We’ve all heard of “Take-your-child-to-work” day, when parents allow their kids to spend the day with them at work learning what it’s like to be a Dentist, Salesperson, or something of the kind. But did an Air Traffic Controller at New York’s JFK Airport go too far when he not only brought his son into the Control Tower, but let the son speak directly to pilots over active airwaves?
It’s an incident that has become a hot topic of conversation across the country. The Air Traffic Controller responsible and his supervisor have been placed on paid leave pending further investigation by government safety experts, who can’t believe a child was allowed to talk with at least 5 pilots preparing for departure. Here’s one exchange:
Although it is not uncommon for parents to bring their children to work occasionally, some critics are saying this never should have happened on a job where the Air Traffic Controller is responsible for the lives and safety of everyone on a plane. Other critics are saying a child should not have even been allowed into the Tower, where his presence could be a distraction among Controllers who rely on split-second decision making in their maneuvering of planes for safety. But some, including a few pilots, are saying the entire situation has been blown out of proportion since no one was hurt. Who’s right? WATCH:
Ok I'm glad you did a story about this today because we were just arguing about it yesterday at work.If I'm flying in a plane I don't want some kid helping dad by calling out the air traffic instructions. I also don't want some kid helping dad the doctor in a operating room while I'm laying on the surgery table either. But that's just me. Both ways your putting somebody at risk and I can't agree with that.So whoever thinks it was harmless because nobody got hurt your fooling yourself. If this kid had made one mistake in the codes he was calling out that could have been a disaster. They need to throw that dad in jail.