Feds: Two air traffic controllers fired for sleeping on duty

Both were fired for sleeping incidents, according to the Transportation Department.

The firings followed a spate of incidents in which controllers in various cities were reported to be sleeping while on duty.

The controllers fired Wednesday were not identified, but one such sleeping incident at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center was among the most recently reported, with the FAA suspending a unidentified controller there last Saturday.

In February, a controller was found sleeping while on duty in the radar room at the McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville. The FAA said earlier this month it was taking steps to fire that controller.

Aside from Miami and Knoxville, cases of sleeping controllers have been reported in Washington; Seattle, and Reno, Nevada. There have been two suspected cases in Lubbock, Texas.

All the incidents occurred during controllers' midnight shifts. Most -- though not all -- of the lapses occurred at local control towers.

In at least one incident, the FAA has said the controller deliberately went to sleep, while some of the others appear to have been accidental.

In response to the reports, top officials from the FAA and the air traffic controllers' union began a cross-country tour of air traffic control facilities this week to hold a series of meetings about safety and professionalism.

And federal officials announced a series of new regulations Saturday aimed at preventing air traffic controllers from falling asleep while on duty; Kazinform cites CNN.

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