Head of FAA's Air Traffic Quits After Another Controller Sleeps on the Job
There have been five incidents of air controllers asleep in the tower.
April 14, 2011 -- The head of the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Organization resigned Thursday, the day after another air traffic controller was caught napping while planes were trying to land.
"Hank Krakowski has submitted his resignation and I have accepted," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement. "Hank is a dedicated aviation professional and I thank him for his service."
Krakowski had held the position since 2007 and prior to joining the FAA had worked for United Air Lines for nearly 30 years, says his FAA bio.
Krakowski's resignation comes as the FAA investigates five incidents in recent weeks of air controllers possibly sleeping on the job.
Following the most recent incident on Wednesday in Reno, Nev., the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation announced that additional air traffic controllers would be immediately added on the midnight shift at 27 control towers that currently have only one person working overnights.
President Barack Obama said Thursday that air traffic controllers falling sleep in unacceptable. "The fact is, when you're responsible for the lives and safety of people up in the air, you better do your job."
Obama told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview that the answer begins with personal responsibility, but the FAA and the Transportation Department are conducting a "full review."
"I'll be grabbing the agency by the ears," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a separate interview with Stephanopoulos on Wednesday. "We've done some grabbing today with the outrage that we have expressed and the suspension of this controller and the investigations. And there'll be more to come, George. I guarantee the flying public we will not sleep until we can guarantee that there's good safety in the control towers when these planes are coming in and out of airports."
The Incidents:
ABC News' Andrew Springer contributed to this report
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