Two Kid Controllers? Brother and Sister Direct JFK Air Traffic
Father allowed his daughter to direct pilots the day after he allowed his son.
March 4, 2010— -- The JFK air traffic controller who brought his son into the control tower and allowed him to direct air traffic also let his daughter do the same thing the following day.
On Feb. 17 the controller, who the Daily News identifies as 49-year-old Glenn Duffy, took his young daughter into the control tower and let her direct the departure of a Jet Blue flight.
"Jet Blue 57, contact New York departure," the young girl said on the audio recording.
"Jet Blue 57. Thank you, have a good day," the pilot responded.
An unidentified man then called her "the next generation of air traffic control" on the recording.
The air traffic controller and the supervisor on duty have been suspended, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The agency is not identifying either employee.
At times the pilots seemed amused rather than worried upon hearing the young voice. One pilot told the boy, who is believed to be 8 or 9 years old, that he did an "awesome job" and another called him "amigo." But a debate has arisen over whether peoplehave overreacted to the situation.
The FAA has called the behavior "not acceptable," but others are saying it goes beyond that.
"Given the child was involved with actual air traffic was a fireable offense…not only a cavalier attitude but a shirking of his responsibilities," Mary Schiavo, an aviation attorney, said.
Retired air traffic controller Bob Richards echoed Schiavo's comments, calling it "bad judgment."
Richards said that while it is not uncommon for family members of control tower workers to see what happens behind the scenes, they should not be speaking to pilots.
"I never saw a controller's family get on a frequency and talk to airplanes," Richards said.
In a statement, the FAA said it has suspended "all unofficial visits to FAA air traffic control operational areas, such as towers and radar rooms," during the investigation. The agency said it would also conduct a review of its policies regarding visitors.
