Retnox, I pinned your comment so people can see the correction at the top of the comments. I don't want to show like that pilot was thinking it all was a comedy. that was my caption mistake so sorry and thanks for correcting.
No ATC should be alone while working. This highlights the issue. Hope she recovered and thank goodness someone took note of the severity of the issue. Well done that pilot.
As an air traffic controller who has suffered a stroke myself, my heart goes out to this individual. It's terrifying enough to lose the ability to speak and to think critically. But to have it happen on position, OMG, I can't imagine her terror as she desperately tried to enunciate her words. Fortunately my stroke did not happen on position and I recovered completely and made it to retirement, thank God. I hope this lady was able to recover and not lose her job. The FAA makes it hard enough to keep a medical even without a stroke.
woooww congrats on makeing it through medical to retire. My dad got allmost 2months leave because he came down with vertigo fora few days when we worked jackson ms ATC.
Unsure. I remember when this first came out. There was some speculation as to the nature of what caused her to become incapacitated. Last I remember is an article stating two things. One, that an ATC resigned and, two, that there will no longer be a time where there is a single ATC left alone in the control room. No matter how many are on duty, if memory serves me.
@@Bl4ckw0lf1 Thats great and all, but its more the fact that its already in the regulations. There shouldn't, and by having one ATC they were ignoring the rules already in place.
I loved how the pilots were competent enough to figure out something was wrong and started dealing with the airport as if it was an uncontrolled one even though it was class b. Teamwork like that always makes me happy when listening to ATC.
These pilots were absolutely not competent enough. No landing clearance you don’t land and you go missed and switch back to approach and let them know what’s going on. You don’t takeoff either. You wait until ATC is functional and giving clear instructions. Just because there is no controller at that moment doesn’t mean it’s uncontrolled airspace. Had these early pilots gone missed, someone would have gone up to tower to realize there is a severe medical issue occurring.
Whilst it is a nice thought on your behalf, the world doesn't work like that. The pilots were treating it as if it was uncontrolled... because at that time it was, they had no idea when or if a functional ATC would be back, in this instance the pilots were correct in their actions.
Please feel free to tell me what you would have done if the issue hadn't been resolved? the aircraft in the air continuing with their prior instructions to what end? the result could very well be dire.
For anyone wondering, she showed very clear signs on a stroke, she resined after, and was not fired. Something about just feeling bad about all the lives she put in danger, even tho it wasnt her fault.
I mean, I hope they wouldn't fire her for having a medical incident that's out of her control, however, I can understand after having a stroke it's not really possible to continue that job.
I can only imagine how stressful the job is. After something like this happening and what could’ve happened even though it wasn’t her fault. Personally if I was in her shoes I would have resigned as well for the fear I’d be left alone again and it might happen again and people could get hurt. But I worry a bit more than most. I hope she is doing well now. Sounds like a nice person.
@@Chaz042TFC I don't know if it's possible to maintain her as ATC. If not, she should be given another position within the organisation, or let go on a disability discharge, which is not quite the same as being fired.
Totally agree. Imagine knowing that if you make a single mistake it could mean disaster. Imagine feeling something is not right and things doesn't add up. Must be horrible. I hope this fighting lady made a full recovery.
It's very possible she didn't realize anything was wrong....My father in law was doing this, we got him to hospital....later he said he didn't think anything was wrong with him. That he thought he was replying perfectly fine.....which is the SCARY thing about strokes!
Its a stroke in real time. Heart breaking but from a medical stand point highly illuminating. My question though, was she working alone? Where were her co workers? This dont seem like it should be a loner job to me for this very reason. Anything can happen. I know id want back up
@@ATSucks1 It wasn't a stroke. She was on drugs and was fired. After she sent threats and a nationwide notice was sent that she is not allowed on federal property.
@@mortson978 The FAA doesn't issue one of these after someone has a stroke and their location is in the hospital. Also, notice how the FAA just swept this all under the rug?
@@MiniMaxiSlots I would agree, if you could show that such a notice exists. I've looked, and all I could find is speculation. I'm not just gonna take your word for it.
@Han Lockhart a stroke impairs your ability to move and also often impairs your judgement. She was unable to realize what was happening. A stroke can happen to an otherwise very healthy person out of nowhere. Professional pilots can work at an airport with no ATC but it may slow operations down a lot at a busy field. A stroke can be the result of a bodily defect you have had for many decades before it presents itself. You can even be born with a defect and be quite old before it becomes a problem. MRI of the brain can help detect defects in the blood vessel so it can be repaired but thats not a standard medical procedure unless you are in a high risk category.
@@pyrocali68 fucking finally!!! Someone who knows something😂 I watched this vid almost a year ago and everyone on here is either kinda like you or they say she was drunk. But as I've commented just s minute ago im drunk right now and I'm still functional... And we dont cough or choke like that so yeah... Obviously a fucking stroke or some other health issue
@@pyrocali68 more specifically: stroke often impairs your judgement in ways that you are unable to detect if anything is wrong. Sometimes, you are not "there" at all. It is like the working parts of the brain try to cobble something together which only superficially resembles consciousness, but it is more like chatbot, using template answers, capable of only parsing very simple context. Your speech center without higher reasoning can make a lot of superficially intelligent speech (very similar to state of the art text generators actually). The problem is that the brain is not like a computer with very explicit error handling/reporting. Instead it tries really hard to pretend that everything is all right, even after loosing higher reasoning. Other example: the two halves of split brain patients are very convinced that they are the same brain, and they pretend that they have arrived at each decision together, even if all communications are cut between them.
Recognize stroke signs, everyone. Minutes count: *F*-facial drooping *A*-arm weakness *S*-slurred speech *T*-time to can 9-1-1 (or equivalent) General confusion, headaches, slurred speech, difficulty walking can also present. The person will pretty much look confused and drunk, suddenly. Even if you’re not 100%, call an ambulance. Better to be wrong!
@@i-love-comountains3850 The only one? Very slurred speech too. The slurred speech and confusion are also signs of a hypoglycemic attack, much less serious, but also more common and can render the patient unconscious. Well worth pilots and ATC alike knowing the audible giveaways of both. Hope the lady made a full recovery, she did an excellent job considering the circumstances, pilots also had their wits about them, well done all!
That poor ATC...she is still trying hard under impossible to handle circumstances to do her job at a professional level, but a stroke simply doesn’t allow for it. She is still controlling air traffic while having a freaking stroke better than I can even put my pants on in the morning. Props to all the professionals handling the situation, and god bless to the ATC. I hope she was ok!
bar10 ml, while that’s true, what do you expect her to have done, when nobody else was in the tower? Shut the entire airport down for an entire ATC shift? Nobody knew she was going to have a stroke. She didn’t know she was *having* a stroke. All appearances are that it happened while the second ATC was on a break. (They need those, you know.)
@Gerry Wolf I’m a paramedic and have been in EMS for almost a decade and I can tell you that I have seen a lot of otherwise very healthy people have strokes. Young and old, Fat and in shape, extensive medical history or no medical history at all. Sure, it tends to happen more frequently in people with risk factors such as obesity, but to assume she had a stroke because she was fat is down right ignorant. Especially considering you have no idea what physical shape she was in.
Jacob C also a Paramedic on a decade and fully agree. Nothing but pure ignorance and shiftiness from a lot of these comments. Particularly from Mr. Gerry up there. I feel bad for this woman and she did a great job considering the circumstances. Some of the heartlessness from the pilots was a bit disheartening too. Then again not everyone knows what to look for but it took a while for someone to call and get it sorted out
It is sad to think that she was not only doing the air traffic, but also the ground traffic, without any help or backup in the tower. I would think that no one should be left alone in this position. I truly feel for her, and hope that she was able to recover.
@@Itallianmobboss My understanding was that she was handling both tower and ground traffic by herself on the day this occurred. Both being handled by the ATC happens at smaller airports, but she should have had help for this sized airport. Plus backup to help with this sort of medical emergency.
@@RS-uo2nd I have not seen any information that indicated that this was anything other than a medical emergency. All is speculation unless a credible source provides good information. My Air Force buddies say that a minimum of 2 ATC’s are required to be on shift and in the tower at all times. Common sense dictates that stroke’s, heart attacks, and other medical issues occur, so having only one person on duty is going to eventually result in someone having an issue without any backup. Seems like requiring breathalyzer checks before shifts would be a good idea.
Even while having a stroke, her speech was clearer than some of the transmissions I've listened to! Kudos to her for trying to continue doing her job, perhaps not even aware of what was happening to her.
I get what you're saying about her continuing to do her job, but honestly, no. A stroke is brain trauma, and it causes judgement to become impaired just as much as the communication issues we can hear. It would have been easy for her to make a fatal mistake had the pilots involved not been able to direct themselves. That, and with a stroke, getting treatment as soon as possible is absolutely imperative. Of course, a person having a stroke alone may not even realize they're having one, they usually don't. That's what is especially dangerous.
Having had a stroke, I can sympathize with the woman. You, yourself, do not realise your speech has gone. However it is very concerning that action wasn't taken more quickly.
I was wondering why at least one of the pilots didnt call ground frequency and said: hey, there is something wrong with the tower controller, Can you go to check if everything its ok with her?
Francisco Figueroa For respect, I believe. What if everything was fine. It would be like you are doubting about someones work and causing panic at the airport for no reason. It was not really clear that there was something terribly wrong with her until it got worse. I get what you are saying but actually taking action can be pretty hard. In my opinion, there should have been someone else next to her, idk.
UA448 Captain…hats off to you, kind sir. You swooped in and handled things. You alleviated a clusterf*ck situation and got that woman the medical attention she desperately needed. I’d fly with you anywhere!
It looks like it took over 20 minutes for help to arrive, so I'll make my little PSA: A stroke is a highly time critical event. They say that TIME IS BRAIN - in that every second that passes more and more brain matter is lost irreparably. The window of time where they even TRY to fix the issue is 4 hours from first symptoms to operating table, because after that any fix would be more dangerous than the condition. One way or the other: after a stroke you're stuck with less brain cells, because they can't regenerate ever. You can train remaining brain to retask, but that means learning everything from basics. How to eat, how to walk, etc. The longer the stroke goes on, the more functions you loose. This is why it is important to be able to recognise a stroke and call 911 immediately! And here is how you do it: FAST F - Face (Is one corner of the mouth drooping? Is one cheek hanging down? Can the person not smile or frown with both sides of their mouth? Do the eyes move uncoordinated? etc.) A - Arms (Let them hold up their arms infront of them with closed eyes. Does one arm unvoluntarily drop faster than the other? Is one arm entirely or partialy lame?) S - Speech (Is the person slurring their words? Do they have problems finding the right words? Do they make nonsensical combinations? etc.) T - Time (If you have a yes in one or more of the above - HURRY UP! Fastest time to operating table is key, so call 911!) Only YOU can prevent major stroke consequences (because the person themselves will most likely not notice it or not think it a big deal)!
Or, when time is critical (and it always is with a stroke), just: Ask the person to smile. Ask them to speak a simple sentence. Ask them to hold up their arms. If they can’t do any of the above, call 911.
That was tough to listen to. But I will say it was really neat to see the crews figure out something wasn't right and then the amount of compassion they showed. It went from annoyed confusion to worry for her health very quickly.
Exactly, that's a good point on this video and that's why I share it with everyone. ATC/PILOT is a couple that is essential in aviation and these pilots worked very professional and finally got some help to her.
Except the part when United said can we get somebody who knows what they're doing, not very compassionate. Clearly a struggling controller and he ridiculed her.
@@ahmadsamadzai8255 we don't know the full story with Alaska and others that landed. They maybe received clearance from the Approach controller (that's what I want to think).
That hot mic moment near the end, when she was choking. The guy walks in the room and asks if she's ok. I didn't she could even reply and he ran over and checked her. A few seconds later and he found the hot mic and let go of the button. Imagine if he hadn't walked in then.. she was dying! Poor woman. How was she the only one, at LAS VEGAS? She was tower and ground? Hard to believe any airport of that size would only have 1 controller at any time of their operations, regardless if it was a slow period. No redundancy at all, and it's just as important as an airplane having 2 pilots. Just as important as a flight attendant occupying the cockpit when a pilot goes pee. They never leave them alone. Yet we have this controller responsible for hundreds of lives at that time and she was alone?!?! She nearly DIED! GOD I can't imagine if it had gone on a few minutes longer. All those pilots would have heard her take her last breath. I'm glad they all called their companies/ops centers and had someone go check. They saved her life.
@@JackHudler Unbelievable that there was no live microphone into the tower! Ridiculous. They should have one so her co-worker could hear her. I'd at least carry a wireless headset tuned to the tower frequency to hear the conversations in the background while on break. Something tells me this airport is woefully underfunded...
As someone’s already said: ATCs are expensive. Both their training and their wage are (rightfully), so I guess it’s not that easy to have many of them available at the same time
As a pilot and stroke survivor I found this extremely difficult to listen to. After an operation, 2 year recovery, and a bit of a fight they gave me my medical back. But I have not flown since, I no longer trust my brain, I had no pre-existing condition, and there was no warning. I assume this is a relatively young woman, our community knows how hard possibly losing her career may be, and we all wish her the best recovery possible. On the other note, no controller should be flying these critical positions solo ! That was cruel !
Is the fact she or any ATC working alone a result of Reagan's 💩 back in the 80's? I found this heart wrenching & pray all is better for this lady today!
This is a terrifying example of how fast something as serious as a stroke can progress. She went from slight mumbling to completely incapacitated in about 10 minutes. This demonstrates the absoulute requirement of having backups and fail safes in place. I'm just glad that she recovered and that there wasn't an accident.
wasnt a stroke, controller resigned before investigation was even barely started. with inside information coming from several sources including those personal to me, her name and face is now on a BOLO Trespass Warning and Notify at every Tower in the United States that the FAA Has authority over. She was drunk.
@@instant_mint Obvious. You do not quit after having a stroke while on the job. You do quit if you wish to protect your status if you are drunk however.
Watched this several times over the years, two things catch my attention; firstly the way the pilots effectively self-organize and that the controller remained semi-functional that long under the circumstances, the first was excellent, the second scary in that there was apparently nobody else in the tower who could assess the situation and respond appropriately.
Same, and same, and same again... Was she alone in there? I know it's an intense job that requires them to focus on the radar and what they're hearing but you'd think her condition would have become obvious to others in the room before then... They don't have a supervisor over their shoulders? Her suffering breaks my heart more than anything but it is disturbing as well.
@@raysutton2310 That 100% right and i guess that the fact that she was alone will be a big one. I work at a freaking warehouse an i can"t be alone. In my country you can't work alone evan in an office. Reason for that is in this video, there are no one that can help you. What if you have a heart attack ? You are just dead. But in tower control ? That is just crazy.
