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21
Pilot/Controller Forum / Supporting air traffic controllers mental health
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 09, 2025, 12:30:59 UTC »
https://www.ioshmagazine.com/2025/08/21/supporting-air-traffic-controllers-mental-health#rsupsf-filtered=yes&fbclid=IwY2xjawMs-9tleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFZNjRicks2ck5malVaRmpWAR6ailj4QSdlafSdHLwwywyl9hZR_vXT8yz0VxmDX4iYHd0rIw3oazlm9fHoKA_aem_DPRIs6m_BPJgH8ALgRDS7g

(Excerpt below, very interesting insights, full article in link above.)

John Windell — Tuesday 2nd September 2025
Air traffic controllers hold the safety of thousands of passengers and crew in their hands every day – with no room for error. That pressure can take its toll, so what measures are in place to help controllers stay healthy and keep others safe?

The air traffic control profession has hit some turbulence of late. It encountered an especially rough patch back in April and May when outages in Newark, New Jersey, US, airspace caused controllers to lose contact with all the aircraft in the area – the north-east coast, thick with criss-crossing flightpaths. Terrifyingly, the screens went blank for up to 90 seconds.

Although no incidents occurred – fortunately – hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled, inconveniencing thousands of passengers. The air traffic control officers (ATCOs) also suffered: following the first blackout, several took medical leave, citing a ‘traumatic event’ and triggering a minimum of 45 days off the job (Lapham, 2025).

Frantic reorganisation followed to keep the runways open and safe, highlighting a much wider problem – a global shortage of ATCOs. Across Europe, the shortage is estimated at around 700 to 1000 positions (Allan, 2025). In the US, the problem is deeper. The head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association recently said that 41% of the 10,800 controllers currently on the job were working 10 hours a day, six days a week to make up for the extra 3000 staff needed to meet current demand (Isidore, 2025). 
A number of factors have contributed to the shortages, but foremost among them was COVID. Levels of air traffic plummeted during the pandemic, and many experienced ATCOs took the opportunity to retire. At the same time, training programmes were suspended, so new staff did not come up. Air travel has since surged again, but many ATCO seats remain empty as it takes at least three years before a successful trainee is ready to be supervised on the job. In the US, regular shutdowns of the federal government have compounded the problem, and stuttering finance has further disrupted the training of new ATCOs.

‘It is a high-pressure profession,’ says Patricia Gilbert, executive vice-president professional at the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA). ‘ATCOs need particular cognitive abilities to do the job, and they need to protect those abilities. They need to think quickly, to multi-task and have decisions in their back pocket all the time.’

She says that FAA executives often wonder why ATCOs use so much of their sick leave compared with other workers. ‘I explain it’s because you can go to the office and answer some emails with a cold, but you wouldn’t want an ATCO working an evening shift if they have a cold coming on or haven’t slept. Sick leave is there for them to take, and they need to be supported in that.’

Nuno Cebola, director of human factors and wellbeing at NATS, which provides services to several UK airports, adds that musculoskeletal disorders, as with many sedentary jobs, can be a problem. ‘On the physical side there are repetitive stress injuries, and back problems because people can spend a lot of time sitting down.’

Other physical hazards in air traffic control towers include slips and trips, and fire safety and evacuation challenges, says Shane Berry, head of health, safety and fire safety at East Midlands Airport, and member of the IOSH Aviation and Aerospace Community Committee. But the key issues for ATCOs are stress, tiredness and fatigue. ‘Tiredness and fatigue are different things,’ Shane explains. ‘After two or three shifts, you may be tired. Fatigue is a more long-term condition that can be serious and needs to be managed.’

Shift work, by its nature, can be fatiguing, and is made worse when understaffing is an issue, says Patricia. ‘Short staffing is a global issue in the profession, which requires more of an individual than it did, say, during my first five years when I didn’t work a single shift of overtime. It’s not just the shift work itself, but the length of time people are required to do it. If the work environment is not conducive to the ability to do the job, that can add to the pressure.’ Many months and years spent doing shift work can take a heavy toll.

