Another air traffic controller fell asleep on the job

Well this is worrisome. The Federal Aviation Administration announced it is seeking to fire a second air traffic controller who was found asleep on the job. The action comes a couple of weeks after two jets were forced to land on their own at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport when the tower's sole controller fell asleep.

The controller in this episode was found "intentionally" sleeping, the FAA said. He made a bed on the floor for himself with a blanket and cushions on a Feb. 19 nightshift in a Knoxville, Tennessee airport. Another controller was forced to pick up his slack, handling seven flights alone after pilots received radio silence from the first controller, ABC News reports.

A 2009 GQ feature on New York's LaGuardia airport control tower said a shrinking workforce and lower pay has left controllers exhausted and demoralized, and our skies less safe.

(Stock image: Getty)