@@katara520 just LISTENING to ATC makes me want to kill myself. There's a ton of work and quick thinking that goes into it for sure. I'd never be able to do it, that's for sure. A tough job that I'm sure doesn't pay nearly enough... Same as pilots. These jobs aren't for the faint of heart. Long hours and super demanding of your undivided thought. Commercial pilots and ATC don't get the credit they deserve, imho.
It is incomprehensible that a busy airport with such a complicated runway/taxiway structure was under the control of just one person. This is cost cutting at it's extreme.
It’s not rlly cost cutting afaik. The job is extremely extremely stressful and tiring as you often have 10 hour shifts sometimes 6 days a week due to the lack of people. You have to be able to keep awareness of literally dozens and hundreds of things at once while also making sure u don’t direct a plane into another plane and kill hundreds. Most don’t last at these type of jobs more than a year if not a few months due to burnout
@@Eclipse-lw4vf I was under the impression that ain't allowed due to regulations (which are basically the same almost everywhere on the world?). Is that different where that incident happened?
@@redemption9593 well another person said she died on the way to the hospital so people can say anything they want. I want to know what happened to her and if she's all right.
@Eternity Perplexed there always needs to be an atc, if someone follows a wrong transmission or has an emergency there could be hundreds of people at stake
American 2785, and United 448 where absolutely gentle and patient with her. Some aviators tried to help themselves by passing some information on the ground! United 448, asked some aviator on the ground, call the medical staff and ask them to go to the control tower to help her....American2785, called on the ground for the medical team to go to the tower to help the girl...Frontier 762 later asked the "new" controller "Is she okay?"... FULL CRM!! FUL RESPECT! A strong woman and gentle pilots all helped God bless them
It would suck to suddenly start having trouble enunciating words, trouble reading my screen, trouble understanding the pilots, feeling confused and not knowing why...
That's part of the problem with strokes, YOU don't even notice that anything is wrong until the brain oxygen is so low you start coughing or convulsing. This woman should have had a partner sitting next to her to notice all the errors and take a look at her face or speech. Drooping cheek/lips, inability to remember anything from one moment to the next. She probably wasn't at all confused in any sense you or I think of. To her it was just another day at the desk, right up until "I don't feel so hot". Unfortunately in some cases, especially people who live alone, that can be hours of time. Every minute means more brain death.
on two separate occasions I was speaking with my mother in person, while she was experiencing distorted speech due to TIAs. she was completely oblivious, and denied anything was wrong.
Odor 66 not universally true... my grandmother 2 years go had a stroke in front of me, brain clot and she caught herself.. she was watching my sisters baby and everyone was out I stayed home and apparently she was spewing non sense to the baby and couldn’t remember his name or even her name and she raced out to me I was outside doing lawn work and she came outside confused didn’t even know me it seemed like and stumbling and mumbling and said threw her slurred speech “I need help” and took her inside called 911 and ya she made it and still healthy today. Weirdly she remembers most of what happened during the stroke.. and she remembered when she realized something wasn’t right was when she didn’t know where she was all of the sudden or who she was and caught herself saying disconnected non sense.. I also had a “playmate” a friend with benefits when I was single also have a stroke... no prior history, she was fit as can be and adorable, and early 20s and she had a stroke, this was years ago before I knew what a stroke was and she was basically exactly like this girl in ATC, increasing incoherent and then started spewing non sense and words just words didn’t relate to anything and confused what was going on...and I decided was something not right about this.. called 911 and put some clothes on her while waiting because she was a shy girl and figured she’d appreciate when she comes around later. And ya she was having a stroke they confirmed and carted her to hospital.. sadly cuz she got no medical coverage/insurance and barely livable wage her care put her massively into debt. Over $30,000 of “care” + ambulance fee....Cuz America :/
Many posting here have no experience. She is a great controller. I've dealt with her many times. If she had a stroke it's out of her control. As pilots we are capable of landing and handling traffic without at if need be
minoew5, FAA never said what actually caused her to become incapacitated. A stroke is just as much an assumption as those saying she was drunk or on drugs. Also, she wasn't fired, she resigned.
To be fair, considering how long it seems to have taken for her to get medical attention, it's quite possible that, were it a stroke, the lasting brain damage would have left her unfit to continue her job, and she'd have been forced to resign.
The FAA didn't Fire her you Troll..... She was So upset about what happened and the Lives she put in Jeopardy she Resigned... Everyone tried to Stop Her but she was So Upset She didn't want this Ever to happen again...
@@mihan2d ... She had little choice but to quit, they would have never passed her medically to do the job again. She was probably unaware of her stroke at the time, hope she fully recovered and is doing something that makes her really happy now.
The pilots must think she's intoxicated even though they know that's outrageous. You can hear it in their tone of voice. The poor controller is struggling to stay lucid but can't. Good Lord...what a bad situation.
yea it seems like they thought maybe shes drunk but very quickly the mood changed and the pilots literally took over knowing she wasn't drunk and something was seriously wrong
@@adde9506 I was actually thinking about diabetes when I made my comment. It's my biggest fear that I'm going to be low somewhere and people will assume I'm drunk and I'll die because no one bothers to help.
She a really good controller who has lots of experience. I know this because I plane spot during rush hour and she really fast. If you want to see how good she is under pressure just watch British Airways fire in Vegas
Such professionalism was displayed here, that controller took over with what seemed only the snap of a finger, got situational awareness and just got on with it.
@@retabiyo she thought it was a choking as her muscle control lapsed - she was very probably not aware her verbal skills had dropped off and the inability to talk until it is too late can mean people don't get that call out. One of my scariest calls was a teenage boy slumped in a chair at school - only from a blown pupil did the teacher realise he was stroking as he just silently faded into unconsciousness and call us. Major bleed but full recovery after neurosurgery.
@@retabiyo When you have a stroke you don't even realize you have a stroke, you think you are talking and acting completely normal, but in reality you're stuttering like a drunken fool.
He did the first correct thing... asked what's everyone's situations, positions, and intentions are by looking at the aircrafts and asked. That how he got the situation under control so quickly.
This made me tear up. I pray she makes a full recovery. I'm a nurse and that was still difficult to listen to. I'm so happy the pilots were quick to recognize something was off and exercised care and caution.
Sis Shahada well i dont think they were that fast, im not sure id take off after an atc controller that sounds like she just drank a whole jack daniels in one sitting mumbles me the takeoff clearance :)
@@Nussholzmobiliar Agreed! I understand the pilots' initial annoyance and as a nurse, a whole lot of scenarios run through my mind regarding her incapacitation. I'm so happy this didn't end in disaster.
@Copter Cop she pointed out that she has experience in the medical field dealing with things like this and it was still hard for her to hear. She was sympathizing.
As easy as it is, blaming the pilots isn't right. I'm a RN at an ER and i see stroke cases all the time. An average pilot never sees that in their life and hearing someone have a stroke sounds awfully lot like someone that's very drunk or something. Bravo to the pilots who understood something is wrong and called for help. I hope the strong woman who still tried her best in the middle of a stroke recovered fully and has a happy life.
Well, migraines can also induce a similar condition, although the choking inclined me to think stroke. What the shame of it was, it was over 40 minutes in duration, pretty much burning off her golden hour. As I recall, she resigned, I've nothing on if she managed any meaningful recovery. Hallmarks, slurred speech, choking over nothing, confusion all suggest strongly of lack of oxygen getting to the brain. A similar case was in a pilot that I honestly thought was a Russian, but once at a safe pressure altitude, came through with a strong US English accent. Makes sense, as both interrupt oxygen going up into that pea sitting above our shoulders. What confused the pilots was more a case of hypoxia on the ground, few considering a stroke. I'd have called a mayday for the tower proper, defining a probable stroke and ALCON uncontrolled field, then radio company to get EMS to the tower ASAP. With ACLS to meet if needed. Radio regulations in the US not only permit, but enforce one can call a mayday on behalf of others and all concerned informs everyone involved with traffic on or near the field that a controller is out of commission, the additional call, just a duty of care for another human being. Of course, I was a military medic, had some aviation experience on the ground side and generally try to be a nice guy. But, in an emergency and nobody else is even trying to handle it, I do take charge, as someone frigging has to. I'll join you in shitting the pants afterward. Basically, lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.
@@_Y.Not_ there were a few off the cuff remarks, rather low key, assuming that the pilots somehow could know what the symptoms of a stroke are, recognize one in progress and failed to act while in the air. While they could and did indeed act from the air by alerting their company representatives at the field, no reasonable person would expect a pilot, butcher, baker or candlestick maker to recognize a stroke - especially at that time. Hence, why some mentioned SMILE or FAST/BE-FAST mnemonic to recognize the symptoms, as those both have been part of public outreach and education to help get stroke victims to help before damage becomes permanent or critical. Now, if I had missed it, those who know me would be right to criticize me for missing it, as I was a medic for a very, very long time. Anyone not working in a medical field, especially before the inception of those recognition campaigns, not to be considered amiss at all. They did precisely the correct things, aviate, navigate, communicate and they did all three, with communication also involving letting the ground know that something was seriously amiss in the tower. The controller also couldn't be considered at fault, as her primary diagnostic equipment was failing, as that equipment was in the middle of a stroke.
I served 9 years Army aviation 6 1/2 years high altitude search and rescue I delt with all kind of emergencies and the way she was acting coughing are sure signs of a stroke, she has handled extreme emergencies as ATC in Vegas including an aircraft fire she was fast calm and professional in handling aircraft, they have to say incapacitated because they can't just release her medical condition but she was put on administrative leave for medical reasons, she is recovering.
That's kind of a career ending event... I'm dealing with a roommate with a stroke... 1 year in she's not much better. Just trying to read an address from a map app is hard for her...
@@KingTuchus There's nothing they can do.. stokes are bad.. most controllers are done by the time they reach their 40's... just because it's such a mind breaking job. Even without a stroke..
LAS VEGAS (AP) - An air traffic controller who became incapacitated during a solo stint on a night shift in the tower at busy McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas last week has quit, authorities said Tuesday. The unidentified controller was no longer employed by the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency said in a statement. The controller resigned Sunday, said Benjamin Rosenbaum, an aide to U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada. Titus is a member of the House Subcommittee on Aviation and represents Las Vegas. The congresswoman said Friday she wanted answers after an initial briefing about what she called the “deeply disturbing” Wednesday night incident. She did not immediately make details public. Officials have not identified the controller or said what caused her to slur words during communications with pilots over a 40-minute span before the FAA said she “became incapacitated while on duty” and apparently lost consciousness shortly before midnight. Five inbound aircraft remained airborne, and aircraft on the ground held positions or communicated between themselves, the FAA said. The agency and the airport declared that no “safety events” occurred during the incident. Air traffic recordings available on the internet show commercial airline pilots had trouble understanding the controller during radio communications about approaches to land, clearances to take off and directions for taxiing. Minutes later, her microphone opens to the sound of coughing and grunting. Another controller was summoned from break to take over in the tower, and paramedics responded. The FAA has since ordered two controllers to be in the tower during most hours at McCarran, which ranks among the 10 busiest airports in the U.S. in passenger volume.
I’m a little shocked nobody picked up on her sooner. Slurred speech and instructions that make no sense. A supervisor should have been monitoring. Thankfully this was resolved without incident. Thank you for posting
I, Promize, Early on, she was dropping sounds, and it came across as though it was a poor quality transmission. It took quite a while before she gave unclear instructions, and the realization that something was wrong came shortly after.
A lot of ATC’s work long hours and usually in the US work alone and they get tired cuz they work like 20+ hours or some crazy stuff and so it’s usually not an immediate red flag. It’s messed up but just about everything else here is too so meh
@@Huntress_Hannah Wasn't a stroke, it was substance abuse. Nobody wants to talk about it because it puts ATC in a bad light but controllers in that building know what happened.
I agree better at any moment especially in larger airports like this one where can get a lot of planes coming in and 1 traffic controller you don't know what's going to happen so have extra people on stand by and helping with the traffic
@@jellohouse1288 If this was McCarran Airport, why the hell was there no backup controller? Was she alone in the tower? That should NEVER be allowed because of situations like this. This is heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.
Having had a stroke myself on my 70th birthday, 2 Jun 2017, I can say that YOU don't realise something is wrong. All I remember is eating spaghetti and meatballs (discontinuity) then being in the ER. My wife told me the whole right side of my face drooped and I was slurring my speech. I had TPA and was in hospital for 10 days. 6 months later I had a seizure and don't remember anything. However, being on Keppra and Clopidigrel every day, no problems today
Having an unexpected stroke like a bolt out of the blue, my pucker factor was extremely high listening to this exchange. I came out of MY stroke better than I had any right to expect. Dear lady, my heart is with you. Folks, REMEMBER: the first thing that every stroke survivor needs to note is that the first step to survival is RECOGNIZING that you are having a stroke! Know the signs and symptoms! When you are having a stroke, your brain is going haywire dealing with the assault on the thinking processes. It can involve reasoning, vision, hearing, talking--even swallowing. It can happen to anyone--at ANY age. Educate yourselves. WOW!
@@denizenofclownworld4853 There are several medical conditions (high BP, arterial sclerosis, chemotherapy, even shingles...) that are recognized as stroke instigators and blood thinners are often prescribed to decrease the likelihood of stroke.
@@randallreed9048 Autism or histrionic personality disorder? Because, other than that you gotta spout off some shit you read on WebMD, none of which pertains to a chick just having a normal day at work.
@@gord1011 I used big words. It's understandable that you'd be too stupid to understand them. Also, he didn't speak. He typed. Now run along back to school. You need it.
Pilots did a good job communicating with each other. Even with the plane that was supposed to land. I bet that aircraft did a go around and started a small circuit.
Poor woman is right! How was she left alone? I didn't know such a large airport would have 1 person handling tower.. and she was handling ground, too? (Or did she make confused calls thinking she was ground?) She nearly DIED on frequency! When this first came out, I remember so many comments about her being drunk. Like anyone could have known she was drunk! This audio is clear, and this was a terrible thing that happened. It kept getting worse every minute and I kept feeling worse for her; helpless and alone. Those pilots who called their ops centers SAVED HER LIFE! And some idi0ts still say she was drunk and it's a big cover-up 🤔🙄 I don't care if another controller was on break...this should never have happened. How many other large airports are manned by one person? Any time they're operating, even late at night, there should be at least 2 people. 2 people in charge of hundreds of (passenger) lives at any given moment! I've flown into municipal airports better staffed than this (well, during daylight hours)😊
@@endokrin7897 More or less copied from another forum: "One thing I would disagree with is that there is no evidence. There is not complete evidence but there is evidence. There’s the tape and there’s the important fact that only 2-3 days after the incident she is “no longer working at the FAA”. We should be careful about speculation, but initially everyone was sure that she had suffered a stroke or a medical emergency. That is also speculation. So if we’re going to speculate on a medical problem I think it’s also entirely reasonable to speculate that it was misconduct. And weighing the evidence, I would say there’s more evidence (though not at all conclusive) that this was due to misconduct. That evidence, namely, is the fact that she was either terminated or resigned 2 days after the incident - this does not make sense to me if one suffered a severe medical issue"
@@inveniamviam4691 Multiple DUI’s, she was already on probation for substance abuse and there was supposed to be a supervisor. When they left she popped em.
