WASHINGTON – A study has recently come to light that may give some air travelers pause, highlighting the fact that air traffic controllers across the country are not only sleep deprived, but have committed errors on the job because of it.
It's a report that some believe the Federal Aviation Administration has been keeping under wraps since December 2011 and Monday, The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report.
The study was commissioned right after the National Transportation Safety Board recommended the FAA and National Air Traffic Controllers Association revise workers' schedules so they have enough off-hours to get a good night's sleep.
While everyone is guilty of getting tired on the job, being less alert and not as sharp, when it comes to the people in charge of directing the nation's airplanes, falling asleep on the job could quickly turn into a national tragedy.
According to officials, 3,200 controllers were surveyed said they averaged 5.8 hours of sleep on a work night, and for those people working the midnight shift, that number dropped to about three hours of sleep a night.
The study also found that 60 percent of the controllers working between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. admitted to dozing off while driving to or from work.
A third of controllers working six-day work weeks also admitted to making serious errors on the job, including bringing planes too close to each other.
Though those stats can be startling, aviation expert Ed Booth said passengers of commercial flights should not be worried.
"There has not been an airliner crash related to air traffic control problems in decades," Booth said.
He also said the airline traffic system used by air traffic controllers has a structure to check and balance itself.
"It doesn't cause me any concern. The system has so much redundancy built into it. For example if a controller places an airplane on a collision course with another airplane, the airplanes have independent collision alerting system is on board that will save the day," Booth said.
Within the last four years there have been several incidents of controllers being caught falling asleep on the job, causing pilots to land without their assistance.
Since then the controllers' union announced several changes to address fatigue, though the new study leaves Booth questioning the motive behind the study.
"I almost have to wonder if they're not in the early phases of negotiating a new union contract and that this has been brought up to obtain better benefits, better working conditions, shorter working hours and more employees to help out," Booth said.