US plane lands as controller sleeps in tower

An air traffic controller has been suspended after sleeping while a medical flight was landing in Reno, Nevada.

It was the fourth case this year involving sleeping controllers.

The pilot and airport staff had tried to contact the controller many times without success, said airport chief Krys Bart. He was out of contact for 16 minutes as the plane, carrying three people, tried to land in the early hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was immediately putting a second controller on the midnight shift and extra radar facilities at 26 airports that have only one overnight person.

"I am totally outraged by these incidents. This is absolutely unacceptable," said US transportation secretary Ray LaHood. "The American public trusts us to run a safe system.
Safety is our number one priority and I am committed to working 24/7 until these problems are corrected."

Two jets landed at Washington's Reagan National Airport last month without help from the tower after the only air traffic supervisor fell asleep. Controllers in Seattle and Knoxville, Tennessee, were also suspended after falling asleep at night.