Jonathan Stewart, a veteran air traffic controller in New Jersey, experienced a critical near-miss incident on May 4, where he had to rely on handwritten notes due to malfunctioning radar equipment. This situation arose while managing flights near Newark Liberty International Airport, leading to immense stress and a temporary leave from work. Stewart emphasized the exhaustion he felt during the incident, which compounded his fear of responsibility for a potential disaster involving hundreds of lives. His unique approach in responding to operational challenges underscores the complex and high-stakes environment of air traffic control during equipment failures.
I had been working in the operation for roughly three hours-ish at the time of the incident. Typically, I try not to work myself or anyone else longer than two hours.
In my situation, I was getting tired. I was having to utilize a combination of radar and non-radar rules that I basically just made up on the fly to separate aircraft.
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