Domestic Flight from Paris Loses Contact with Control Tower
Circles for an Hour Before Landing
Controller Fell Asleep, Cutting Off Communication
An incident occurred in which a flight from Paris, France to Corsica, a French territory in the Mediterranean, circled in the air for an hour because the air traffic controller on duty had fallen asleep.
On the 17th (local time), the French daily Le Figaro and Yonhap News reported that this incident took place on an Air Corsica flight on the night of the 15th. At the time, the aircraft had taken off from Paris Orly Airport at around 10:45 p.m., heading for Ajaccio Airport in Corsica.
During the approach to the airport, the pilots noticed that the runway lights were off and attempted to communicate with the control tower. However, despite multiple radio calls, there was no response from air traffic control.
As a result, the pilots were forced to circle above the runway, waiting for landing clearance. The airport fire brigade also tried to contact the control tower but received no answer, and eventually, the airport gendarmerie was contacted.
An investigation revealed that the air traffic controller, who was alone in the control tower at the time, had fallen asleep.
The aircraft continued to circle overhead, and only after about an hour were the runway lights turned on and communication with the control tower restored, allowing the plane to land safely at around 1 a.m. It is known that the pilots even considered diverting the flight to Bastia in northern Corsica.
The pilot of the flight told local media, "I've worked for decades, but this is the first time I've experienced anything like this," expressing his astonishment. A passenger on board said, "At no point was there any panic; everyone responded calmly."
Meanwhile, local authorities conducted tests to determine whether the air traffic controller was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but all results came back negative.
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