It's funny how after listening to the ATC struggle for so long you forget how intense they usually are, and how far her verbal and cognitive skills had fallen. As soon as that new controller takes charge and directs 3 planes in 20 seconds you're like WOAH.
It was instantly recognizable to the pilots. They were confused by hypoxia symptoms in someone on the ground. After all, that's the main injury cause in a stroke, deprival of oxygen to part of the brain.
A few more atc's should be on duty, that stroke would be caught in a instant, a relief atc take over as the stroke being addressed & 911 called. The United Airline pilot saved lives.
Even if all they had was a guy cleaning and mopping floors for $7.50 an hour in there, it would be SOMEONE who could at least "shut things down" and get help
C'mon, McCarran is a very busy airport and they had ONE controller in the tower? How long have they been doing this, 80 years or so, and this is the safety profile they've managed to come up with? Insanely reckless.
It was likely acceptable because according to the time stamp, the incident was occurring between 0700 and 0715 UTC, when converted to Local it would have been 2300 (11pm), it's very likely the airport was relatively quiet at that time and the controller would have been more then capable of manning those 2 positions.
I feel that it wasn't until the hot mic at 11:00 that anyone realised she was ill as their impatience early on suggested to me they thought she was intoxicated.
@@olivierb9716 Oh do me a favor. If you cared to know you’d find it. Kinda funny how the FAA never publicized a report on the matter, and she strangely resigned 3 days later. Lol.
*If you have further information on the health situation of this woman, please share it here. I'd love to know she is recovering OK.* Also thanks to all these pilots who were patient for almost 30 minutes and finally brought some help to the tower. I really hope this video helps understand why the ATC/PILOT couple is so important in aviation.
All I can find are news articles from about 9-10 hours ago that say she was incapacitated, without giving any specifics. No mention of a stroke (though based on the audio and the report that at the start of her shift she was functioning normally and then degraded over the course of a half hour or so, it certainly _sounds_ like a stroke). FAA investigating but beyond that, not much info. Edit: Should mention that on the plus side, given that she was given care pretty fast, if it _was_ a stroke, she would have been well within the period where there's a good chance of a positive outcome (three hours after the stroke is about the max, and then things go downhill from there, fast; she may have gotten to the hospital within the golden hour).
While I share your concern for her well-being, I suggest we respect her privacy. This is very likely a career-ending event for her and a difficult time for her family. Our curiosity can wait.
CH controllers need to be in top physical form to be behind the scope. Even some of the slightest medical conditions (aka a flu or cold) can make them a risk.
That's how it should be. If ATC is down, one pilot should take command while the rest communicate with each other so intentions and traffic is known. If two pilots took command it could get chaotic. Of course, the pilot in command isn't going to clear/authorize anything, but rather organize things and give warnings. The incoming landing aircraft got the warning from 448 which might encourage the pilot to go around instead of landing if it didn't feel safe to land.
@@officebear4637 Wow, what's wrong with the salts? Let your hair down a bit will ya'? Being nice and positive to people makes them having a good life experience rather than being a rude person.
Good on her for trying to do her job while shes having a stroke, you can hear the determination in her voice as she struggled, bless her, I hope shes alright now and happy doing whatever she is doing now.
The lesson here is that there is currently not a sufficient response speed to deal with a medical emergency in the ATC system itself. Like others have pointed out, time to treatment after stroke is critical. Also of critical interest is the lack of monitoring to detect a medical impairment quickly. This woman tried so hard to ‘power through’ whatever was happening to her, probably not fully aware of her own cognitive degradation. Bravo to the pilots who did the safe thing and stayed put... or stayed clear. This controller medical issue could have led to disaster. Thank goodness it did not.
Few things made this sad. Imagine not having control of what you're saying. Some people think being in the middle of the ocean alone or something is scary. I think losing a part of your mind is the scariest and most depressing thing.
I've tried it myself and didn't like it and don't recommend it. I'm still not sure if i died and went to hell. How am I supposed to tell if I recovered or not? What is reality? I'm out of control...
Yeah not having control over yourself is truly terrifying, like people with early Alzheimer’s or Dementia will try and communicate but cannot find the words to explain and get frustrated or angry and that’s really sad to see
I suffered a traumatic brain injury a few years ago. It's different but similar effects to a stroke. I couldn't speak at times. I can't even describe the fear of 'waking up' in the middle of the grocery store with no idea where I was, having to piece it together like a detective and then figure out why I had 32 artichokes in my cart. Until you go through something like that you can't even conceptualize the experience. To this day when the residual migraines hit I can't control my volume or tone when I speak. The whole experience was emotionally traumatizing
Good job a couple of pilots got involved, warning approaching traffic, callouts like for uncontrolled field, and especially United 448 for getting someone to investigate. Surprised no-one else called the tower number - they must all know it by now :). Very hard to tell what was happening on the end of a radio - if it hadnt been for the title of the video, I might have thought she was drunk (never assume!). Very, very scary stuff, both for her and all the crew on frequency. Keep your eyes and minds open people.
But the mic at tower was hot (open or keyed up)... When he realized that tower had a hot mic on that frequency... He should have went to an alternate frequency... If there were none available, then contact ground to check on tower to see what was up...
@@zachs7669 hmm... Peculiar... Usually ain't tower and ground two different entities?... Then couldn't the pilot have called emergency services himself seeing he suspected something wrong?... Pilots do have phones?...
The Rayven they are two separate things but I have flown in Class D airspace where one guy was doing both. But this is a class B airport and completely different so it is unusual. FAA changed that to require 2 people now. Also, yes. The pilots did contact emergency services over their company frequencies. It took the pilots a bit because this isn’t something you see a lot.
You can hear her brain started to struggle and shut down, it started from mumbling, then stopped using FAA terminology (using Yes instead of affirmative), then ask planes to stand by (she lost the “big picture” of where planes were), asking to repeat messages and giving none sense instructions... then she started to mix up call sign... and in the last minute she instinctively trying to move everyone to another frequency where her college usually working at...
This may have ended very bad for her but also for the passengengers kind of Tenerife but bigger she is having a stroke it is clearly audible that the speach is slurred and at the end she cannot understands and memorize the callsign so she may have potentially created a collision condition on the ground for the moving planes and the upcoming planes during a stroke the brain may suffer hypoxia in case of ischemic attack due to aneurysm ruptured, constricted vessels or emorragic stroke due to ruptured blood vessels for high pressure,hearth attack age genetic predisposition whatever , symptoms are slurred apparently senseless impaired speech low concentrations level incapable of memorizing understanding thing like words slow responses on stimulation sense of being tired lack of breathing headache moving problems unjustified need of sleeping sensations, cognitive impairment sometimes vomit or more often nausea and in the worst cases the subject became consciousness unresponsive and not responding so basically when she is conscious her brain wasn’t totally responding, elaborating, memorizing understanding and you know doing its brain duties so this mean that the pilots are by themselves sometimes guided so far so good by the tower. Reading in the pile of comments of the video you may se someone writing that she’s trying to work also with her medical conditions I mean she didn’t know it she simply didn’t stop controlling not because she’s trying to heroically do her job but because as you say she is lost, the brain was struggling and she has no idea what’s going on and that something is going on in many case it’s the people near you that see the deep confusion and call the emt. When you have the neurological triads nausea headache and impairment in speaking or slurred speech without any kind of explanation of cause go to the hospital also if it’s light symptoms because some of your brain is dying and you maybe die too. I hope she is ok not every stroke is catastrophic some people fully recover because the portion of dead cells is very minimal and treated immediately for example in the TIA in some case you discover the attack with mra for the normal stroke it’s a matter of time size and areas motor cortex it’s one issue frontal lobe the cognitive area another or the verbal areas total different things, some times age it’s a important factor in the recovery but after the stroke you may also suffer of epilepsy, lethargy, headache, lose bm control, neuropsychology behavior problems or other side effects that comes after the stroke due to the remaining damaged cells still alive but dysfunctional near the damaged dead area kind of a scar on the brain tissues
I once was having a coaching session through Skype (or call it therapy), when the guy had an epileptic attack. Of course I didn´t know that and I though he was being attacked and chocked. He was in another European country as myself, so I really didn´t know what to do, but anyway called my country´s "911" and they contacted his country emergency. I stood at the skype call for 20 minutes, hearing him heavily breathing (at least I knew he was alive). Then suddenly he answered to my voice and asked me who I was. After a time of total confusion he told me what had happened, was not his first time, but first time with a customer. I can tell you, that is a very very shitty situation.
@wimpow I have had partial epilepsy not the most know kind of seizures (mine was like muscular flaccid paralysis for an average of 10 or so seconds on the left face arm sometimes they became stronger and hit all of the body with as you say diaphragm paralysis and breathing problems but I remained alway conscious because my problem was only in the motor area of the brain it was like being stuck in the body) I swear youth at I saw the people freak out or in some case with the intelligent people calling the ambulance but in my case it was a metter of seconds so when they are calling I was just back in the normal world. So usually I started telling the people what may happen and and that they have only to wait because due to the paralysis I can’t say them that it’s ok it goes away in a matter of seconds, but in the case that you described seem to be the bad kind of epileptic seizure I appreciate a lot that there are people like you that comprehend the situation and act properly faster helping people that need fast interventions. Edit to correct grammar
@ E M I have not really a good knowledge about epilepsy, but if I remember well, the kind of one that this guy had was not very harmless and he had actually to make some checks in the hospital.
wimpow it’s because probably he has the type that involve motor and cognitive memory areas this is why he doesn’t remember they are called “absence” in those case cases the electric activity on your brain cells grow uncontrollably and make the brain black out like a crash many areas maybe interested depend of the cause of the epilepsy and the location.
I think this is genuinely the most painful, heartbreaking thing I've ever heard like fuck man I really, truly hope she's okay, it must have been a terrifying experience for her just feeling her body shut down on her like that
I quite agree.. poor lady.. where the fuck was the backup ?? This would never be allowed to happen in the Uk 🇬🇧 or Istanbul 🇹🇷 or Amsterdam for example. This is a major 🇺🇸 airfield.. What the hell !
This is terrifying that no one was in the control room with her. It was hard hearing her try to force her despite her obvious panic of the fact her body is failing her. Hats off to the pilots for realizing this and holding instead of proceeding to a crash. Also hats off to Spirit (I believe) for sending a medical crew.
You can hear the stress in the new ATC controller's voice... Pilot: "is everything okay up there?" New ATC: "It's getting there." Choked me up bad, after that hot mic...:(
I think that was the guy who was called in off his break to see wtf was going on. Many (in the know) seem to think the second he left the cab she downed a LOT of somethings
I think that was the guy who was called in off his break to see wtf was going on. Many (in the know) seem to think the second he left the cab she downed a LOT of somethings
Yea, it's like your brain know what it wants to say but getting the mouth, and throat, to function properly to say it is the problem. Then when it got worse it started affecting her ability to swallow, and control her throat, and she felt as if she was choking.
@@FredtheDorfDorfman1985 commonly a Brain having a stroke can think properly and understand somewhat about what it wants to say, as lower level functions like specific motor control are usually the first to go
That's common with a stroke. Often the pt doesn't even realize what's happening other than a vague sense that something is wrong. This woman did an impressive job trying to hold it together. I feel bad for her that it took so long for someone to get to her.
@@farmherjo3190 I always thought any ATC had to have more than one staff member and a supervisor in tower at all times for accountability especially i would think for a Vegas airport.
Firstly my thoughts are with the controller & hope she received medical help as soon as possible & makes a good recovery. If it was a stroke fast medical treatment can make a huge difference to stroke recovery levels. Secondly well done to the pilot(s) who eventually realised a problem & took steps to avoid any accidents & alert ground that ATC had a problem. Finally I trust this distressing event will get the FAA to ban singly operated ATC at commercial airports. I just wonder why controllers don't have an emergency button to press to alert ATC that they have a problem. Best wishes to the controller.
Looking up these flights shows it was late at night. Most facilities will begin to combined positions and reduce staffing since there is less traffic late at night.
This shows me how the pilots were exercising resource management even with people on the ground. Very professional and very considerate. I cannot imagine why such a major airport had only one ATC on duty. Even planes must have two pilots (over a certain size). Controlling the airspace over so many aircraft is nuts. It wasn't her fault, as you cannot have control over what happened to her, but if she were not alone, then she could have had help a lot sooner, and less chaos would have ensued.
I've been in aircraft maintenance for 40 years but if I had been the pilot in one of those aircraft I would have made an emergency call on 121.5 for something going on in the tower when her speech became slurred and confused, long before she stopped responding. A lot of people monitor that frequency and the incident could have been resolved way sooner.
