on LiveATC.net, a popular Web site devoted to controller talk, LiveATC.net posted a recording of the child's radio calls not long after they happened on Feb. 16, a day that many children were off from school. The boy made five transmissions to pilots preparing for departure.

"JetBlue 171 cleared for takeoff," the boy says in his first call. His father offers an explanation to pilots on the air: "This is what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school."

In a second exchange, the boy instructs the same JetBlue flight deck crew to contact departure controllers. The pilot responds: "Over to departure JetBlue 171, awesome job!" There are a few more similar exchanges. A pilot laughs. The boy can be overheard giggling. In his last call, the youngster signs off, "Adios, amigo." The pilot responds in kind.

Another example of bad judgement: the fatal crash of a Colgan Air regional turboprop in Buffalo, NY a year ago that killed 50 people. The pilots who died in the fatal accident broke a cardinal safety rule prohibiting nonessential conversation during landing approaches.

In October, a Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 carrying 144 passengers was out of radio contact for 69 minutes and overshot Minneapolis/St. Paul its destination. The two pilots were distracted from their flying duties. The Federal Aviation Administration revoked their licenses. They are appealing to have them reinstated.

Last August, a Piper Saratoga and a sightseeing helicopter collided over the Hudson River, killing all nine people aboard both aircraft. The FAA suspended two air traffic controllers at Teterboro Airport who were on duty when the Piper collided with the rotorcraft.

One of the two unidentified employees was the air traffic controller who handled the Saratoga flight but was on the phone “involved in apparently inappropriate conversations” at the time of the accident, the FAA said. The second was the traffic controller’s supervisor, who was supposed to be present, but was out of the building. The controller was chitchatting on the phone with a female friend until seconds before the collision. The controller's supervisor had left the airport to run a personal errand.
FAA officials said, however, that they do not believe the employees’ conduct had any role in the mid-air collision.

Ramon Lopez also serves as editor-in-chief of Air Safety Week; he has been covering air safety for more than three decades (rlopez@accessintel.com).

www.aviationtoday.com/ramon_lopez_bio.html