Two air traffic controllers operating out of JFK Airport have been relieved of their duties due to an incident that occurred on February 17th. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a controller brought his son to work with him that day and allowed the boy to speak directly with active pilots, giving directions to takeoff to several en route airplanes. “This is what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school,” the controller said. The entire set of exchanges are caught on audio.
It has not been revealed how old the boy was, nor exactly what will happen to the two controllers — one of the two being the supervisor of the man who brought the child in — but it’s clear that the authorities don’t find this event amusing, even if the pilots themselves seemed to. One pilot even quipped “Wish I could bring my kid to work.”
Now, it must be said that we have to officially agree with the FAA on this. While it might be okay to have your son sitting beside you and watching as you work, it’s conceivable that a pilot might become a little thrown off his game by suddenly hearing a child’s voice on his headset — at the very least, it might cause him to doubt the information being related, and that could potentially cause some serious issues. However, we have no doubt that the boy was merely repeating what his father was telling him to say, not actually directing the planes himself. If the suspension here seems unjust, it’s important to bear in mind the full scope of what’s at stake, which includes human lives. This incident is unfortunate, no less so for the boy, who we hope doesn’t take the guilt of his father’s suspension on himself.
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