Nuno says that fatigue-related absence is only an occasional issue for NATS. It might not be caused by work, but still needs to be mitigated. ‘It could be anything, including normal life events such as a new baby keeping somebody up all night. I think there are moments when the job is quite stressful, but it’s not always the case.’
Physical and psychological checks
A wide assortment of factors can exert an influence on the physical and mental wellbeing of ATCOs and their ability to do the job effectively and safely – and these factors must be checked for and controlled. Workplace stress and associated psychological factors are routinely and carefully monitored. Critical incident stress management systems are also widespread, as are ‘just culture’ approaches.

Any event that might have an impact on the ability of an ATCO to carry out their work will trigger a response. ‘We look out for people after an incident, which is important,’ says Shane. ‘But that’s also something we do day-to-day, especially looking at human factors around performance, and by checking for any issues via regular medical assessments.’

Like many operations, NATS has occupational health services on site. ‘We employ general practitioners,’ says Nuno, ‘partly because there is a requirement for controllers to go through a full medical every year to maintain their licence, but also because that service is always there for them to access. If they have any concerns, they can reach out. We also have a very strong peer-support capability.’

The regular medical checks are extensive. ‘They go into stress and fatigue, check for skeletal, ear, nose and throat issues, the heart, the whole body,’ says Shane. Ongoing training around fatigue management and human factors also gives ATCOs the power they need to spot the signs for themselves.

Mental health training for managers has become another well-established measure, says Nuno. ‘We also do suicide awareness because our demographics align with the incidence of suicide, and we run a monthly men’s health conversation.’
22
Aviation Audio Clips / Small plane crash reported in rural area of Cheatham County
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 08, 2025, 10:32:35 UTC »
https://www.wsmv.com/2025/09/05/small-plane-crash-reported-rural-area-cheatham-county-sheriff-says/

(love the way the aviation community comes together !)

By Chasity Maynard
Published: Sep. 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM EDT|Updated: Sep. 5, 2025 at 6:20 PM EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A small plane crashed Friday evening in a rural neighborhood in Cheatham County, according to the sheriff.

The plane crashed into a cornfield across the street from a row of houses, according to Sheriff Tim Binkley. The crash is located near 2584 Bearwallow Road.
23
Aviation Audio Clips / KIAD Del/Gnd: person in the background yells "I don't give a F@#$"
« Last post by Fragbert on September 05, 2025, 16:37:27 UTC »
During Dulles International Airport delivery operations on 09/04/2025 at approximately 20:48 GMT while issuing clearance instructions to aircraft, somebody in the background audibly yells "I don't give a F@#$" while the foreground communications doesn't miss a beat, lol.
24
Aviation Audio Clips / Re: Deadly plane crash reported south of Centennial Airport
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 05, 2025, 14:05:16 UTC »
I went back further, and found him talking normally to the tower, just doing touch and go's, but the last one is where talking to the tower stops, and they did receive an IDENT, then the crash.
RIP and prayers with the families.
25
Aviation Audio Clips / Deadly plane crash reported south of Centennial Airport
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 05, 2025, 13:40:47 UTC »
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/centennial-small-plane-crash/73-1304bf19-cf61-450f-8502-6135471e02d5

(judging by the non communication, IDENT only, radio problems were the start of it. RIP)

  A small plane crashed south of Centennial Airport in an industrial district, according to South Metro Fire Rescue.

Author: Richard Cote
Published: 6:53 AM MDT September 5, 2025
Updated: 7:22 AM MDT September 5, 2025
Facebook
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Crews with South Metro Fire Rescue are responding to a small plane crash south of Centennial Airport early Friday morning.

A small plane crashed into an industrial district, according to South Metro Fire. A bank of generators was involved, South Metro Fire said.

It is unknown how many people were on board the plane when the crash happened; however, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office confirmed at least one person was killed.
26
Aviation Audio Clips / Small plane overruns runway at Boca Raton Airport
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 04, 2025, 11:54:47 UTC »
https://www.wflx.com/2025/09/03/small-plane-overruns-runway-boca-raton-airport-faa-investigating/

By Emma Romano
Updated: 12 hours ago
Representatives for the Boca Raton Airport have confirmed that a Challenger 300 overran the runway today at 5:13 p.m.

The airport's Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) was deployed and stopped the plane.

At the time of the crash, two crew members and two passengers were on board. There were no injuries.

