SmackDown: Did Air Traffic Dad Really Do Anything So Wrong?

The point is not that this didn't cause a disaster; the point is it could have. So much could have gone wrong. As I said previously, kids are unpredictible. They can also get sick at the drop of a hat. The tower of a busy airport is not the place for children, they can be distracting, even the best behaved. They could throw up with no warning, further distracting other workers. They could bump into sensitive instruments or equipment causing it to malfunction. There are just so many things that "could have" happened but for fortune didn't.

My father was an air traffic controller and never once were we allowed to go into the area. We would sometimes take dinner to him but never went inside the area where the activity was going on. It was forbidden and at times he was the acting chief of the station and felt no children belonged there. I personally think he should be terminated.

get a life........nobody got hurt, nobody's life was jeopardized so get that corn cob out of your butt and quit being a prune.....no harm was done, no flights were delayed.....get a life

OOOK you sound like ragian sit thier and kept looking at the raydar blips on the screen.come on people he was next to his kid. if any of us had that job you know that ower kids face would light up to be in the tower and any parent would do that for thier child even i know that and i dont have kids. also the FAA had no plicy for kids in the tower so should he be fired i think not!!!! two weeks with no pay fine i can see that but to lose his job is to much. but we all know that all the cry babys out thier with nothing els to do will want that. besides if you where paying attention the pilots knew it was a kid on the air so souldent the pilots get fired for lissoning to him,shouldnt thay have not taken off, obviously the experanced pilots though it was safe so i think that insed of worring about this that thier are bigger things in the world to worry about .GET A LIFE CNN,FOX,ABC NBC,AND ANY ONE ELS WHO CALLS FOR THIS MANS JOB!!!!!!

Sorry you feel this way ,you have never been to a enroute center or tower. These controllers deal with more and are more skillfully trained on live traffic than a Mom with seven kids. Controllers in centers deal with radar tracking they don't see planes and there are many times they don't have that They are more qualified to do what they do than you are to drive your car with screaming kids ,radios ,cell phones and traffic they know how to handle this with many pilots talking in their ear at the same time.This controller was monitoring with the ability to stop anything from happening . Can any of you say the same thing going 70 mph in your car thru rush hour ?

I agree with the first two statements. It happened; it shouldn't have. Better judgement should have ruled the day. However, I don't think anyone should be fired for this first time misjudgement. As a result of all of the hullabaloo, is that new rules should be established, and that no child should be allowed to be brought in, even for "take your child to work day". This is one of those professions that can't be compromised when security and safety are at stake. "Take your child to work day" doesn't always fit in all circumstances. Like someone on the radio today, said "I work in a prison, would I take my child in to work?" Obviously no! And of course, there are many other instances that could be cited. When the dust has a chance to settle, let this be a lesson, and additional rules and regs be established.

Joann,

You have no idea what a controller in a traffic control tower does. This would have been inapropriate inside a terminal radar appraoch facility, or an en route air traffic control center, but not in a tower.

All the tower controller does is clear people to land or takeoff. The heavy lifting is done in the radar traffic control facilities where they actually separate and sequence airplanes.

I think it's great that a tower controller took his kid to work, and let him experience a bit of what his Dad does, as his Dad looked over his shoulder. More Dad's should do that.

It is truly sad what this world is coming to. To all of those that are whining about this dad bringing his kid to work and letting him repeat exactly what his dad told him to into the mic; YOU LACK COMMON SENSE. There was no danger here, the dad was sitting right there capable of taking over if necessary. How do you people live? How do you even muster the gumption to take a shower in the morning? There is a possibility you might slip, hit your head and die! I truly feel sorry for those of you that can't tell the difference between what this dad and son did and truly putting lives in danger. All of you whiners need to call your mommy and ask her to bring you your ba-ba before she tucks you in bed and reads you a bedtime story. Absolutely pathetic! It might sound harsh but these are the people that are running this country into the dirt. You have no common sense, you don't even realize how stupid you sound when you speak but you have numbers. That's the only reason we have to listen to your opinion is there are a lot of really stupid people. In utopia you would never be allowed to breed.

you people are ridiculous. the father said exactly what needed to be said to the child. as patty said he was obviously doing his duty and watching the screen because he gave all the correct commands. I dont know if you have listened to the tape but the pilots were laughing and amused. also as patty said there is no SOP for this issue and now there will be. im sure the faa has heard of this happening before and they havent done anything about it, but the media decides to blow it out of proportion so now its a big deal.

