Sleeping on the job can be prevented with little cost

Frank Silver, Henderson

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

There is a simpler, more effective and important additional safety measure to make sure the air traffic controllers are available when necessary.

Two controllers can sleep just as easily as one. So what is needed is a loud bell that can be activated by the radio connection that already exists between the plane and the tower. If the pilot does not get a response after a couple of normal attempts, he sends the signal to activate the bell. Sleeping or otherwise distracted controllers would then respond.

Simple, effective and a necessary backup in case no one in the tower is awake. Additionally, it is much less expensive.