Australian Air Traffic Controller Found Sleeping On Duty After 10 Night Shifts In 12 Days
NDTV
The staffer was found lying across two chairs and under a blanket at the end of a night shift.
Australia's air safety investigators have recommended reforms after a Brisbane air traffic controller was found asleep at his desk while covering an early-morning shift. According to a report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the staffer was managing the Cairns Terminal Control Unit (TCU) from Airservices Australia's Brisbane office when he was discovered asleep by the oncoming air traffic controller who was working the day shift. The incident took place in December 2022. In its report, released Tuesday, the ATSB blamed multiple consecutive night shifts and an ineffective fatigue risk management system for the incident. A Brisbane Centre air traffic controller who was found asleep at their workstation towards the end of their shift had worked multiple consecutive night shifts resulting in sleep debt, an ATSB investigation report details.
According to ATSB, the staffer was found lying across two chairs and under a blanket at the end of a night shift. The employee had worked their seventh night shift in nine days as an approach controller for Cairns airport from the Brisbane control centre, with the shift starting at 10 pm and running until 6 am. The staffer had completed 10 night shifts in 12 days. The report stated that there were no planes in the area at the time and ATSB was unable to determine when the employee went to sleep.
Sharing the investigation report details on X, ATSB wrote, "A Brisbane Centre air traffic controller who was found asleep at their workstation towards the end of their shift had worked multiple consecutive night shifts resulting in sleep debt, an ATSB investigation report details."
