EDEN PRAIRIE, MN - I ka Pōʻakolu i hala aku nei, ma kahi neʻe wiwo ʻole, ua huli ka luna o ka Federal Aviation Administration ma ka Flying Cloud Airport control tower i nā hana holo i ka wā o kahi hoʻomaʻamaʻa hoʻomaʻamaʻa ma ka hana e lawe kelepona ma kāna kelepona a ua nalo i kāna mea hoʻomaʻamaʻa i ka hoʻomaʻemaʻe hewa ʻana i kahi kaʻa mokulele e hele i ke ala holo i mua o kahi mokulele e haʻalele ana.
He pāpā koʻikoʻi ka FAA i ka hoʻohana ʻana i ke kelepona ma kāna mau wahi hana. Ke aʻo nei ka luna hoʻomalu i ka luna o ka hale hana, ʻo ia ka mea e hoʻāʻo nei e aʻo i ka hoʻomalu ʻāina no ka manawa mua. I loko o ia kau hoʻomaʻamaʻa, huli ka luna hoʻomalu i ka mea hoʻomaʻamaʻa a me nā hana hoʻomalu honua e lawe i ke kelepona. Ma muli o ka nele o ka mākaʻikaʻi ʻana, ua ʻae ka mea hoʻomaʻamaʻa/manakia i kahi kaʻa mokulele e ʻaʻa i kahi ala holo holo i mua o kahi mokulele mokulele ākea e haʻalele ana ma ke ala hoʻokahi 2,600 kapuaʻi wale nō.
Wahi a ka Hope Pelekikena Nui ʻo Great Lakes ʻo Bryan Zilonis, "ʻO kēia kekahi hihia o nā luna hoʻokele FAA e hōʻike aku nei i ka mālama ʻole ʻana a me ka hoʻokamani hoʻokalakupua i ka palekana. Inā ua hana ka luna hoʻomalu i kēia hana palekana, e hoʻokuʻu ʻia lākou inā ʻaʻole e hoʻokuʻu ʻia. Makemake ʻo NATCA e ʻike i ka mālama like ʻana no kēia mau luna hoʻokele a ke kali nei mākou me ka hanu e ʻike i ka mea, inā he mea, e hana ka FAA. ʻIke maopopo ka FAA makemake i kāna mau mea hoʻokele e hana e like me kāna ʻōlelo a ʻaʻole e like me kāna hana.
Ua waiho ʻia kahi hōʻike hewa hana e ka luna a ma ka hōʻike hōʻuluʻulu ʻaʻole i ʻōlelo ʻia no ke kelepona paʻa.
He aha e lawe ʻia mai kēia ʻatikala:
- Last Wednesday, in a brazenly callous move, the Federal Aviation Administration supervisor at the Flying Cloud Airport control tower turned his back on runway operations during an on-the-job training exercise to take a call on his cell phone and missed his trainee mistakenly clear an airport vehicle to cross the runway in front of a departing aircraft.
- Due to the lack of supervision, the trainee/manager permitted an airport vehicle to cross an active runway in front of a general aviation aircraft departing on the same runway just 2,600 feet away.
- During that training session the supervisor turned his back on the trainee and active ground control operations to take a phone call.