The Lavian If you are going to insult the men and women who maintain the planes so YOU and your loved ones can fly safely with thousands and thousands flights happening daily, at least have the balls or the courage to state your full name in doing so. If you are a pilot SHAME on you! If you are a passenger or fly commercial then you are naive and have no clue what goes on behind the scene to ensure our safety. Former aircraft logistics officer
The Lavian fuck off they make sure the aircraft are safe so thousands of people are safe everyday. Go back to your moms basement and play league of legends
Having one atc on duty in such a busy airspace is down right dangerous, and we just witnessed that. Hopefully she's doing better and the airport authorities took a long good look at their systems.
ahmad samadzai I don't know about that, lots of ppl prefer not to know about the (once and a blue moon) goings-on in sm air traffic (especially if they are frequent passenger!!!) Edit: only frequent passengers)
Gribbo9999 catastrophic also for the passengers kind of Tenerife but bigger she is having a stroke it is clearly audible that the speach is slurred and at the end she cannot understands and memorize the callsign so she may have potentially created a collision condition on the ground for the moving planes and the upcoming planes during the stroke your brain suffer an eccessive amount of oxygen received during the high peak of hearth frequency pressure and after a hypoxia due to the fact that the hearth is slowing down uncontrollably this cause neurological suffering on the cells known as ischemic attack, symptoms are slurred apparently senseless impaired speech low concentrations level incapable of memorizing understanding thing like words slow responses on stimulation sense of being tired lack of breathing headache moving problems unjustified need of sleeping sensations, cognitive impairment sometimes vomit or more often nausea and in the worst cases the subject became consciousness unresponsive and not responding so basically when she is conscious her brain wasn’t totally responding, elaborating, memorizing understanding and you know doing its brain duties so this mean that the pilots are by themselves sometimes guided so far so good by the tower. When you have the neurological triads nausea headache and impairment in speaking or slurred without any kind of explanation of cause go to the hospital also if it’s light symptoms because some of your brain is dying and you maybe die too. I hope she is ok not every ischemic attack is catastrophic many people fully recover because the portion of dead cells is very minimal and she was treated immediately. Edit: I’m sorry for bothering with the long comment without commas or punctuation
@@EM.1 This was not a Tenerife type threat. The pilots knew something was wrong, so they were paying even more attention than normal to their surroundings. In Tenerife, there was extremely dense fog, so the pilots couldn't see each other. That wasn't the case here. The pilots could see whether the runway was clear or not and they could communicate with each other so that they knew what was going on at the field. Lots of airports don't even have an ATC Tower at all. Pilots are used to operating at completely uncontrolled fields and using their eyes and radios to coordinate their operations with each other safely in visual conditions.
I was truly in tears! She gave all she got on her job! She truly went above and beyond to the very end! Bless her with all the best that the universe can give to her!
There is an AP news story dated November 13, 2018 that states that the ATC resigned and is no longer an employee. And that the FAA has ordered there will be two ATC’s in the tower.
Guillermo Garraton aviation forums say that she wasn’t having a stroke but was drunk. Posters who have worked with her says her problem was well known by other ATC workers. Just resigned before she was fired.
Must say, hats off to that new controller for coming in and helping all traffic immediately, sounds like the pilots even had some trouble catching back up!
He either walked back into the room after his break finding his colleague collapsed, or somebody got him out of the break room telling him his co-worker was ill - and the airport has no atc active. These folks are prepared for mayday calls over the radio but likely have little to no training to deal with an emergency IN the tower. There'd probably be a touch more adrenaline in his system than normal... I suspect I'd be talking a little fast too.
9 minutes into this, and I'm starting to wonder how the hell this was allowed to continue for so long. She couldn't have been the only person in the tower. If she was, there needs to be safety protocols to avoid potential disaster.
Because she DIDN'T HAVE A STROKE. She was drunk and possibly on pills. I know the ATC that worked with her. She had just gotten out of rehab a few weeks prior. Another controller was there on break. She was terminated immediately after.
OMG, that was painful to listen to! I hope she was alright. I admire EVERYONE involved! The Pilots did their best to stay safe, suspecting something wasn't right, and this lady did her darnedest to do her job to the best of her ability right up until she was relieved.
Having suffered a stroke, I'm amazed that she was able to comprehend any of the request being relayed to her. I didn't have any bleeding in my brain yet I couldn't remember anything.
Maybe it was just subconscious responses. Like, she's done it so much that she doesn't need to consciously think about how her response is laid out. She couldn't remember many things, like when she asked that pilot to repeat his callsign 3 times and still referred to him by what she mistook it as the first time.
@@Rocco-tb9ih subconscious actions still take brain cells to do. It's most likely that the specific part of her brain she was using wasn't as starved of oxygen as other parts.
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@@chisel4164 it was substance abuse hence why she resigned (was made to because getting fired would've have meant she was owed a paycheck for a horrible job and unprofessionalism)
I’ve always wished someone would’ve had the audio for about another 5 mins. While the whole thing was tragic, it was a great demonstration by professionals of recognizing the situation and making the right move by parking, sometimes shutting down, and following up when they knew something was not OK. The pilots are under so much pressure these days to go go go hurry but these guys all recognized that this could end very badly for countless people and made the best decision they could to stop and wait. The other reason is that the controller that came on was incredible. I heard it that night and was just in awe as it took him absolutely no more than 4-5 minutes and he had cleared the massive ground and air cluster fk with biz back to normal at one of the worlds busiest airports. However, I’ve not been able to find anyone who recorded that next 5 minutes with most stopping near the same place this one did. I personally was drawn to aviation because of the professionalism it requires and I simply love to see demonstrations of that play out.
@@VASAviation thank you so much for replying.. I'm so glad she's recovering and will definitely keep her in my prayers.. I hope she has full recovery too Yall take care!! ♥️
@@VASAviation sadly for her, suffering such an incident like this means she will likely never work in a live ATC setting again. If she makes a strong recovery though she will be able to get new work.
*Medical Tip* If you suspect someone may be having a stroke there is a simple way to tell MOST of the time. Ask them to stick they're tongue straight out, or make a smile. If anything is crooked or drooping call 911 immediately. Also you can ask them to outstretch they're arms level with their shoulders, if they struggle with either side also call 911. Generally if you feel something is wrong, don't hesitate, seek help quickly.
That was heart wrenching. Having dealt with people having strokes I can't begin to imagine what that poor ATC was going through. My absolute thoughts to her and I hope that she is recovering.
![[REAL ATC] An UNRULY AIR MARSHAL forces emergency landing!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/esZVVXXZaLc/mqdefault.jpg)
1:25 subtitle is wrong. Should read "is there somebody up there that knows what they're doing" instead of "It's a comedy up there".
You are absolutely right. Thanks and sorry.
Retnox, I pinned your comment so people can see the correction at the top of the comments. I don't want to show like that pilot was thinking it all was a comedy. that was my caption mistake so sorry and thanks for correcting.
Also, when new controller takes over, hens asked if everything is ok up there, he responds "it's getting there", not "it is now".
Thank you, Brendan. @@bizzym6638
Does anyone know if she is okay? Did they get to her in time to reverse the stroke?
No ATC should be alone while working. This highlights the issue.
Hope she recovered and thank goodness someone took note of the severity of the issue. Well done that pilot.
Obviously, that's what happens when you want to push productivity to extreme.
Ya how could only one person be there?
Yes we do. Slower towers are just fine
Exactly. It needs to be Federal Law. No ATC should ever work solo on the Panel. This could of been much worse.
I know LAS she is seconds from great hospitals.
As an air traffic controller who has suffered a stroke myself, my heart goes out to this individual. It's terrifying enough to lose the ability to speak and to think critically. But to have it happen on position, OMG, I can't imagine her terror as she desperately tried to enunciate her words. Fortunately my stroke did not happen on position and I recovered completely and made it to retirement, thank God. I hope this lady was able to recover and not lose her job. The FAA makes it hard enough to keep a medical even without a stroke.
According to comments others have posted on here, she ended up resigning shortly after this incident. Which adds a bit of irony to your username...
@@evknucklehead Lmao, no kidding!
Holy Shit yeah it does. LMAO
woooww congrats on makeing it through medical to retire. My dad got allmost 2months leave because he came down with vertigo fora few days when we worked jackson ms ATC.
Thank you for adding this xx
9:41 you can hear United 448 call a general frequency asking if there was anyone around to check on her.
That pilot probably saved her life, honestly.
DaVeganZombie and quite possibly saved a lot more lives.
Unsure. I remember when this first came out. There was some speculation as to the nature of what caused her to become incapacitated. Last I remember is an article stating two things. One, that an ATC resigned and, two, that there will no longer be a time where there is a single ATC left alone in the control room. No matter how many are on duty, if memory serves me.
Pat Bubba Shouldn’t be one atc anyway... not in the uk at least
@@holdtightadele8017 Tom, if you don't mind, woulda, shoulda & coulda are all only 20/20 in hindsight.
@@Bl4ckw0lf1 Thats great and all, but its more the fact that its already in the regulations. There shouldn't, and by having one ATC they were ignoring the rules already in place.
i like how the pilots started giving their own vectors and treated this as uncontrolled airport
They were their own backup.
Yep. They’re ultimately the responsible ones for their PAX safety. Gotta do what they need to do.
Pilots: we are taking over.
They all were very professional. They all realized A problem so they took over. I was impressed by that.
Can you give a time stamp?
I loved how the pilots were competent enough to figure out something was wrong and started dealing with the airport as if it was an uncontrolled one even though it was class b. Teamwork like that always makes me happy when listening to ATC.
These pilots were absolutely not competent enough. No landing clearance you don’t land and you go missed and switch back to approach and let them know what’s going on. You don’t takeoff either. You wait until ATC is functional and giving clear instructions. Just because there is no controller at that moment doesn’t mean it’s uncontrolled airspace. Had these early pilots gone missed, someone would have gone up to tower to realize there is a severe medical issue occurring.
Whilst it is a nice thought on your behalf, the world doesn't work like that. The pilots were treating it as if it was uncontrolled... because at that time it was, they had no idea when or if a functional ATC would be back, in this instance the pilots were correct in their actions.
@@harrier331 its always thees fucking morons non pilots, or flight sim wanna bees that think they know the real SOP on this kind of stuff.
FieldSweeper I’m a commercial pilot but go off, Mr. DJI drone pilot.
Please feel free to tell me what you would have done if the issue hadn't been resolved? the aircraft in the air continuing with their prior instructions to what end? the result could very well be dire.
For anyone wondering, she showed very clear signs on a stroke, she resined after, and was not fired. Something about just feeling bad about all the lives she put in danger, even tho it wasnt her fault.
Is there any articles or news clips that do a follow-up? Only article I know about,said it was under investigation.
I mean, I hope they wouldn't fire her for having a medical incident that's out of her control, however, I can understand after having a stroke it's not really possible to continue that job.
I can only imagine how stressful the job is. After something like this happening and what could’ve happened even though it wasn’t her fault. Personally if I was in her shoes I would have resigned as well for the fear I’d be left alone again and it might happen again and people could get hurt.
But I worry a bit more than most.
I hope she is doing well now.
Sounds like a nice person.
@@Chaz042TFC I don't know if it's possible to maintain her as ATC. If not, she should be given another position within the organisation, or let go on a disability discharge, which is not quite the same as being fired.
I thought it was determined that she was on drugs or alcohol and quit. Maybe that was just a rumor.
OMG this is terrifying. -- You gotta feel for that ATC. Incapacitated but trying to do her job... I can't imagine the burden or the stress.
Totally agree. Imagine knowing that if you make a single mistake it could mean disaster. Imagine feeling something is not right and things doesn't add up. Must be horrible. I hope this fighting lady made a full recovery.
Considering her condition at the time, it's amazing that she maintained this level of function.
Very much.
Definitely. Cheers to the controller.
It's very possible she didn't realize anything was wrong....My father in law was doing this, we got him to hospital....later he said he didn't think anything was wrong with him. That he thought he was replying perfectly fine.....which is the SCARY thing about strokes!
I feel so bad for that poor woman!
Its a stroke in real time. Heart breaking but from a medical stand point highly illuminating. My question though, was she working alone? Where were her co workers? This dont seem like it should be a loner job to me for this very reason. Anything can happen. I know id want back up
@@ATSucks1 It wasn't a stroke. She was on drugs and was fired. After she sent threats and a nationwide notice was sent that she is not allowed on federal property.
@@MiniMaxiSlots source?
@@mortson978 The FAA doesn't issue one of these after someone has a stroke and their location is in the hospital. Also, notice how the FAA just swept this all under the rug?
@@MiniMaxiSlots I would agree, if you could show that such a notice exists. I've looked, and all I could find is speculation. I'm not just gonna take your word for it.
The scary thing is, she probably didnt realize she was having a stroke. And if she was there by herself there was no one to help or notice.
I had no idea what a stroke was until 4 hours after I had one
She probably did not know. Whats sad is when she said she was choking. Thats a massive red flag.
@Han Lockhart a stroke impairs your ability to move and also often impairs your judgement. She was unable to realize what was happening. A stroke can happen to an otherwise very healthy person out of nowhere. Professional pilots can work at an airport with no ATC but it may slow operations down a lot at a busy field. A stroke can be the result of a bodily defect you have had for many decades before it presents itself. You can even be born with a defect and be quite old before it becomes a problem. MRI of the brain can help detect defects in the blood vessel so it can be repaired but thats not a standard medical procedure unless you are in a high risk category.
@@pyrocali68 fucking finally!!! Someone who knows something😂 I watched this vid almost a year ago and everyone on here is either kinda like you or they say she was drunk. But as I've commented just s minute ago im drunk right now and I'm still functional... And we dont cough or choke like that so yeah... Obviously a fucking stroke or some other health issue
@@pyrocali68 more specifically: stroke often impairs your judgement in ways that you are unable to detect if anything is wrong. Sometimes, you are not "there" at all. It is like the working parts of the brain try to cobble something together which only superficially resembles consciousness, but it is more like chatbot, using template answers, capable of only parsing very simple context. Your speech center without higher reasoning can make a lot of superficially intelligent speech (very similar to state of the art text generators actually).
The problem is that the brain is not like a computer with very explicit error handling/reporting. Instead it tries really hard to pretend that everything is all right, even after loosing higher reasoning. Other example: the two halves of split brain patients are very convinced that they are the same brain, and they pretend that they have arrived at each decision together, even if all communications are cut between them.
Recognize stroke signs, everyone. Minutes count:
*F*-facial drooping
*A*-arm weakness
*S*-slurred speech
*T*-time to can 9-1-1 (or equivalent)
General confusion, headaches, slurred speech, difficulty walking can also present.
The person will pretty much look confused and drunk, suddenly.
Even if you’re not 100%, call an ambulance. Better to be wrong!
The issues pressing the mic were definitely the second sign, and only one available to those out of visual.
@@i-love-comountains3850 The only one? Very slurred speech too. The slurred speech and confusion are also signs of a hypoglycemic attack, much less serious, but also more common and can render the patient unconscious. Well worth pilots and ATC alike knowing the audible giveaways of both. Hope the lady made a full recovery, she did an excellent job considering the circumstances, pilots also had their wits about them, well done all!
Ffacial droopong
Aarm weakness
Sslurred speech
Ttime to call 9-1-1
American what
Scruffy hi
That poor ATC...she is still trying hard under impossible to handle circumstances to do her job at a professional level, but a stroke simply doesn’t allow for it. She is still controlling air traffic while having a freaking stroke better than I can even put my pants on in the morning. Props to all the professionals handling the situation, and god bless to the ATC. I hope she was ok!
Benjamin Flagg A controller should NEVER EVER BE WORKING ALONE.
bar10 ml, while that’s true, what do you expect her to have done, when nobody else was in the tower? Shut the entire airport down for an entire ATC shift? Nobody knew she was going to have a stroke. She didn’t know she was *having* a stroke. All appearances are that it happened while the second ATC was on a break. (They need those, you know.)
okay but why cant you put your pants on in the morning?
