Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

32
Against the Wind
John Gilbert: A colleague awarded the
young controller a gold star for working
on August 3, 1981. Gilbert, who later
transferred to Houston, still wears the
star on his ID badge. / Courtesy of John Gilbert
1981
5
Aug.
because the washout rate was so high. As a trainee,
Gilbert was not yet part of the inner circle.
“If you’ve got to stop and think about it, that’s
answer enough for me,” Gilbert replied. “So much for
solidarity. I’m not striking with you guys.”
They threatened to make his life miserable
when the walkout ended, but Gilbert shrugged it off.
“Misery is a two-way street,” he retorted.
Leaving his car, Gilbert ambled inside the facility
under the watchful eyes of his colleagues and
friends standing in the New Mexico heat across the
street. His supervisor, Chuck Tuberville, one of the
few people on his crew to show up, greeted him. Sally
Lane, a fellow controller, had just finished the midnight
shift. She sauntered up to Gilbert holding a card
of gold stars, peeled one off, and stuck it on the ID
badge dangling from his neck.
“This is your gold
star,” Lane said. “It’s the
only thing you’re going
to get out of the
agency for coming in
to work.”
Gilbert chuckled
and gazed around
the control room.
Only a few sectors
were open. Controllers
were joined by supervisors
About 875 controllers return to work. More than 11,000 lose their jobs.
The ranks of journeymen and developmental controllers drop 74 percent.
The FAA institutes “Flow Control 50,” which requires the airlines to
and staff specialists, some of
whom had untangled
head set cords
that morning for
the first time in
several years and
looked nervous facing
the scopes again.
Normally, they’d be
required to train and
re-certify after such a
lengthy absence. But
today’s unique event
forced them to jump
back in cold.
I r o n i c a l l y ,
Gilbert realized he was better qualified to control
airplanes than many others present. He wished he
could help, but he wasn’t authorized to work without
an instructor. Having nothing else to do, he teased
Tuberville about handling the traffic.
The Honeymoon
Nearly 3,400 controllers reported for duty that
August 3 rd and in the following days, augmented by
roughly 500 military controllers and the 875 FAA
workers who returned within Reagan’s 48-hour
deadline. They encountered similar scenes.
cancel about half of their peak-hour flights at twenty-two major airports.
In-trail restrictions increase to as much as 100 miles. IFR flights are prohibited
for general aviation planes weighing 12,500 pounds or less.