Air Corsica Flight Circles Airport For Hour After Air Traffic Controller Found Sleeping

An Air Corsica flight circled for nearly an hour after an air traffic controller fell asleep in Ajaccio, a French island in the Mediterranean Sea. The flight departed Paris Orly Airport at 10:47 p.m. on Sept. 16th and approached Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte Airport just after midnight. Radio calls went unanswered, and runway lights were off. “The captain then contacted the airport fire department,” a passenger told The Times. Fire crews alerted police after finding no response from the tower. The pilot kept passengers informed, joking, “We did a little sightseeing.” He later said, “In my decades of experience, I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this.” Staff eventually accessed the locked tower and woke the controller, who tested negative for drugs and alcohol. The plane landed safely at 12:35 a.m. (Story URL)

PHONE TOPIC: What did you screw up by falling asleep at work?