The FAA is en route to assess the situation before the plane is released for removal.
27
Aviation Audio Clips / Republic E175 at New York on Sep 2nd engine failure
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 04, 2025, 10:41:45 UTC »
https://avherald.com/h?article=52c77e73&opt=0

Incident: Republic E175 at New York on Sep 2nd 2025, engine failure
By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Sep 3rd 2025 15:28Z, last updated Wednesday, Sep 3rd 2025 15:28Z

A Republic Airways Embraer ERJ-175 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N409YX performing flight AA-4379 from New York La Guardia,NY to Nashville,TN (USA) with 68 people on board, was climbing out of La Guardia's runway 13 when the crew declared Mayday reporting the right hand engine (CF34) had failed, they needed to divert to New York JFK,NY (USA). The aircraft stopped the climb at 3000 feet and positioned for an approach to JFK's runway 22L about 25 minutes after departure.

The FAA reported: "Republic Airways Flight 4379 landed safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport around 1:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, Sept. 2, after the crew reported engine issues. The Embraer E175 departed from LaGuardia Airport and was travelling to Nashville International Airport in Tennessee. The FAA will investigate."

A replacement Embraer ERJ-175 registration N115HQ reached Nashville with a delay of about 2:45 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in New York about 22 hours after landing.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/RPA4379/history/20250902/1709Z/KLGA/KBNA
28
Aviation Audio Clips / Calm runway excursion after cleared for the option
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 02, 2025, 16:10:39 UTC »
probably not the option he wanted.
no real damage, no injury

Date:   01-SEP-25
Time:   18:15:00Z
Regis#:   N321WF
Aircraft Make:   CESSNA
Aircraft Model:   172
Event Type:   INCIDENT
Highest Injury:   NONE
Aircraft Missing:   No
Damage:   UNKNOWN
LOCATION
City:   DENTON
State:   TEXAS
Country:   UNITED STATES
DESCRIPTION
Description:   AIRCRAFT ABORTED TAKEOFF AND VEERED OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY, DENTON, TX.
29
Aviation Audio Clips / Jetblue birdstrike at Boston and other issues all handled nicely
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 02, 2025, 15:45:13 UTC »
This one has a bit of variety, the initial bird strike, not at 15,000, Speedbird request for a runway inspection, Spirit getting cut off by a ground vehicle,
just a normal well handled day at KBOS.
enjoy

Date:   29-AUG-25
Time:   03:04:00Z
Regis#:   N4077J
Aircraft Make:   AIRBUS
Aircraft Model:   A321
Event Type:   INCIDENT
Highest Injury:   NONE
Aircraft Missing:   No
Damage:   UNKNOWN
LOCATION
City:   BOSTON
State:   MASSACHUSETTS
Country:   UNITED STATES
DESCRIPTION
Description:   AIRCRAFT STRUCK A BIRD ON DEPARTURE DAMAGING THE WINDSHIELD, BOSTON, MA.
30
Aviation Audio Clips / Delta B712 at Huntsville on Aug 29th 2025 rejected takeoff
« Last post by KB4TEZ on September 02, 2025, 09:46:52 UTC »
https://avherald.com/h?article=52c451fa&opt=0

A Delta Airlines Boeing 717-200, registration N928AT performing flight DL-1708 from Huntsville,AL to Atlanta,GA (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from HUntsville's runway 18R when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed and advised ATC they needed emergency services due to smoke. The aircraft vacated the runway at the first exit about 380 meters down the runway and stopped clear of the runway. The crew inquired whether emergency services were seeing anything from the left hand engine (BR715), emergency services they were not seeing anything unusual from either engine. About 10 minutes later the aircraft taxied to the apron with emergency services in trail, the crew suggested the airport might sweep the runway as a precaution.

The FAA reported: "The crew of Delta Air Lines Flight 1708 aborted their takeoff from Huntsville International Airport in Alabama because smoke was coming from an engine. The plane taxied back to the gate, where passengers deplaned. The FAA will investigate the incident, which occurred around 10:55 a.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 29."


Reader Comments: (the comments posted below do not reflect the view of The Aviation Herald but represent the view of the various posters)

By (anonymous) on Monday, Sep 1st 2025 03:45Z

I was on the plane - possible compressor stall. There was a loud bang followed by a series of vibrations. I never saw smoke but local news said an eyewitness at a nearby golf course heard the bang and saw smoke.

they would know
By Joe on Saturday, Aug 30th 2025 10:58Z

They most likely had an engine fire warning and that would be the cause to look for smoke out of the motors

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