Michelle Obama's plane aborts landing after blunder by air controllers

Near miss: First Lady Michelle Obama
12 April 2012

Blundering American air traffic controllers ordered a plane carrying Michelle Obama to abort a landing because it was too close to a military cargo jet.

It was the latest episode in a series of embarrassing revelations about the behaviour of US air traffic controllers, with staff sleeping on the job and even watching movies.

Although there was apparently little risk to the First Lady during Monday's incident at Andrews Air Force Base, it is another blow to the embattled Federal Aviation Administration, which is struggling to maintain public confidence after nine suspensions of air traffic controllers in recent weeks, including five for sleeping on the job.

The head of the US air traffic system resigned last week, while the most recent suspension came after a controller at the Oberlin centre in Ohio accidentally transmitted the audio of a film he was watching to all aircraft in the surrounding airspace, blocking incoming calls.

His microphone became stuck in the "transmit" position and he accidentally broadcast three minutes from the 2007 Samuel LJackson thriller Cleaner.

The latest mistake happened at around 5pm local time on Monday when a Boeing 737 belonging to the Air National Guard, carrying Mrs Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden, came within about three miles of a huge C-17 as the planes were approaching Andrews to land. The FAA requires a minimum separation of five miles between two planes when the plane in the lead is as large as the 200-ton cargo jet to avoid wake turbulence that can severely endanger the trailing aircraft.

President Obama and US transport secretary Ray LaHood have called for extra professionalism from air traffic controllers. Mr Obama said that "when you're responsible for the lives and safety of people up in the air, you better do your job".

FAA administrator Randy Babbitt said passengers should never have to worry about whether a flight crew is rested, a plane is properly maintained or that air traffic controllers are on the job. He added: "That should never be a thought for anybody getting in an airplane in this country. None of us in this business can tolerate any of this. It absolutely has to stop."

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