PATCO Wins Historic Campaign....

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By patco
Posted: 11-10-2008




From: The National Transportation Safety Board

NTSB Report A-08-SI & S2

Opa Locka Tower, Florida

July, 2008

In Part:

Although not a factor in this accident, Safety Board investigators noted that the non-angled ATCT windows in OPF?s temporary ATCT reflected interior ATCT cab equipment lighting at night, which made visually discerning aircraft on the airport challenging.

Because of the ATCT?s height and location, visibility at night was further hampered by vehicular traffic traveling on roadways adjacent to the airport because controllers could confuse vehicular traffic, on and off the airport, with taxiing aircraft (see figure 4).

Finally, the Safety Board notes that the temporary ATCT?s short height and geographic location exposed OPF air traffic controllers to aircraft noise and exhaust. In addition, unlike the old ATCT, the temporary ATCT was not adequately climate-controlled, therefore, controllers had to deal with excessive variations in ATCTcab air temperature and humidity. These working conditions could contribute to inattention and fatigue, exacerbating the unsafe working conditions in the ATCT.



PATCO:::Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization