![]() ![]() ![]() READ MORE: 9/11 Commission Report 'We Need You Guys to Scramble Some F-16s' air traffic control officials experienced their profession’s most catastrophic day: Here’s a detailed look at how several key U.S. “This a dynamic event with details changing from moment to moment, from second to second,” McCormick told HISTORY. airspace and land all airborne planes-in response to dire, unprecedented events. Through shock and confusion, aviation professionals tasked with keeping America’s skies safe had to stay cool and make unthinkable decisions-to call in fighter jets, shut down U.S. Perpetrators deliberately flew three of those planes into iconic buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C., while a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field before reaching its target. It was not a great day in air traffic control.Īs the morning progressed, four separate terror attacks unfolded in the skies, with hijackers using commercial aircraft as weapons. “A severe clear day means that you're going to have a great day in air traffic control,” says Michael McCormick, who oversaw all air traffic in the northeastern United States that day out of the Federal Aviation Administration’s New York Center in Ronkonkoma. When you are lucky enough to be sitting safely on an aircraft again, perhaps you will spare a thought for those unsung heroes keeping our skies safe 365 days of the year.The weather in the northeastern United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, was what air traffic controllers describe as “severe clear.” A high-pressure system had blown the previous day’s storms out to sea skies were an intense cobalt blue. So what will happen when they are needed again when the traffic returns? However, there is likely to be a number of redundancies of these highly skilled people if the situation does not improve. Prospect, the air traffic controllers union, is calling on the government to nationalize the company to ensure it continues as a going concern. Whether they will be able to continue with so little income remains to be seen. government only owns 49% of the company plus a golden share. ATC as unlike most ATC companies they are not state-owned. The airport side of the business is also likely to be affected long term as airports seek to cut costs. This is due to Eurocontrol, the EU ATC body, allowing airlines to defer payments during the current situation. In the U.K., the Area Control or en-route side of the business currently has no income. Not only are they trained at the start of their career, but they are given continuous training to keep them current and prepared for infrequent scenarios.ĪTC has been hit badly by the current travel crisis, and many air traffic service providers are suffering dire financial implications. In high levels of traffic, bad weather, or emergencies, it can indeed be stressful, but controllers are highly trained to deal with these types of situations. It also means sometimes missing birthdays, important family occasions and Christmas as ATC is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Controllers work morning, afternoon and night shifts, generally on a six day pattern followed by four days off. Usually they work no more than one and a half to two hours at a time before they must have a 30 minute break. To ensure they can maintain concentration, rules govern how long they can work for. A controller needs to be able to be alert at all times, even at 3 a.m. One of the hardest things to cope with is the shifts. Then just as you are at your most tired, the traffic starts to build up again! At night it can be very quiet and rather dull when you have over 8 hours of very little to sit through and maintain alertness. So is it the world's most stressful job? Well, it is undoubtedly one of the most responsible, but although there are times when it is highly stressful, a lot of the time it is very routine. ![]() Images via Getty Images) PA Images via Getty Images ![]() A radar screen showing all the aircraft flying over England and Wales (Photo by Steve Parsons/PA. ![]()
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