It is sad to think that she was not only doing the air traffic, but also the ground traffic, without any help or backup in the tower. I would think that no one should be left alone in this position. I truly feel for her, and hope that she was able to recover.
It is incomprehensible that a busy airport with such a complicated runway/taxiway structure was under the control of just one person. This is cost cutting at it's extreme.
This is a terrifying example of how fast something as serious as a stroke can progress. She went from slight mumbling to completely incapacitated in about 10 minutes. This demonstrates the absoulute requirement of having backups and fail safes in place. I'm just glad that she recovered and that there wasn't an accident.
For anyone wondering, she showed very clear signs on a stroke, she resined after, and was not fired. Something about just feeling bad about all the lives she put in danger, even tho it wasnt her fault.
Watched this several times over the years, two things catch my attention; firstly the way the pilots effectively self-organize and that the controller remained semi-functional that long under the circumstances, the first was excellent, the second scary in that there was apparently nobody else in the tower who could assess the situation and respond appropriately.
I loved how the pilots were competent enough to figure out something was wrong and started dealing with the airport as if it was an uncontrolled one even though it was class b. Teamwork like that always makes me happy when listening to ATC.
As an air traffic controller who has suffered a stroke myself, my heart goes out to this individual. It's terrifying enough to lose the ability to speak and to think critically. But to have it happen on position, OMG, I can't imagine her terror as she desperately tried to enunciate her words. Fortunately my stroke did not happen on position and I recovered completely and made it to retirement, thank God. I hope this lady was able to recover and not lose her job. The FAA makes it hard enough to keep a medical even without a stroke.
UA448 Captain…hats off to you, kind sir. You swooped in and handled things. You alleviated a clusterf*ck situation and got that woman the medical attention she desperately needed. I’d fly with you anywhere!
The pilots must think she's intoxicated even though they know that's outrageous. You can hear it in their tone of voice. The poor controller is struggling to stay lucid but can't. Good Lord...what a bad situation.
![[REAL ATC] An UNRULY AIR MARSHAL forces emergency landing!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/esZVVXXZaLc/mqdefault.jpg)
1:25
No ATC should be alone while working. This highlights the issue.
i like how the pilots started giving their own vectors and treated this as uncontrolled airport
It is sad to think that she was not only doing the air traffic, but also the ground traffic, without any help or backup in the tower. I would think that no one should be left alone in this position. I truly feel for her, and hope that she was able to recover.
It is incomprehensible that a busy airport with such a complicated runway/taxiway structure was under the control of just one person. This is cost cutting at it's extreme.
The scary thing is, she probably didnt realize she was having a stroke. And if she was there by herself there was no one to help or notice.
9:41
It took over 12 minutes for someone to realize at ATC that a controller is incapacitated at a major airport! Where was the supervisor?
This is a terrifying example of how fast something as serious as a stroke can progress. She went from slight mumbling to completely incapacitated in about 10 minutes. This demonstrates the absoulute requirement of having backups and fail safes in place. I'm just glad that she recovered and that there wasn't an accident.
For anyone wondering, she showed very clear signs on a stroke, she resined after, and was not fired. Something about just feeling bad about all the lives she put in danger, even tho it wasnt her fault.
OMG this is terrifying. -- You gotta feel for that ATC. Incapacitated but trying to do her job... I can't imagine the burden or the stress.
Watched this several times over the years, two things catch my attention; firstly the way the pilots effectively self-organize and that the controller remained semi-functional that long under the circumstances, the first was excellent, the second scary in that there was apparently nobody else in the tower who could assess the situation and respond appropriately.
I feel so bad for that poor woman!
I loved how the pilots were competent enough to figure out something was wrong and started dealing with the airport as if it was an uncontrolled one even though it was class b. Teamwork like that always makes me happy when listening to ATC.
As an air traffic controller who has suffered a stroke myself, my heart goes out to this individual. It's terrifying enough to lose the ability to speak and to think critically. But to have it happen on position, OMG, I can't imagine her terror as she desperately tried to enunciate her words. Fortunately my stroke did not happen on position and I recovered completely and made it to retirement, thank God. I hope this lady was able to recover and not lose her job. The FAA makes it hard enough to keep a medical even without a stroke.
UA448 Captain…hats off to you, kind sir. You swooped in and handled things. You alleviated a clusterf*ck situation and got that woman the medical attention she desperately needed. I’d fly with you anywhere!
The pilots must think she's intoxicated even though they know that's outrageous. You can hear it in their tone of voice. The poor controller is struggling to stay lucid but can't. Good Lord...what a bad situation.
Recognize stroke signs, everyone. Minutes count:
I feel like United 448 is kinda the hero on this one. Damn good instincts and leadership ability.
That controller that took over after was insanely fast. I don't think I have ever seen somebody move 3 planes that fast in that amount of tume