@Gerry Wolf I’m a paramedic and have been in EMS for almost a decade and I can tell you that I have seen a lot of otherwise very healthy people have strokes. Young and old, Fat and in shape, extensive medical history or no medical history at all. Sure, it tends to happen more frequently in people with risk factors such as obesity, but to assume she had a stroke because she was fat is down right ignorant. Especially considering you have no idea what physical shape she was in.
Jacob C also a Paramedic on a decade and fully agree. Nothing but pure ignorance and shiftiness from a lot of these comments. Particularly from Mr. Gerry up there. I feel bad for this woman and she did a great job considering the circumstances. Some of the heartlessness from the pilots was a bit disheartening too. Then again not everyone knows what to look for but it took a while for someone to call and get it sorted out
It is sad to think that she was not only doing the air traffic, but also the ground traffic, without any help or backup in the tower. I would think that no one should be left alone in this position. I truly feel for her, and hope that she was able to recover.
This is just ground frequency. There are different floors for ground and tower
@@Itallianmobboss My understanding was that she was handling both tower and ground traffic by herself on the day this occurred. Both being handled by the ATC happens at smaller airports, but she should have had help for this sized airport. Plus backup to help with this sort of medical emergency.
Truly felt for her. Hope she have recovered and is great now ❤
Truly felt for her. Hope she have recovered and is great now ❤
@@RS-uo2nd
I have not seen any information that indicated that this was anything other than a medical emergency. All is speculation unless a credible source provides good information. My Air Force buddies say that a minimum of 2 ATC’s are required to be on shift and in the tower at all times. Common sense dictates that stroke’s, heart attacks, and other medical issues occur, so having only one person on duty is going to eventually result in someone having an issue without any backup. Seems like requiring breathalyzer checks before shifts would be a good idea.
Even while having a stroke, her speech was clearer than some of the transmissions I've listened to! Kudos to her for trying to continue doing her job, perhaps not even aware of what was happening to her.
Like the cleardalan guy?
"her speech was clearer than some of the transmissions I've listened to!"
hahahaha this comment's gold!
@@xjcrossx Exactly lol
I get what you're saying about her continuing to do her job, but honestly, no. A stroke is brain trauma, and it causes judgement to become impaired just as much as the communication issues we can hear. It would have been easy for her to make a fatal mistake had the pilots involved not been able to direct themselves. That, and with a stroke, getting treatment as soon as possible is absolutely imperative.
Of course, a person having a stroke alone may not even realize they're having one, they usually don't. That's what is especially dangerous.
I believe lizard brain goes into effect in situations like this. Some Basic things she remembers well. Poor girl.
I feel like United 448 is kinda the hero on this one. Damn good instincts and leadership ability.
I agree.
He struck me as very likely ex-military pilot...
@@Tom_Losh That's exactly what I was going to say. He had to be military-trained.
Having had a stroke, I can sympathize with the woman. You, yourself, do not realise your speech has gone.
However it is very concerning that action wasn't taken more quickly.
jack woo There can be several causes for a stroke. A clot is only one.
I was wondering why at least one of the pilots didnt call ground frequency and said: hey, there is something wrong with the tower controller, Can you go to check if everything its ok with her?
Francisco Figueroa For respect, I believe. What if everything was fine. It would be like you are doubting about someones work and causing panic at the airport for no reason. It was not really clear that there was something terribly wrong with her until it got worse. I get what you are saying but actually taking action can be pretty hard. In my opinion, there should have been someone else next to her, idk.
@@panchoscse77 I believe she was covering tower and ground.
@@panchoscse77 Was she not working ground as well? Seems like she was, given all of the taxi instructions.
UA448 Captain…hats off to you, kind sir. You swooped in and handled things. You alleviated a clusterf*ck situation and got that woman the medical attention she desperately needed. I’d fly with you anywhere!
6:54
“Hate to ask your this but.....
𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐑“
How do you have such times new roman
Wondering as well
Go ahead?
@@pussinjordans8800 - Is it not just using *BOLD* ?
Michael Bensman he was shy to ask
It looks like it took over 20 minutes for help to arrive, so I'll make my little PSA:
A stroke is a highly time critical event. They say that TIME IS BRAIN - in that every second that passes more and more brain matter is lost irreparably. The window of time where they even TRY to fix the issue is 4 hours from first symptoms to operating table, because after that any fix would be more dangerous than the condition. One way or the other: after a stroke you're stuck with less brain cells, because they can't regenerate ever. You can train remaining brain to retask, but that means learning everything from basics. How to eat, how to walk, etc. The longer the stroke goes on, the more functions you loose. This is why it is important to be able to recognise a stroke and call 911 immediately! And here is how you do it: FAST
F - Face (Is one corner of the mouth drooping? Is one cheek hanging down? Can the person not smile or frown with both sides of their mouth? Do the eyes move uncoordinated? etc.)
A - Arms (Let them hold up their arms infront of them with closed eyes. Does one arm unvoluntarily drop faster than the other? Is one arm entirely or partialy lame?)
S - Speech (Is the person slurring their words? Do they have problems finding the right words? Do they make nonsensical combinations? etc.)
T - Time (If you have a yes in one or more of the above - HURRY UP! Fastest time to operating table is key, so call 911!)
Only YOU can prevent major stroke consequences (because the person themselves will most likely not notice it or not think it a big deal)!
Thx! Tried to inform about stroke symptoms too, but forgot about the F.A.S.T. scheme 😊
This should be pinned.
@ QemeH - great job man...
Or, when time is critical (and it always is with a stroke), just:
Ask the person to smile.
Ask them to speak a simple sentence.
Ask them to hold up their arms.
If they can’t do any of the above, call 911.
@@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043 - aka F.A.S.T
That was tough to listen to. But I will say it was really neat to see the crews figure out something wasn't right and then the amount of compassion they showed. It went from annoyed confusion to worry for her health very quickly.
Exactly, that's a good point on this video and that's why I share it with everyone. ATC/PILOT is a couple that is essential in aviation and these pilots worked very professional and finally got some help to her.
Very true. I am still shocked that Alaska 608 landed and didn't go around.
Except the part when United said can we get somebody who knows what they're doing, not very compassionate. Clearly a struggling controller and he ridiculed her.
@@ahmadsamadzai8255 we don't know the full story with Alaska and others that landed. They maybe received clearance from the Approach controller (that's what I want to think).
Approach control can not give clearance for landing, tower is the only one who can, maybe they landed because at that moment she didn't look that bad
It took over 12 minutes for someone to realize at ATC that a controller is incapacitated at a major airport! Where was the supervisor?
I think this went on for almost 40 minutes...
From time stamps it already took 22 minutes so yeah, it probably took even longer.
my god i was screaming that 5 mins in
That hot mic moment near the end, when she was choking. The guy walks in the room and asks if she's ok. I didn't she could even reply and he ran over and checked her. A few seconds later and he found the hot mic and let go of the button.
Imagine if he hadn't walked in then.. she was dying! Poor woman.
How was she the only one, at LAS VEGAS? She was tower and ground? Hard to believe any airport of that size would only have 1 controller at any time of their operations, regardless if it was a slow period.
No redundancy at all, and it's just as important as an airplane having 2 pilots. Just as important as a flight attendant occupying the cockpit when a pilot goes pee. They never leave them alone. Yet we have this controller responsible for hundreds of lives at that time and she was alone?!?!
She nearly DIED! GOD I can't imagine if it had gone on a few minutes longer. All those pilots would have heard her take her last breath.
I'm glad they all called their companies/ops centers and had someone go check. They saved her life.
@@JackHudler Unbelievable that there was no live microphone into the tower! Ridiculous. They should have one so her co-worker could hear her. I'd at least carry a wireless headset tuned to the tower frequency to hear the conversations in the background while on break. Something tells me this airport is woefully underfunded...
If AirForceProud95 was here: “Yeah can the ATC having a stroke go ahead and alt-F4 out of the session please”
Patches OML so true lol
"ATC is currently having a STROKE can someone drag his lifeless body out of the tower after he ALT+F4s please, thanks."
😂😂😂
xddd
Don’t worry it’s because they were flying their plane with a *steering wheel*
The fricken Subway restaurant near my house has a 2 employee rule per shift. How is that possible that ATC don't?
Subway pays their employees $2.00 a month. ATC workers require a bit more money, unfortunately.
@@pleasuretokill maybe but the level of risk is quite different...
I think after this the faa put a new rule so there would have to be 2 people in the tower at all times.
ATC costs money.
And even worse, taxpayer money.
Lowering the estate tax has priority.
As someone’s already said: ATCs are expensive. Both their training and their wage are (rightfully), so I guess it’s not that easy to have many of them available at the same time
As a pilot and stroke survivor I found this extremely difficult to listen to. After an operation, 2 year recovery, and a bit of a fight they gave me my medical back. But I have not flown since, I no longer trust my brain, I had no pre-existing condition, and there was no warning. I assume this is a relatively young woman, our community knows how hard possibly losing her career may be, and we all wish her the best recovery possible.
On the other note, no controller should be flying these critical positions solo ! That was cruel !
Collin, sorry to hear about the stroke. Hopefully you’ve found your alternatives satisfying enough.
Unfortunately, she resigned
Is the fact she or any ATC working alone a result of Reagan's 💩 back in the 80's? I found this heart wrenching & pray all is better for this lady today!
Indeed, every second counts when you are having a stroke and it's amazing nobody noticed she was struggling sooner.
Bighorn44 None , Reagan fired over 11,000 ATC. It’s had a lasting impact .... rules/ regulations changed. It’s a good question.
This is a terrifying example of how fast something as serious as a stroke can progress. She went from slight mumbling to completely incapacitated in about 10 minutes. This demonstrates the absoulute requirement of having backups and fail safes in place. I'm just glad that she recovered and that there wasn't an accident.
wasnt a stroke, controller resigned before investigation was even barely started.
with inside information coming from several sources including those personal to me, her name and face is now on a BOLO Trespass Warning and Notify at every Tower in the United States that the FAA Has authority over.
She was drunk.
She quit after this incident but nothing mentions why she became incapacitated -drunk/stroke?
She didn’t have a stroke.
@@DMS20231 Source?
@@instant_mint Obvious. You do not quit after having a stroke while on the job. You do quit if you wish to protect your status if you are drunk however.
That was painful to hear and I really hope this woman will be alright. Again thank you for you work VASAviation !
Watched this several times over the years, two things catch my attention; firstly the way the pilots effectively self-organize and that the controller remained semi-functional that long under the circumstances, the first was excellent, the second scary in that there was apparently nobody else in the tower who could assess the situation and respond appropriately.
Same, and same, and same again... Was she alone in there? I know it's an intense job that requires them to focus on the radar and what they're hearing but you'd think her condition would have become obvious to others in the room before then... They don't have a supervisor over their shoulders? Her suffering breaks my heart more than anything but it is disturbing as well.
@@AuditAmplifier My understanding is she was alone in the tower. Given the criticality of the job I think that should be illegal!
@@raysutton2310 That 100% right and i guess that the fact that she was alone will be a big one. I work at a freaking warehouse an i can"t be alone. In my country you can't work alone evan in an office. Reason for that is in this video, there are no one that can help you. What if you have a heart attack ? You are just dead. But in tower control ? That is just crazy.
That guy came on like a boss ,,, WHOS READY TO TAKE OFF !!!! TRY ME !!!
I don't understand how controllers are this quick, they don't take any time at all to process requests.
Carl Groover that’s why only a few people can qualify and have to go through extensive training. I know I could not handle that
Don't they have one of the highest occupational suicide rates?
@@Dan-n-Duke-jr2ic a lot of times when there is a plane crash ATC can be held very responsible so I can see why it's high
@@katara520 just LISTENING to ATC makes me want to kill myself. There's a ton of work and quick thinking that goes into it for sure. I'd never be able to do it, that's for sure. A tough job that I'm sure doesn't pay nearly enough... Same as pilots. These jobs aren't for the faint of heart. Long hours and super demanding of your undivided thought. Commercial pilots and ATC don't get the credit they deserve, imho.
It is incomprehensible that a busy airport with such a complicated runway/taxiway structure was under the control of just one person. This is cost cutting at it's extreme.
im glad that videos like this are exposing it. cost cutting in aviation is demented
It’s not rlly cost cutting afaik. The job is extremely extremely stressful and tiring as you often have 10 hour shifts sometimes 6 days a week due to the lack of people. You have to be able to keep awareness of literally dozens and hundreds of things at once while also making sure u don’t direct a plane into another plane and kill hundreds. Most don’t last at these type of jobs more than a year if not a few months due to burnout
@@Eclipse-lw4vf I was under the impression that ain't allowed due to regulations (which are basically the same almost everywhere on the world?). Is that different where that incident happened?
single personel operations. Welcome to Polish ATC as well. We had a major issue with that last year 2022 to the point that hundreds resigned.
she was piss drunk
This is up there with one of the top scariest things I've listened too. I literally wanted to cry listening to her struggle. I hope she's okay.
Kevin Klassen it was a stroke, dick
@@kevinklassen4328 asshole
Kevin Klassen how rude
@@kevinklassen4328 A guy said that she was taking drugs or took drugs
@@redemption9593 well another person said she died on the way to the hospital so people can say anything they want. I want to know what happened to her and if she's all right.
The new ATC did very well to quickly take back control of the situation.
She shouldn't have been alone in the tower in the first place. There should always be a supervisor.
@Eternity Perplexed God forbid a human might have to take a shit.
@Eternity Perplexed there always needs to be an atc, if someone follows a wrong transmission or has an emergency there could be hundreds of people at stake
@@sebione3576 If you're taking a 22 minute shit, you should get that checked out
I'm impressed that she managed to do so fairly well with a stroke. It was painful to listen to.
You mean drug problem…..
You can’t even articulate your insults at a fifth grade level. You’re about as irrelevant as they come lol.
@F. A. The girl LITERALLY had a drug reaction.
Who’s dumb now? Lol
As a nurse, it sounded like a neurological event to me. An untrained person would easily dismiss this as intoxication.
@@psychshell4644 It sure did. It just wasn't.
American 2785, and United 448 where absolutely gentle and patient with her. Some aviators tried to help themselves by passing some information on the ground! United 448, asked some aviator on the ground, call the medical staff and ask them to go to the control tower to help her....American2785, called on the ground for the medical team to go to the tower to help the girl...Frontier 762 later asked the "new" controller "Is she okay?"...