People says.."lighten up. no harm done" How come we americans NEVER learn a lesson!! We were so "lightened up" in the past while other nations had very strict airport inspections...now look what happened to us...I was shocked that a very important job in our airport is being treated with : a lightened up" attitude.

I agree - This Air Traffic Controller displayed extremely POOR judgement and has no place even being in the control tower!

lighten up ever heard or take ur kid to work day. we have enough unemployed let him keep his job an get on with your life as in LIGHT IN UP

I totally agree. Something can go wrong in an instant even in the best of weather conditions. What next, doctor dads who allow their child to make the first "cut", don't worry people, dad is right there watching. We are way too tolerant of everything! Why are we becoming a country who is afraid to err on the side of caution.

Jo
I think your comment is right on target..No way should children of the tower be permitted to speak to a plane where their parent is flying the aircraft..
Imagine if there had been some small accident, such as a fall by the child, would the pilot/dad take his eyes of the instrument panel?
children should not be allowed in the cockpit NO MATTER WHOSE KIDS THEY ARE. I heard the tape and this little girl was actually giving DIRECTIONS TO the incoming flights. What a travesty..I will be sure when i fly to look and see if any children of the crew are in the pilots' area.

flojo

Geeeeeeez, Lighten up Jo anne, its not like he wasnt there watching the screen like he always done.. too much paranoia in this country

Do you realize the age of these twins is nine not five? Also, he did not take them in together--he took his son in first, then his daughter the next day. These are fourth graders--when do children get inspired about what they want to do as adults? For Christ's sake, Mr. Duffy does not deserve to lose his livelihood, and those young children do not need to be turned off by an ignorant public's outcry of foul play. There was none: As a matter of fact, they did a good job in repeating exactly what their father scripted for them. Try giving credit to a man for being a really good father by inspiring his children to one day do his job.

I agree. Children in any work environment is a distraction. What if the child had touched something on the control panel by accident? No one was injured or harmed this time, which is good. Isn't it much better to be proactive than reactive, and ban children from the tower period? Many people can't control their children in a restaurant or a store, let alone in a control tower. If I was having surgery, I wouldn't want kids running around the in the room during my operation, just because their dad was performing it.

I agree... however, enough is enough - don't think he needs to lose his job. I also think the FAA should exert their energy figuring out why 2 pilots where basically MIA last year while flying in the Midwest. Did anyone ever figure out what happened in that case? where they asleep? playing games? or..;)? That to me, seems like a much more critical situation.

The controller was engaging in a common training procedure called parroting. If a monkey could talk, they could relay the info just as the child did. The controller had the ability to override any of the transmissions. If it were busy at the time, the child would have not have been in the Tower Cab.

The media is doing nothing but creating news instead of reporting it. If any of you naysayers knew anything about ATC, you would see how silly this has become.

If you think that controllers don't think of anything else during work, then you are sadly mistaken. Making a statement like you must only focus on the air traffic every second is impossible, if not absurd. Controllers are trained constantly to suppress the distraction and focus on the most important aspect of the job.. Separating traffic. You can compare that logic to driving your car on the freeway and saying that you aren't allowed to speak to anyone in your car, can't listen to the radio, or chew gum - as you must focus only on driving.

Yes..you must limit and manage distractions, but a little levity actually enhances your ability to focus. One is trained that way..

The father and kid did a great job.. I guarantee the pilots out there thought it was a hoot..

So.. Ya'all lighten up out there..

Has everyone gone crazy in the world. Its not like he said to little Johnny, "son, I'll be back in a few minutes. Be careful and dont let anyone crash." Did any of you idolize anyone and wish you could experience something like that as a child. I see nothing wrong with what that father did. The children were not interpreting the radar or making decisions. They spent the day with their father. Next thing you'll say he was abusive to the children.