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Teterboro Controller Joked About Barbecuing A Cat
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 20, 2009
Modified Aug 20, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 20, 2009
Modified Aug 20, 2009
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The AP got hold of transcripts of Teterboro Airport's air traffic controller conversations on August 8—the day a small plane and sightseeing helicopter collided over the Hudson River—and found the controller in charge of guiding the small plane was joking was about barbecuing a cat. Before the small plane had taken off, the controller had called a woman in the airport's operations center about a dead cat that needed to be removed from the runway. The Daily News reports, "Two minutes after the [small plane], the controller called the woman back," saying, "We got plenty of gas in the grill? Fire up the cat." The woman replied, "Ooh, disgusting ... that thing was disgusting." The pair bantered about the cat some more "while the controller directed traffic. Seconds before the accident, the controller said, 'Damn' - and ended the call." The National Transportation Safety Board has said radar data showed many aircraft in the small plane's path, but the controller never alerted the plane's pilot, a claim the National Air Traffic Controllers Association disputes. The FAA, which suspended the controller and his supervisor, has said the conversation was inappropriate but probably did not cause the crash that left nine dead.
Tagged
air traffic controller
Hudson Air collision
hudson river
ntsb
small plane
teterboro airport
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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