A legal inquiry has been opened after an air traffic controller in Corsica fell asleep, causing an aeroplane to circle the airport for 18 minutes.
The incident happened on Monday (September 15) in the control tower of Ajaccio's Napol茅on-Bonaparte airport.
The Air Corsica flight left Paris-Orly at 22:45 and had to delay its landing because the control tower was not responding to radio calls, the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) told news agency AFP.
鈥淭he intervention of the airport fire brigade at the control tower revealed that the air traffic controller on duty had fallen asleep at his post,鈥� read the press statement.
The DGAC stated that once the air traffic controller had awoken, the flight landed safely under the expected conditions at 00:35.
鈥淲e went on a little sightseeing tour鈥� At no point was there any panic and everyone remained calm,鈥� a passenger from the flight told Corse Matin.
The altered can be seen on air traffic site Flightradar24.
FlightRadar24 screenshot
The air traffic controller tested negative for consumption of drugs and alcohol and no legal proceedings were initially launched.
However, on September 18, the DGAC and the Ajaccio public prosecutor's office opened an investigation for the motivation of 鈥渆ndangering the lives of others.鈥�
The inquiry is still ongoing and no outcome has yet been established.
