Records: Many air controllers are at risk of sleep, errors

show that 3,404 of the nation’s 15,475 controllers typically work the shift in a two-week pay period.

FAA records and reports, some of which date back years, also make clear the government has long been aware of the potential danger of fatigue among controllers working at night.

STORY: FAA's air traffic chief resignsSTORY: FAA to boost midnight staffing at 27 airport towersOne report, prepared just last month for the FAA and its controllers’ union, paints the danger in stark terms: It warns that working several midnight shifts in a row is so tough on people that they behave as if they’re too drunk to legally drive.

Fatigue has become a major issue for the nation’s 24-hour, air-traffic system. Six controllers since February have been caught or been suspected of sleeping on the job at night or early morning.

The most recent incident was Wednesday in Reno, where a medical plane landed shortly after 2 a.m. after failing to rouse anyone in the airport’s tower. On Thursday, the FAA announced the resignation of its air-traffic chief, Hank Krakowski.

A review of FAA reports and studies show that the potential for fatigue goes beyond a handful of controllers sleeping on the job. Tired controllers have made mistakes that nearly led to catastrophic collisions on runways, incident reports show.

The report last month for the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association reiterated the point.

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