FULL CRM!! FUL RESPECT! A strong woman and gentle pilots all helped God bless them
It would suck to suddenly start having trouble enunciating words, trouble reading my screen, trouble understanding the pilots, feeling confused and not knowing why...
That's part of the problem with strokes, YOU don't even notice that anything is wrong until the brain oxygen is so low you start coughing or convulsing. This woman should have had a partner sitting next to her to notice all the errors and take a look at her face or speech. Drooping cheek/lips, inability to remember anything from one moment to the next. She probably wasn't at all confused in any sense you or I think of. To her it was just another day at the desk, right up until "I don't feel so hot". Unfortunately in some cases, especially people who live alone, that can be hours of time. Every minute means more brain death.
on two separate occasions I was speaking with my mother in person, while she was experiencing distorted speech due to TIAs. she was completely oblivious, and denied anything was wrong.
+Darrell Happens to me all the time!
Odor 66 not universally true... my grandmother 2 years go had a stroke in front of me, brain clot and she caught herself.. she was watching my sisters baby and everyone was out I stayed home and apparently she was spewing non sense to the baby and couldn’t remember his name or even her name and she raced out to me I was outside doing lawn work and she came outside confused didn’t even know me it seemed like and stumbling and mumbling and said threw her slurred speech “I need help” and took her inside called 911 and ya she made it and still healthy today. Weirdly she remembers most of what happened during the stroke.. and she remembered when she realized something wasn’t right was when she didn’t know where she was all of the sudden or who she was and caught herself saying disconnected non sense..
I also had a “playmate” a friend with benefits when I was single also have a stroke... no prior history, she was fit as can be and adorable, and early 20s and she had a stroke, this was years ago before I knew what a stroke was and she was basically exactly like this girl in ATC, increasing incoherent and then started spewing non sense and words just words didn’t relate to anything and confused what was going on...and I decided was something not right about this.. called 911 and put some clothes on her while waiting because she was a shy girl and figured she’d appreciate when she comes around later. And ya she was having a stroke they confirmed and carted her to hospital.. sadly cuz she got no medical coverage/insurance and barely livable wage her care put her massively into debt. Over $30,000 of “care” + ambulance fee....Cuz America :/
@@Honeypot-x9s Yeah it all depends on what part of the brain the stroke is affecting.
Many posting here have no experience. She is a great controller. I've dealt with her many times. If she had a stroke it's out of her control. As pilots we are capable of landing and handling traffic without at if need be
minoew5 why? What happened?
minoew5, FAA never said what actually caused her to become incapacitated. A stroke is just as much an assumption as those saying she was drunk or on drugs. Also, she wasn't fired, she resigned.
Yes yes and yes
To be fair, considering how long it seems to have taken for her to get medical attention, it's quite possible that, were it a stroke, the lasting brain damage would have left her unfit to continue her job, and she'd have been forced to resign.
The FAA didn't Fire her you Troll.....
She was So upset about what happened and the Lives she put in Jeopardy she Resigned... Everyone tried to Stop Her but she was So Upset She didn't want this Ever to happen again...
13 minutes is an eternity! Not only for the aviation operations, but even more so for the poor gal suffering the stroke. Hope she recovered.
People say she did but quit this job voluntarily after that.
It was actually longer. They cut some of the silences to reduce time, but it was actually closer to 23 minutes.
@@mihan2d ... She had little choice but to quit, they would have never passed her medically to do the job again. She was probably unaware of her stroke at the time, hope she fully recovered and is doing something that makes her really happy now.
That controller that took over after was insanely fast. I don't think I have ever seen somebody move 3 planes that fast in that amount of tume
You should hear the guys at Kennedy, then. Nobody is as fast as Kennedy Steve when Delta Tug is fucking up.
Where can I hear live atc for free?
@@Tampa0123456789 went. She retired three days later worried about the lives she put in danger
@@TheEmeraldMenOfficial seriously? How do you know this? If so, kudos for her and good luck in retirement.
@@hawaiianboy1743 hawaiian 80 was there lol
"I'm sorry to ask you this, but...
"Do you have a supervisor?"
"...go ahead"
lol IKR
@shredderkrang what?? Really?
shredderkrang link to report or it never happened! 😉
I dont get it
@shredderkrang This is the JUST A PRANK BRO! of lie comebacks. It's just sad...
I've listened to quite a few of these...
But this one... This one really scared the hell outta me.
I hope she's ok.
yes, especially when she started repeating the same phrase over and over, I got really scared. I hope she is fine today
Joseph Maxwell when?
The pilots must think she's intoxicated even though they know that's outrageous. You can hear it in their tone of voice. The poor controller is struggling to stay lucid but can't. Good Lord...what a bad situation.
yea it seems like they thought maybe shes drunk but very quickly the mood changed and the pilots literally took over knowing she wasn't drunk and something was seriously wrong
I wish everyone knew that certain life threatening medical conditions can make you sound intoxicated.
@@paintingstarss I wish they'd sent help faster. Diabetic events can turn deadly in just a few minutes.
@@adde9506 I was actually thinking about diabetes when I made my comment. It's my biggest fear that I'm going to be low somewhere and people will assume I'm drunk and I'll die because no one bothers to help.
I was FaceTiming with my grandma when she had a stroke and she said everything was fine and it wasn’t.
She a really good controller who has lots of experience. I know this because I plane spot during rush hour and she really fast. If you want to see how good she is under pressure just watch British Airways fire in Vegas
:O :O wow you're totally right that is her!!! I hope she makes a speedy recovery
She possibly suffered a psych episode
@@psychicmediumandprouddomes7185 or maybe she had a stroke?
Classic stroke :(
I bet the pilots who recognized the problem knew how she normally sounds.
Such professionalism was displayed here, that controller took over with what seemed only the snap of a finger, got situational awareness and just got on with it.
she never quit until the very last minute, wonder why she didnt try to call for help instead of aswering the pilots
@@retabiyo she thought it was a choking as her muscle control lapsed - she was very probably not aware her verbal skills had dropped off and the inability to talk until it is too late can mean people don't get that call out. One of my scariest calls was a teenage boy slumped in a chair at school - only from a blown pupil did the teacher realise he was stroking as he just silently faded into unconsciousness and call us. Major bleed but full recovery after neurosurgery.
@@retabiyo When you have a stroke you don't even realize you have a stroke, you think you are talking and acting completely normal, but in reality you're stuttering like a drunken fool.
He did the first correct thing... asked what's everyone's situations, positions, and intentions are by looking at the aircrafts and asked. That how he got the situation under control so quickly.
@@retabiyo she didn't realize anything was wrong to call for help
This made me tear up. I pray she makes a full recovery. I'm a nurse and that was still difficult to listen to.
I'm so happy the pilots were quick to recognize something was off and exercised care and caution.
Sis Shahada well i dont think they were that fast, im not sure id take off after an atc controller that sounds like she just drank a whole jack daniels in one sitting mumbles me the takeoff clearance :)
@@Nussholzmobiliar Agreed! I understand the pilots' initial annoyance and as a nurse, a whole lot of scenarios run through my mind regarding her incapacitation. I'm so happy this didn't end in disaster.
quick? :s
@@spooks77 quick enough? Better than never, I guess
@Copter Cop she pointed out that she has experience in the medical field dealing with things like this and it was still hard for her to hear. She was sympathizing.
As easy as it is, blaming the pilots isn't right. I'm a RN at an ER and i see stroke cases all the time. An average pilot never sees that in their life and hearing someone have a stroke sounds awfully lot like someone that's very drunk or something. Bravo to the pilots who understood something is wrong and called for help. I hope the strong woman who still tried her best in the middle of a stroke recovered fully and has a happy life.
Who is blaming the pilots? Lol
Well, migraines can also induce a similar condition, although the choking inclined me to think stroke.
What the shame of it was, it was over 40 minutes in duration, pretty much burning off her golden hour.
As I recall, she resigned, I've nothing on if she managed any meaningful recovery.
Hallmarks, slurred speech, choking over nothing, confusion all suggest strongly of lack of oxygen getting to the brain. A similar case was in a pilot that I honestly thought was a Russian, but once at a safe pressure altitude, came through with a strong US English accent.
Makes sense, as both interrupt oxygen going up into that pea sitting above our shoulders.
What confused the pilots was more a case of hypoxia on the ground, few considering a stroke.
I'd have called a mayday for the tower proper, defining a probable stroke and ALCON uncontrolled field, then radio company to get EMS to the tower ASAP. With ACLS to meet if needed.
Radio regulations in the US not only permit, but enforce one can call a mayday on behalf of others and all concerned informs everyone involved with traffic on or near the field that a controller is out of commission, the additional call, just a duty of care for another human being.
Of course, I was a military medic, had some aviation experience on the ground side and generally try to be a nice guy.
But, in an emergency and nobody else is even trying to handle it, I do take charge, as someone frigging has to. I'll join you in shitting the pants afterward.
Basically, lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.
@@KylieAnne1995 it's in other comments, especially in comments in the original reporting of the incident.
I didn't see anyone here blaming the pilots????
@@_Y.Not_ there were a few off the cuff remarks, rather low key, assuming that the pilots somehow could know what the symptoms of a stroke are, recognize one in progress and failed to act while in the air.
While they could and did indeed act from the air by alerting their company representatives at the field, no reasonable person would expect a pilot, butcher, baker or candlestick maker to recognize a stroke - especially at that time. Hence, why some mentioned SMILE or FAST/BE-FAST mnemonic to recognize the symptoms, as those both have been part of public outreach and education to help get stroke victims to help before damage becomes permanent or critical.
Now, if I had missed it, those who know me would be right to criticize me for missing it, as I was a medic for a very, very long time. Anyone not working in a medical field, especially before the inception of those recognition campaigns, not to be considered amiss at all.
They did precisely the correct things, aviate, navigate, communicate and they did all three, with communication also involving letting the ground know that something was seriously amiss in the tower.
The controller also couldn't be considered at fault, as her primary diagnostic equipment was failing, as that equipment was in the middle of a stroke.
I served 9 years Army aviation 6 1/2 years high altitude search and rescue I delt with all kind of emergencies and the way she was acting coughing are sure signs of a stroke, she has handled extreme emergencies as ATC in Vegas including an aircraft fire she was fast calm and professional in handling aircraft, they have to say incapacitated because they can't just release her medical condition but she was put on administrative leave for medical reasons, she is recovering.
One person on duty . A pilot asked for a supervisor three minutes in ... To hear her struggle like was painful ....
That's kind of a career ending event... I'm dealing with a roommate with a stroke... 1 year in she's not much better.
Just trying to read an address from a map app is hard for her...
That's fine
@@KingTuchus There's nothing they can do.. stokes are bad.. most controllers are done by the time they reach their 40's... just because it's such a mind breaking job. Even without a stroke..
Except it wasn’t a stroke... she was wasted beyond belief .32BAC.
And Boeing wants to make a one pilot mid-sized aircraft!!!
Imagine if this happens to the pilot!!
Boeing is full of demons. They care about profits and not humans. Makes no sense to have one pilot.
@@bishopscore
It's absolute stupidity!
@@jakedowling8414 They did specify that it would be for a mid-sized aircraft, though.
Maybe they can borrow Chevys slogan, “Like a rock”..
Jacob Dowling well pilots on solo flights and gliders don’t have 200 people sitting behind them, so it’s an entirely different situation
Good to know the pilots realized there was a problem and seemed to be acting with extreme caution and suspicion.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - An air traffic controller who became incapacitated during a solo stint on a night shift in the tower at busy McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas last week has quit, authorities said Tuesday.
The unidentified controller was no longer employed by the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency said in a statement.
The controller resigned Sunday, said Benjamin Rosenbaum, an aide to U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada. Titus is a member of the House Subcommittee on Aviation and represents Las Vegas.
The congresswoman said Friday she wanted answers after an initial briefing about what she called the “deeply disturbing” Wednesday night incident. She did not immediately make details public.
Officials have not identified the controller or said what caused her to slur words during communications with pilots over a 40-minute span before the FAA said she “became incapacitated while on duty” and apparently lost consciousness shortly before midnight.
Five inbound aircraft remained airborne, and aircraft on the ground held positions or communicated between themselves, the FAA said.
The agency and the airport declared that no “safety events” occurred during the incident.
Air traffic recordings available on the internet show commercial airline pilots had trouble understanding the controller during radio communications about approaches to land, clearances to take off and directions for taxiing.
Minutes later, her microphone opens to the sound of coughing and grunting. Another controller was summoned from break to take over in the tower, and paramedics responded.
The FAA has since ordered two controllers to be in the tower during most hours at McCarran, which ranks among the 10 busiest airports in the U.S. in passenger volume.
I’m a little shocked nobody picked up on her sooner. Slurred speech and instructions that make no sense. A supervisor should have been monitoring. Thankfully this was resolved without incident. Thank you for posting
I, Promize, Early on, she was dropping sounds, and it came across as though it was a poor quality transmission. It took quite a while before she gave unclear instructions, and the realization that something was wrong came shortly after.
You can tell some were starting to pick up on it , itwas a matter of them reacting to it.
It's easy to pick up on it when you can read the title of the video before listening. Hindsight bias at its finest.
A lot of ATC’s work long hours and usually in the US work alone and they get tired cuz they work like 20+ hours or some crazy stuff and so it’s usually not an immediate red flag.
It’s messed up but just about everything else here is too so meh
@@Huntress_Hannah Wasn't a stroke, it was substance abuse. Nobody wants to talk about it because it puts ATC in a bad light but controllers in that building know what happened.
Never should there be only one controller up in the tower - for this very reason.
Yeah especially at an airport with that much traffic
I agree, especially Vegas sized airports.
I never imagined that there would be an ATC working alone in a tower. That just seems crazy to me.
I agree better at any moment especially in larger airports like this one where can get a lot of planes coming in and 1 traffic controller you don't know what's going to happen so have extra people on stand by and helping with the traffic
@@jellohouse1288 If this was McCarran Airport, why the hell was there no backup controller? Was she alone in the tower? That should NEVER be allowed because of situations like this. This is heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.
Having had a stroke myself on my 70th birthday, 2 Jun 2017, I can say that YOU don't realise something is wrong. All I remember is eating spaghetti and meatballs (discontinuity) then being in the ER. My wife told me the whole right side of my face drooped and I was slurring my speech. I had TPA and was in hospital for 10 days.
6 months later I had a seizure and don't remember anything.
However, being on Keppra and Clopidigrel every day, no problems today
Gregory W. Moore hope you feel better today
I hope you are doing well!
@ not funny. Didn't laugh.
