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FAA regulations designed to stop sleeping on the job

June 27, 2012

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June 27, 2012

New regulations to ensure that air traffic controllers get enough sleep were violated more than 4,000 times according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents, reports Travelers Today.

Air traffic controllers have been falling asleep on the job--one for as long as five hours.

After these incidents, the FAA tried to fix the problem by firing and suspending several controllers, enforcing stricter rules about sleeping on the job, and allowing more time to sleep off-duty.

To ensure that controllers would no longer fall asleep on the job, a nine hour minimum break between shifts was set in place. But an internal review shows that these requirements are being violated by more than half of airport control towers.

The U.S. Transportation Secretary put an end to shifts where controllers were working alone overnight. In addition, an agreement was made with the National Air Controllers Association that would allow controllers to notify their supervisors if they are too tried to work.

Because of the violations of these new regulations, FAA’s chief officer has promised that FAA will enforce its rules more thoroughly by updating timekeeping information for air traffic controllers to make sure that they are getting their nine hours off between shifts.

If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised in a commercial aviation accident  or on a private airplane, the aviation accident lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

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