NEED TO KNOW
- A plane traveling from Paris to the French island of Corsica was forced to circle for an hour before landing after an air traffic controller fell asleep
- The incident occurred on Tuesday, Sept. 16, according to reports
- “We did a little sightseeing,” the pilot joked to a local media outlet
A passenger jet plane was reportedly forced to circle for an hour before landing after the air traffic controller fell asleep.
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, an Air Corsica Airbus A320 had to remain in the air as staff members tried to wake up the controller, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.
The plane had been traveling from Paris’ Orly Airport when it started descending to Napoléon Bonaparte Airport in Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica just after midnight and radio calls were left unanswered by the only official at the control tower. per the outlet.
There was also no lighting on the runway, according to local media outlet Corse Matin.
“The captain then contacted the airport fire department to understand the situation. They were dispatched to the scene but found no response from the tower before alerting the police,” a passenger told the outlet.
PEOPLE has contacted Air Corsica and Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte Airport. The French National Police declined to comment.
The pilot flew the plane over the Gulf of Ajaccio as he kept the passengers informed, telling them that he would have to divert to Bastia — a city on the island — if there was no communication from the tower.
“We did a little sightseeing,” the pilot joked, per the outlet. “At no point was there any panic, everyone remained calm.”
“In my decades of experience, I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this,” the captain added.
Security locks on the air traffic control tower’s doors delayed the process of staff reaching the controller, though they were eventually able to climb the tower’s steps and gain access, before finding the controller sleeping at his desk, per The Times.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After waking him up, he activated the lights for the runway and enabled the plane to land safely, according to the outlet.
Following the incident, the controller was tested for drugs and alcohol and the results came back negative.
The plane left Paris Orly Airport 27 minutes late at 10:47 p.m. local time before landing at Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport one hour and 18 minutes late at 12: 35 a.m. on Tuesday, according to flight tracker website Flight Aware.
Read the full article here