Talesin- God of the Internet What the fuck is your problem
get well soon sir , June bday girl here and a heart sufferer (severe mitral regurgitation) also. God Bless
Having an unexpected stroke like a bolt out of the blue, my pucker factor was extremely high listening to this exchange. I came out of MY stroke better than I had any right to expect. Dear lady, my heart is with you. Folks, REMEMBER: the first thing that every stroke survivor needs to note is that the first step to survival is RECOGNIZING that you are having a stroke! Know the signs and symptoms! When you are having a stroke, your brain is going haywire dealing with the assault on the thinking processes. It can involve reasoning, vision, hearing, talking--even swallowing. It can happen to anyone--at ANY age. Educate yourselves. WOW!
As opposed to an expected stroke?
Aman Sir!
@@denizenofclownworld4853 There are several medical conditions (high BP, arterial sclerosis, chemotherapy, even shingles...) that are recognized as stroke instigators and blood thinners are often prescribed to decrease the likelihood of stroke.
@@randallreed9048 Autism or histrionic personality disorder?
Because, other than that you gotta spout off some shit you read on WebMD, none of which pertains to a chick just having a normal day at work.
@@gord1011 I used big words. It's understandable that you'd be too stupid to understand them.
Also, he didn't speak. He typed.
Now run along back to school. You need it.
This poor woman. I’m glad no accidents became of this, I hope she is okay and recovered well.
Pilots did a good job communicating with each other. Even with the plane that was supposed to land. I bet that aircraft did a go around and started a small circuit.
Poor woman is right! How was she left alone? I didn't know such a large airport would have 1 person handling tower.. and she was handling ground, too? (Or did she make confused calls thinking she was ground?) She nearly DIED on frequency!
When this first came out, I remember so many comments about her being drunk. Like anyone could have known she was drunk! This audio is clear, and this was a terrible thing that happened. It kept getting worse every minute and I kept feeling worse for her; helpless and alone. Those pilots who called their ops centers SAVED HER LIFE!
And some idi0ts still say she was drunk and it's a big cover-up 🤔🙄
I don't care if another controller was on break...this should never have happened. How many other large airports are manned by one person?
Any time they're operating, even late at night, there should be at least 2 people. 2 people in charge of hundreds of (passenger) lives at any given moment!
I've flown into municipal airports better staffed than this (well, during daylight hours)😊
@@endokrin7897 More or less copied from another forum: "One thing I would disagree with is that there is no evidence. There is not complete evidence but there is evidence. There’s the tape and there’s the important fact that only 2-3 days after the incident she is “no longer working at the FAA”. We should be careful about speculation, but initially everyone was sure that she had suffered a stroke or a medical emergency. That is also speculation. So if we’re going to speculate on a medical problem I think it’s also entirely reasonable to speculate that it was misconduct. And weighing the evidence, I would say there’s more evidence (though not at all conclusive) that this was due to misconduct. That evidence, namely, is the fact that she was either terminated or resigned 2 days after the incident - this does not make sense to me if one suffered a severe medical issue"
She can kind of handle multiple planes at a time while having a stroke... I cant handle 2 different while being completely healthy. Thats amazing!
I cut my gums while trying go to in a circle with a toothbrush!
While on drugs*
@@inveniamviam4691 Multiple DUI’s, she was already on probation for substance abuse and there was supposed to be a supervisor. When they left she popped em.
@@youbannedmealready5825 that makes no sense she wouldn’t be working as an atc if she had prior drug abuse on her record.
@@justinrobinson9524 It was alcohol. They gave her the choice of probation and addiction counseling.
It's funny how after listening to the ATC struggle for so long you forget how intense they usually are, and how far her verbal and cognitive skills had fallen. As soon as that new controller takes charge and directs 3 planes in 20 seconds you're like WOAH.
It was instantly recognizable to the pilots.
They were confused by hypoxia symptoms in someone on the ground. After all, that's the main injury cause in a stroke, deprival of oxygen to part of the brain.
12:59 kind of sounds like the new ATC is saying "it's getting there" and not "it's good now" but i could be wrong, they are very similar...
A few more atc's should be on duty, that stroke would be caught in a instant, a relief atc take over as the stroke being addressed & 911 called.
The United Airline pilot saved lives.
Even if all they had was a guy cleaning and mopping floors for $7.50 an hour in there, it would be SOMEONE who could at least "shut things down" and get help
Someone asked for a supervisor a few minutes before the hot mic. At least she got the Careflite chopper cleared to cross.......
Sounded like she was having a seizure and aspirating at the end there.. Horrible to listen to.
likely permanent damage
@@harpoon_bakery162 she was ok according to another comment, but I hope it doesn’t affect her in the future
@@Formula1st OK is relative...
it was tough to hear
That was her coughing because she lost her ability to swallow. So she kept aspirating silva. And the movement was her struggling to control her limbs.
C'mon, McCarran is a very busy airport and they had ONE controller in the tower? How long have they been doing this, 80 years or so, and this is the safety profile they've managed to come up with? Insanely reckless.
It was likely acceptable because according to the time stamp, the incident was occurring between 0700 and 0715 UTC, when converted to Local it would have been 2300 (11pm), it's very likely the airport was relatively quiet at that time and the controller would have been more then capable of manning those 2 positions.
All of you are also forgetting that eith COVID, everything was cut down to its lowest capacity.
@@ronarnold132 Video is from 2018, nothing to do with COVID in this video
@@ronarnold132 this happened in 2018
Like for cockpits, there should be at least two people in the tower at any time.
I feel that it wasn't until the hot mic at 11:00 that anyone realised she was ill as their impatience early on suggested to me they thought she was intoxicated.
She WAS!
@@youbannedmealready5825 proof??
@@olivierb9716 Oh do me a favor. If you cared to know you’d find it.
Kinda funny how the FAA never publicized a report on the matter, and she strangely resigned 3 days later. Lol.
@@youbannedmealready5825 and it's a proof???
@@olivierb9716 It’s a proof? Wow you’re stupid.
*If you have further information on the health situation of this woman, please share it here. I'd love to know she is recovering OK.*
Also thanks to all these pilots who were patient for almost 30 minutes and finally brought some help to the tower. I really hope this video helps understand why the ATC/PILOT couple is so important in aviation.
All I can find are news articles from about 9-10 hours ago that say she was incapacitated, without giving any specifics. No mention of a stroke (though based on the audio and the report that at the start of her shift she was functioning normally and then degraded over the course of a half hour or so, it certainly _sounds_ like a stroke). FAA investigating but beyond that, not much info.
Edit: Should mention that on the plus side, given that she was given care pretty fast, if it _was_ a stroke, she would have been well within the period where there's a good chance of a positive outcome (three hours after the stroke is about the max, and then things go downhill from there, fast; she may have gotten to the hospital within the golden hour).
While I share your concern for her well-being, I suggest we respect her privacy. This is very likely a career-ending event for her and a difficult time for her family. Our curiosity can wait.
apparently as of 12NOV18 the controller no longer works for the agency, per several media outlets
CH controllers need to be in top physical form to be behind the scope. Even some of the slightest medical conditions (aka a flu or cold) can make them a risk.
You can definitely hear it in her voice there should have been a concern raised based on her speech
448 was the only pilot who took command. Kudos.
That's how it should be. If ATC is down, one pilot should take command while the rest communicate with each other so intentions and traffic is known. If two pilots took command it could get chaotic. Of course, the pilot in command isn't going to clear/authorize anything, but rather organize things and give warnings. The incoming landing aircraft got the warning from 448 which might encourage the pilot to go around instead of landing if it didn't feel safe to land.
Sending lots of positive thoughts and energy to the lady. I hope she recovers fully soon.
HAhahaha you should post a tutorial on how to do that.
Mohammed Kazam : f off
Doing that won't help for shit unless you believe in pseudoscience or spiritual bullshit but ok.
@@officebear4637 Wow, what's wrong with the salts? Let your hair down a bit will ya'? Being nice and positive to people makes them having a good life experience rather than being a rude person.
Good on her for trying to do her job while shes having a stroke, you can hear the determination in her voice as she struggled, bless her, I hope shes alright now and happy doing whatever she is doing now.
I love your kindness. 💗 I hope the same exact thing.
Wtf
@@mrkingjesse378 What’s the issue?
the fuck are you talking about.
people who are having a stroke don't know they are.
@@LunaProtogen that the op is a complete and total moron
The lesson here is that there is currently not a sufficient response speed to deal with a medical emergency in the ATC system itself. Like others have pointed out, time to treatment after stroke is critical. Also of critical interest is the lack of monitoring to detect a medical impairment quickly. This woman tried so hard to ‘power through’ whatever was happening to her, probably not fully aware of her own cognitive degradation. Bravo to the pilots who did the safe thing and stayed put... or stayed clear. This controller medical issue could have led to disaster. Thank goodness it did not.
Oh, this is sad. I hope poor woman was treated well and recovered as much as possible!
tabaks Wow, that was difficult to listen to. Bless her heart, she kept trying to do her job throughout her medical issue.
@@Steve-ev6ow She didn't know she had a medical issue, I don't think it has anything to do with "kept trying to".
As of this morning, she is no longer employed by the FAA as an ATC employee. Now that makes me wonder what went on. Very intriguing.
Mark R Source?
@@kramdunc I'm sure they pulled her, if the reports of a stroke are correct, the FAA pulled her medical pending an exam.
Few things made this sad. Imagine not having control of what you're saying.
Some people think being in the middle of the ocean alone or something is scary. I think losing a part of your mind is the scariest and most depressing thing.
I've tried it myself and didn't like it and don't recommend it. I'm still not sure if i died and went to hell. How am I supposed to tell if I recovered or not? What is reality? I'm out of control...
@@darrellcook8253 You never made it back. Hate to break it to you but you've finally lost your mind for good.
@@kg4boj bro wtff
Yeah not having control over yourself is truly terrifying, like people with early Alzheimer’s or Dementia will try and communicate but cannot find the words to explain and get frustrated or angry and that’s really sad to see
I suffered a traumatic brain injury a few years ago. It's different but similar effects to a stroke. I couldn't speak at times. I can't even describe the fear of 'waking up' in the middle of the grocery store with no idea where I was, having to piece it together like a detective and then figure out why I had 32 artichokes in my cart. Until you go through something like that you can't even conceptualize the experience. To this day when the residual migraines hit I can't control my volume or tone when I speak. The whole experience was emotionally traumatizing
My god, the length of time it takes for someone, anyone, to physically check up on her... :o
Good job a couple of pilots got involved, warning approaching traffic, callouts like for uncontrolled field, and especially United 448 for getting someone to investigate. Surprised no-one else called the tower number - they must all know it by now :). Very hard to tell what was happening on the end of a radio - if it hadnt been for the title of the video, I might have thought she was drunk (never assume!). Very, very scary stuff, both for her and all the crew on frequency. Keep your eyes and minds open people.
If you google this case, most reports seem to say she was on drugs. So you thinking she was drunk might not be far from the truth.
American 1048 also tried to keep her in the phone, probably reassuring to just hear a voice at all in a moment like that.
At 12:58, I think the new ATC says "It's gettin' there."
Same
vinodude1 oh ya I think you are right.
Either that or he has a very strong southern accent
If you slow it down to 0.25 then you can more clearly hear its gettin there
Yes definitely said its getting there. Clear as day!
ATC: Literally sounds like she’s shaking the mic and rolling on the floor
Pilot: Tower, American 1084?
"Who you're calling & who you are" is just what you do on the radio. Absolutely correct of the pilot to keep doing that, even in a call of concern.
But the mic at tower was hot (open or keyed up)... When he realized that tower had a hot mic on that frequency... He should have went to an alternate frequency...
If there were none available, then contact ground to check on tower to see what was up...
@@therayven3147 She was ground control. She was doing tower and ground. He would've just been calling her
@@zachs7669 hmm... Peculiar... Usually ain't tower and ground two different entities?...
Then couldn't the pilot have called emergency services himself seeing he suspected something wrong?... Pilots do have phones?...
The Rayven they are two separate things but I have flown in Class D airspace where one guy was doing both. But this is a class B airport and completely different so it is unusual. FAA changed that to require 2 people now. Also, yes. The pilots did contact emergency services over their company frequencies. It took the pilots a bit because this isn’t something you see a lot.
I learned with Martin Scorcese that whenever someone says they are “A little concerned” they are very concerned.
This is one of the most painful ones to watch because she is so disoriented.. :(
@@HenrikStidsen she could have easily given a landing clearance and crossing at the same time...
You can hear her brain started to struggle and shut down, it started from mumbling, then stopped using FAA terminology (using Yes instead of affirmative), then ask planes to stand by (she lost the “big picture” of where planes were), asking to repeat messages and giving none sense instructions... then she started to mix up call sign... and in the last minute she instinctively trying to move everyone to another frequency where her college usually working at...
This may have ended very bad for her but also for the passengengers kind of Tenerife but bigger she is having a stroke it is clearly audible that the speach is slurred and at the end she cannot understands and memorize the callsign so she may have potentially created a collision condition on the ground for the moving planes and the upcoming planes during a stroke the brain may suffer hypoxia in case of ischemic attack due to aneurysm ruptured, constricted vessels or emorragic stroke due to ruptured blood vessels for high pressure,hearth attack age genetic predisposition whatever , symptoms are slurred apparently senseless impaired speech low concentrations level incapable of memorizing understanding thing like words slow responses on stimulation sense of being tired lack of breathing headache moving problems unjustified need of sleeping sensations, cognitive impairment sometimes vomit or more often nausea and in the worst cases the subject became consciousness unresponsive and not responding so basically when she is conscious her brain wasn’t totally responding, elaborating, memorizing understanding and you know doing its brain duties so this mean that the pilots are by themselves sometimes guided so far so good by the tower. Reading in the pile of comments of the video you may se someone writing that she’s trying to work also with her medical conditions I mean she didn’t know it she simply didn’t stop controlling not because she’s trying to heroically do her job but because as you say she is lost, the brain was struggling and she has no idea what’s going on and that something is going on in many case it’s the people near you that see the deep confusion and call the emt. When you have the neurological triads nausea headache and impairment in speaking or slurred speech without any kind of explanation of cause go to the hospital also if it’s light symptoms because some of your brain is dying and you maybe die too. I hope she is ok not every stroke is catastrophic some people fully recover because the portion of dead cells is very minimal and treated immediately for example in the TIA in some case you discover the attack with mra for the normal stroke it’s a matter of time size and areas motor cortex it’s one issue frontal lobe the cognitive area another or the verbal areas total different things, some times age it’s a important factor in the recovery but after the stroke you may also suffer of epilepsy, lethargy, headache, lose bm control, neuropsychology behavior problems or other side effects that comes after the stroke due to the remaining damaged cells still alive but dysfunctional near the damaged dead area kind of a scar on the brain tissues
I once was having a coaching session through Skype (or call it therapy), when the guy had an epileptic attack. Of course I didn´t know that and I though he was being attacked and chocked. He was in another European country as myself, so I really didn´t know what to do, but anyway called my country´s "911" and they contacted his country emergency. I stood at the skype call for 20 minutes, hearing him heavily breathing (at least I knew he was alive). Then suddenly he answered to my voice and asked me who I was. After a time of total confusion he told me what had happened, was not his first time, but first time with a customer.
