Originally Posted by ContinentalFan
I agree with this comment; if another person were in the tower, it would be a fluke if they caught the error. I know some people in the ATC business and they monitor things when they're busy--not when it's the only aircraft around. It seems to be that the pilots messed up. Of course, had there been two people working the tower, the issues would be a lot more clear-cut.
The
FAA Administrator said yesterday that, quite possibly, the second controller would have been in the base of the tower watching radar. From that position they can't see outside of the tower anyways. She also confirmed that it is the controller's duty to clear the aircraft to the correct runway, but not necessarily to watch and make sure they actually taxi to the right place.