Strange FODs: It's a bird!...And a plane!...And a wayward jogger!
Controllers working in the nation’s air traffic control towers have plenty on their plates. But sometimes major obstacles stand in the way of their efforts to maintain runway safety. Foreign object debris (FODs), as well as wayward people and animals, often find their way onto runways and taxiways, forcing NATCA members to quickly dispatch potential hazards to aircraft.
NATCA’s Southern Region Vice President Andy Cantwell recalled a harrowing incident in which his vigilance helped avert disaster. “While working in the tower, I observed what looked like a large piece of aluminum floating to the ground after a Continental A300 departed,” Cantwell recalled. “Aviation Department employees went to check and realized the object didn’t fit into their pickup truck. I notified the pilot of the A300 and he returned for a precautionary landing. The object turned out to be a piece of the plane’s wing.”
Not all runway obstructions involve objects – it seems people often mistakenly wander onto airport runways and taxiways. “My favorites are the people,” said Cathy Alcorn, a veteran controller at Anchorage Tower. “The kids on bikes that taunt the tower as they ride past; joggers; confused individuals in their Hondas looking to pick up a friend; and even a lady walking home carrying groceries right on the centerline. Before the FAA began a serious push on runway and airport safety, such incidents were relatively common.”
Richard Greathouse, a controller at Arizona’s Prescott Tower, has similar memories. “Every year, they have a big balloon rally with a carnival in Longview [Texas],” he recalls. “I arrived for the early shift and opened the tower. As the sun was rising, I noticed someone walking across the runway and had airport personnel track him down. Turns out he got fired from the carnival the night before and spent the evening in the field because he didn’t want to cross the runways at night.”
Animals on the asphalt also tend to make most pilots and controllers a little uneasy—just ask the controllers at Grand Forks Tower in North Dakota, where the vibrant wildlife population occasionally causes a stir.
“One night, the ATIS [Automated Terminal Information Service] read something like, ‘Caution for deer on and near the runways, fox right side mid-field, large snow shoe hares on and near the runways, and large migratory waterfowl in the vicinity,’” explained Grand Forks Tower Controller Chuck Adams. “A FedEx plane was on final approach and checked in with us. It was very apparent the pilot had never flown in here and we told him to also watch out for black bears on the departure end and moose on the left side near midfield. He responded with, ‘Let me get this straight — I have to watch for ducks, geese, bear, fox, rabbits, moose and it looks like I just flew over a herd of buffalo… Anything else I need to know?’ I was laughing so hard I couldn’t reply.”