I can tell you, that is a very very shitty situation.
@wimpow I have had partial epilepsy not the most know kind of seizures (mine was like muscular flaccid paralysis for an average of 10 or so seconds on the left face arm sometimes they became stronger and hit all of the body with as you say diaphragm paralysis and breathing problems but I remained alway conscious because my problem was only in the motor area of the brain it was like being stuck in the body) I swear youth at I saw the people freak out or in some case with the intelligent people calling the ambulance but in my case it was a metter of seconds so when they are calling I was just back in the normal world. So usually I started telling the people what may happen and and that they have only to wait because due to the paralysis I can’t say them that it’s ok it goes away in a matter of seconds, but in the case that you described seem to be the bad kind of epileptic seizure I appreciate a lot that there are people like you that comprehend the situation and act properly faster helping people that need fast interventions.
Edit to correct grammar
@ E M I have not really a good knowledge about epilepsy, but if I remember well, the kind of one that this guy had was not very harmless and he had actually to make some checks in the hospital.
wimpow it’s because probably he has the type that involve motor and cognitive memory areas this is why he doesn’t remember they are called “absence” in those case cases the electric activity on your brain cells grow uncontrollably and make the brain black out like a crash many areas maybe interested depend of the cause of the epilepsy and the location.
I think this is genuinely the most painful, heartbreaking thing I've ever heard like fuck man I really, truly hope she's okay, it must have been a terrifying experience for her just feeling her body shut down on her like that
@timemachine_194 I've worked for the US government (different agency) and I could believe anything could happen.
@timemachine_194 She was not on drugs, you idiot. Source the link to your slander.
@timemachine_194 The FAA is not allowed to report on a medical condition because that information is protected by HIPAA
She had a stroke, resigned afterward.
The bitch of a stroke is, one frequently won't realize one is having one.
I quite agree.. poor lady.. where the fuck was the backup ?? This would never be allowed to happen in the Uk 🇬🇧 or Istanbul 🇹🇷 or Amsterdam for example. This is a major 🇺🇸 airfield.. What the hell !
This is terrifying that no one was in the control room with her. It was hard hearing her try to force her despite her obvious panic of the fact her body is failing her. Hats off to the pilots for realizing this and holding instead of proceeding to a crash. Also hats off to Spirit (I believe) for sending a medical crew.
You can hear the stress in the new ATC controller's voice...
Pilot: "is everything okay up there?"
New ATC: "It's getting there." Choked me up bad, after that hot mic...:(
Yeah, I'd imagine he is probably worried about her but he has to get to work and get to tower operaional again
I think that was the guy who was called in off his break to see wtf was going on. Many (in the know) seem to think the second he left the cab she downed a LOT of somethings
I think that was the guy who was called in off his break to see wtf was going on. Many (in the know) seem to think the second he left the cab she downed a LOT of somethings
Time-stamp for anyone needing it 12:56
@@EstorilEm she was clearly having a stroke.
Its really scary how she comes in and out of being able to speak.
Yea, it's like your brain know what it wants to say but getting the mouth, and throat, to function properly to say it is the problem. Then when it got worse it started affecting her ability to swallow, and control her throat, and she felt as if she was choking.
You could hear her getting frustrated, she even laughed at one point like “wtf is happening”
@@FredtheDorfDorfman1985 commonly a Brain having a stroke can think properly and understand somewhat about what it wants to say, as lower level functions like specific motor control are usually the first to go
That's common with a stroke. Often the pt doesn't even realize what's happening other than a vague sense that something is wrong.
This woman did an impressive job trying to hold it together. I feel bad for her that it took so long for someone to get to her.
@@farmherjo3190 I always thought any ATC had to have more than one staff member and a supervisor in tower at all times for accountability especially i would think for a Vegas airport.
Firstly my thoughts are with the controller & hope she received medical help as soon as possible & makes a good recovery. If it was a stroke fast medical treatment can make a huge difference to stroke recovery levels. Secondly well done to the pilot(s) who eventually realised a problem & took steps to avoid any accidents & alert ground that ATC had a problem. Finally I trust this distressing event will get the FAA to ban singly operated ATC at commercial airports. I just wonder why controllers don't have an emergency button to press to alert ATC that they have a problem. Best wishes to the controller.
There is no way way a major airport like this had one controller doing everything? If so that is insane
Maybe they have a quick way to call for help, but maybe she didn't even realize there was something wrong. Maybe she thought she caught a cold
According to news reports, second ATC was on a scheduled break.
They could have used 121.5 to alert other controllers that there’s something really wrong with the controller
Looking up these flights shows it was late at night. Most facilities will begin to combined positions and reduce staffing since there is less traffic late at night.
I think these pilots saved that woman's life.
This shows me how the pilots were exercising resource management even with people on the ground. Very professional and very considerate. I cannot imagine why such a major airport had only one ATC on duty. Even planes must have two pilots (over a certain size). Controlling the airspace over so many aircraft is nuts. It wasn't her fault, as you cannot have control over what happened to her, but if she were not alone, then she could have had help a lot sooner, and less chaos would have ensued.
This is actually quite distressing to listen too. Poor lady, confused, unwell. God bless you & hope you make a speedy recovery.
I've been in aircraft maintenance for 40 years but if I had been the pilot in one of those aircraft I would have made an emergency call on 121.5 for something going on in the tower when her speech became slurred and confused, long before she stopped responding. A lot of people monitor that frequency and the incident could have been resolved way sooner.
Don’t people treat a lot of stuff as a joke on that frequency
The Lavian If you are going to insult the men and women who maintain the planes so YOU and your loved ones can fly safely with thousands and thousands flights happening daily, at least have the balls or the courage to state your full name in doing so. If you are a pilot SHAME on you! If you are a passenger or fly commercial then you are naive and have no clue what goes on behind the scene to ensure our safety.
Former aircraft logistics officer
i was thinkiong that too.
The Lavian fuck off they make sure the aircraft are safe so thousands of people are safe everyday. Go back to your moms basement and play league of legends
@@danovido8946 Said everything I was about to.
Having one atc on duty in such a busy airspace is down right dangerous, and we just witnessed that. Hopefully she's doing better and the airport authorities took a long good look at their systems.
Hooooooooly cow. This could have turned really bad. Glad nothing catastrophic happened. Hope she's ok. This video should get at least a million views.
ahmad samadzai I don't know about that, lots of ppl prefer not to know about the (once and a blue moon) goings-on in sm air traffic (especially if they are frequent passenger!!!)
Edit: only frequent passengers)
Know what you mean but catastrophic for the poor controller.
Those million views should be from FAA alone
Gribbo9999 catastrophic also for the passengers kind of Tenerife but bigger she is having a stroke it is clearly audible that the speach is slurred and at the end she cannot understands and memorize the callsign so she may have potentially created a collision condition on the ground for the moving planes and the upcoming planes during the stroke your brain suffer an eccessive amount of oxygen received during the high peak of hearth frequency pressure and after a hypoxia due to the fact that the hearth is slowing down uncontrollably this cause neurological suffering on the cells known as ischemic attack, symptoms are slurred apparently senseless impaired speech low concentrations level incapable of memorizing understanding thing like words slow responses on stimulation sense of being tired lack of breathing headache moving problems unjustified need of sleeping sensations, cognitive impairment sometimes vomit or more often nausea and in the worst cases the subject became consciousness unresponsive and not responding so basically when she is conscious her brain wasn’t totally responding, elaborating, memorizing understanding and you know doing its brain duties so this mean that the pilots are by themselves sometimes guided so far so good by the tower. When you have the neurological triads nausea headache and impairment in speaking or slurred without any kind of explanation of cause go to the hospital also if it’s light symptoms because some of your brain is dying and you maybe die too. I hope she is ok not every ischemic attack is catastrophic many people fully recover because the portion of dead cells is very minimal and she was treated immediately.
Edit: I’m sorry for bothering with the long comment without commas or punctuation
@@EM.1 This was not a Tenerife type threat. The pilots knew something was wrong, so they were paying even more attention than normal to their surroundings. In Tenerife, there was extremely dense fog, so the pilots couldn't see each other. That wasn't the case here. The pilots could see whether the runway was clear or not and they could communicate with each other so that they knew what was going on at the field.
Lots of airports don't even have an ATC Tower at all. Pilots are used to operating at completely uncontrolled fields and using their eyes and radios to coordinate their operations with each other safely in visual conditions.
Amazing how the new controller took control immediately.
Such patience from the pilots and the poor lady just kept trying to do her job.
I hope she is ok
I was truly in tears! She gave all she got on her job! She truly went above and beyond to the very end! Bless her with all the best that the universe can give to her!
There is an AP news story dated November 13, 2018 that states that the ATC resigned and is no longer an employee.
And that the FAA has ordered there will be two ATC’s in the tower.
I don't know why there wasn't more than one to begin with. It is Las Vegas after all not some small airport.
It's too bad she quit though.
Guillermo Garraton aviation forums say that she wasn’t having a stroke but was drunk. Posters who have worked with her says her problem was well known by other ATC workers. Just resigned before she was fired.
@@Marmitemiss Yeah, I don't think so. She went from perfectly lucid, to out of it in about 5 minutes.
@@Marmitemiss I've seen people after a stroke, this is exactly how they sound. This was a stroke, no doubt about it
Must say, hats off to that new controller for coming in and helping all traffic immediately, sounds like the pilots even had some trouble catching back up!
I wonder how long it took him to get everything going?
Some had have the engines shut down
Yeah but he speaks waaaaaay to fast, literally no need for that.
He either walked back into the room after his break finding his colleague collapsed, or somebody got him out of the break room telling him his co-worker was ill - and the airport has no atc active. These folks are prepared for mayday calls over the radio but likely have little to no training to deal with an emergency IN the tower. There'd probably be a touch more adrenaline in his system than normal... I suspect I'd be talking a little fast too.
12:06 "Tower American 1084. Do you need help?"
Awesome catch there. I couldn't hear that with the blocked transmission.
btw its good to hear the pilots voicing concern from as early as 2:26
@Jerrell Sanders - good call. Sadly though, people having strokes rarely comprehend what's happening to themselves.
@@vlugovsky A lot like hypoxia. Scary.
@@cybersquire - damn straight
Deeply unsettling audio toward the end.. I should hope to the lord above that she was okay 😢
9 minutes into this, and I'm starting to wonder how the hell this was allowed to continue for so long. She couldn't have been the only person in the tower. If she was, there needs to be safety protocols to avoid potential disaster.
Because she DIDN'T HAVE A STROKE. She was drunk and possibly on pills. I know the ATC that worked with her. She had just gotten out of rehab a few weeks prior. Another controller was there on break. She was terminated immediately after.
@@MARISAROADTRIP you missed the entire point. Stroke, pills, alcohol. Who is watching the controllers to keep things safe?
@@MARISAROADTRIP Source: "Bro, just trust me"
I know..WTF. It sounded like she was on her own up there?!
@@MARISAROADTRIP source???
OMG, that was painful to listen to! I hope she was alright. I admire EVERYONE involved! The Pilots did their best to stay safe, suspecting something wasn't right, and this lady did her darnedest to do her job to the best of her ability right up until she was relieved.
Having suffered a stroke, I'm amazed that she was able to comprehend any of the request being relayed to her. I didn't have any bleeding in my brain yet I couldn't remember anything.
Maybe it was just subconscious responses. Like, she's done it so much that she doesn't need to consciously think about how her response is laid out. She couldn't remember many things, like when she asked that pilot to repeat his callsign 3 times and still referred to him by what she mistook it as the first time.
@@Rocco-tb9ih subconscious actions still take brain cells to do. It's most likely that the specific part of her brain she was using wasn't as starved of oxygen as other parts.
@@chisel4164 it was substance abuse hence why she resigned (was made to because getting fired would've have meant she was owed a paycheck for a horrible job and unprofessionalism)
I’ve always wished someone would’ve had the audio for about another 5 mins. While the whole thing was tragic, it was a great demonstration by professionals of recognizing the situation and making the right move by parking, sometimes shutting down, and following up when they knew something was not OK. The pilots are under so much pressure these days to go go go hurry but these guys all recognized that this could end very badly for countless people and made the best decision they could to stop and wait.
The other reason is that the controller that came on was incredible. I heard it that night and was just in awe as it took him absolutely no more than 4-5 minutes and he had cleared the massive ground and air cluster fk with biz back to normal at one of the worlds busiest airports. However, I’ve not been able to find anyone who recorded that next 5 minutes with most stopping near the same place this one did. I personally was drawn to aviation because of the professionalism it requires and I simply love to see demonstrations of that play out.
oh what a shame..i can see she is doing everything to keep professional as possible and get the job done..wow...
Thsnk God the pilots recognized that something was wrong and took action, Bless her heart, is she OK? I had a panic attack listening, no joke..
Hi Cristy,
According to FAA, she is on an administrative leave. Really hope she is recovering alright.
@@VASAviation thank you so much for replying.. I'm so glad she's recovering and will definitely keep her in my prayers.. I hope she has full recovery too Yall take care!! ♥️
@@VASAviation sadly for her, suffering such an incident like this means she will likely never work in a live ATC setting again. If she makes a strong recovery though she will be able to get new work.
She dead.
Not from the stroke but the ambulance crashed and exploded.
_kidding_
@@Lord_and_Savior_Gay_Jesus bad joke
*Medical Tip*
If you suspect someone may be having a stroke there is a simple way to tell MOST of the time. Ask them to stick they're tongue straight out, or make a smile. If anything is crooked or drooping call 911 immediately. Also you can ask them to outstretch they're arms level with their shoulders, if they struggle with either side also call 911. Generally if you feel something is wrong, don't hesitate, seek help quickly.
@@MydogTobes still should have called 911 not for her but your sake 😂
Not generally possible over radio, but very useful to know.
Very good tips.
The mnemonic is F.A.S.T. Face, arms, speech, time.
It's easy to pick up on it when you can read the title of the video before listening. Hindsight bias at its finest.
That was heart wrenching. Having dealt with people having strokes I can't begin to imagine what that poor ATC was going through. My absolute thoughts to her and I hope that she is recovering.