Well since were such a tight nit community on here i thought it best to share my day at work and let you guys know what happened as discussion can only be good. I will be having a formal interview and this might help to collate my thoughts when that time comes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7566628.stm

I was the assistant controller in the radar position at the time of the incident at Coventry Airport, when my collegue who was currently assisting the tower controller buzzed down to me she was in a state of panic and didn't know what to do and requested my immediate assistance. I unplugged from radar leaving just the controller and moved up to the watch manager position in the air traffic control tower and was the lead incident coordinator for air traffic control with all outside emergancy services and D&D, SAR, police and helimed operations when we started aircraft accident proceedures.

wow, try and not let this incident hit you too hard.  there are accidents that sometimes just can not be avoided.  we are here for you.

WOW.. That is a bad day. that's a very stressful job you have. 

Yea i try not to get too attached to incidents like this, as being professional is the best way to make sure everyone has the best chance of coming through it, i mean they are rare - i've seen near misses and you kinda laugh them off as oh shaZam! that was close, file paperwork, ok weve learned something here. But two aircraft colliding in our full view on final approach has been a much much different experience. All the drills you do etc etc doesn't prepare you for the chaos that ensues when something like this happens. We did well, outside services were in attendece super fast, our based Helimed aircraft which wasn't even dispatched by ambulance control at that point volunteered to go out as did our local air support unit. The drills never involve such a wide scale of services that are drawn when the actual incident happens. We have things to learn but currently dont believe air traffic to be at fault for the collision however this will come out during the AAIB investigation ongoing.

Its a sobering moment now im home after a long day there and reflecting on the happenings and thinking just how quick it has gone from me 'booking them out over the phone' to the fatal collision.

All the victims were well known at the airport, and have spent many years training and enjoying flying from us. They will be sorely missed.

anything i can do m8 drop me a pm 

Kas, that is one freaky high stress job you have. I hope your company has the wherewithall to help all involved deal with the situation and cope. Take care.

Quote from: Revere2 on August 19, 2008, 02:16:42 AM
Kas, that is one freaky high stress job you have. I hope your company has the wherewithall to help all involved deal with the situation and cope. Take care.

Yea as soon as we could the other two controllers and the assistant were given breaks (i chose not to take mine as was still in the thick of dealing with the incident). Then were automatically given 2 days leave before the investigation and councilling is on offer if we need it. The tower controller at the time and the tower assistant initially are going to be taking the councilling i believe, however ive elected not to at the moment.

When the actual situation happened i wasn't aware of being stessed. I was totally running on adrenaline and too busy to notice being stressed by anything. In this case it was all fatalaties but the next time it could have been some survivors if i was overwhelmed by the stess (as the other assistant was and the controller) then that person might not get the attention they need at the time. No doubt it was stressful but i didn't notice at all.

Sorry to hear that happened, what a shame.  There will always be misjudgments and it sounds like you did everything very well.  Let us know if you need anything.