Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

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howdy
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Re: Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

#16

Post by howdy »

I have read several articles on this. It happened around 11pm and there was another controller in the tower but he left to take a break. He was gone for a LONG time. It is against FAA rules for the Tower to be manned by a single controller. I wondered why they had ground control and tower on the same frequency. She was handling both jobs. There is more to the story than we know. It says she was fired. FAA are civil servants and you just can't fire one for being ill. We may never know what happened.
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Re: Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

#17

Post by jmorris »

howdy wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 7:24 pm I have read several articles on this. It happened around 11pm and there was another controller in the tower but he left to take a break. He was gone for a LONG time. It is against FAA rules for the Tower to be manned by a single controller. I wondered why they had ground control and tower on the same frequency. She was handling both jobs. There is more to the story than we know. It says she was fired. FAA are civil servants and you just can't fire one for being ill. We may never know what happened.
The article I read said they instituted the two man rule, up to midnight, after this occurred. If I remember correctly, the pilots contacted ground control on another frequency, who then got a hold of the other controller. Is there new info out that she was actually fired? I haven't seen that yet. Most news seems to be a rehash of what was already stated.
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WildBill
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Re: Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

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jmorris wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:59 pm
howdy wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 7:24 pm I have read several articles on this. It happened around 11pm and there was another controller in the tower but he left to take a break. He was gone for a LONG time. It is against FAA rules for the Tower to be manned by a single controller. I wondered why they had ground control and tower on the same frequency. She was handling both jobs. There is more to the story than we know. It says she was fired. FAA are civil servants and you just can't fire one for being ill. We may never know what happened.
The article I read said they instituted the two man rule, up to midnight, after this occurred. If I remember correctly, the pilots contacted ground control on another frequency, who then got a hold of the other controller. Is there new info out that she was actually fired? I haven't seen that yet. Most news seems to be a rehash of what was already stated.
Earlier reports stated that the employee no longer worked for the FAA. I never read that she was fired. A later report stated that she resigned.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las- ... s-1526294/
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WheelsUp3Green
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Re: Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

#19

Post by WheelsUp3Green »

Good Evening All. I know some controllers and have a little inside info.
First off, it's fairly standard for controllers to combine up positions on the mid shift. It's also normal for longer than average breaks on the mid shift. She wasn't "fired", but resigned under pressure. The rumor is that her ailment wasn't medically related...she apparently spent some time at a local watering hole prior to her shift. This is not official. I've just heard that from a friend who has a friend that works there.
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Re: Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

#20

Post by The Annoyed Man »

bbhack wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:51 pm https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/inca ... 25525/amp/

They don't indicate it was voluntary or not - but would your first impulse be to resign after a medical emergency? I think leave would appropriate, even if there was no chance she would ever return to the tower. I think the FAA may be managing optics, which is OK, just seems different.
It’s also possible that the poor woman suffered such a massive stroke, that there is zero chance of being returned to work.....not to mention that, her not being an important politician or something like that, HIPPA would probably prevent the FAA or medical personnel from discussing her identity or condition. This may not be any kind of injustice, and the FAA is just trying to follow the law.

The two things I found remarkable about the video are (A) it was reassuring how professional all the pilots were about it, especially when they began to suspect that a medical emergency was in progress; and (B) it was disconcerting to see how long it took for other ATC personnel to recognize the problem and take over her workspace. I know they are all pretty busy, and I’m not trying to be critical of them, but don’t they work together in a common room? Or, are they just SO focused on what’s immediately in front of them that they’re not likely to notice another ATC having trouble? What if she was having a cardiac arrest? As long as she was “medically offline” before being relieved, it would have likely been too late to start CPR or any other life-saving measures if she was arresting.

Anyway, the important thing is that nobody else was harmed in this event. I sincerely hope she survives and recovers.
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WildBill
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Re: Las Vegas Tower Controller suffers a stroke

#21

Post by WildBill »

WheelsUp3Green wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:37 pm Good Evening All. I know some controllers and have a little inside info.
First off, it's fairly standard for controllers to combine up positions on the mid shift. It's also normal for longer than average breaks on the mid shift. She wasn't "fired", but resigned under pressure. The rumor is that her ailment wasn't medically related...she apparently spent some time at a local watering hole prior to her shift. This is not official. I've just heard that from a friend who has a friend that works there.
I don't know if your information is accurate, but it makes more sense than someone resigning after suffering a medical emergency on the job.
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