Page 3 - Tower Controller News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Areas. the local tower controller, when he saw the airplane taxiing out toward runway 16 center. and he wasn't talking to them, started separating airplanes away from this airplane when he didn't know what it was going to do. when it took off, they immediately notified the security folks, and they were able to scramble fighter jets, too, that were on scene very quickly. so, how bad it could have been, once the fighters were on scene. they were trying to push him towards the pacific ocean, away from pop lameulated areas. so, the system in that respect worked pretty well. we can hypothesize abou...

Than not you're going to be in a soft area. this area came off the runway and ended up in the mud. >> you've been on duty when this happens. give us a sense of when the bell rings. waiting for years, nothing happens. suddenly, sadly, the alarm goes off and there's a plane in trouble. >> notification generally comes from the faa control tower. the control tower has visual of all the airport. they'll pick up what's called the airport emergency notification system phone. by picking it up it automatically rings in a number of places. the fire station on the airport. the local fire departments arou...

Notified by the operation center of the tower problem. >> united 628, just so you're aware, we've had one aircraft go into dca. the tower is apparently unmanned. >> reporter: it landed safely too, and the tower controller was back on the radio about five minutes later. but a former airline pilot calls it a serious lapse. >> of all the airports on the planet, this is the worst one for that to happen to. let's face it, that airport sits within a baseball throw of the pentagon, of the white house, of the capitol building. this is not a very good situation. >> reporter: federal officials say they'...

Around that same time, a united airlines plane with 68 people on board heading in from chicago is notified by the operation center of the tower problem. >> united 628, just so you're aware, we've had one aircraft go into dca. the tower is apparently unmanned. >> reporter: it landed safely too and the tower controller was back on the radio about five minutes later. baa former airline pilot calls it a serious lapse. >> of all the airports on the planet, this is the worst one for that to happen to. let's face it, that airport sits within a baseball throw of the pentagon, of the white house, of th...

Line and there's no answer. >> reporter: a man on board the flight says the pilot keeps passengers informed. >> the pilot gets over the loudspeaker and says, sorry, folks, we can't land right now, i can't get in contact with air traffic control tower, we're going to keep circling until i get a response. >> reporter: the plane lands safely a few minutes later, following procedures for unmanned airports, making frequent radio calls to notify planes in the area of its position. around that same time, a united airlines plane with 68 people on board heading in from chicago is notified by the operat...