This only happens in India

Fireman guides plane to land in absence of AIR TRAFFIC ONTROLLER

CHENNAI: "Good morning ATC. This is flight 9W 2761... flight level 200," radioed a pilot of the Hyderabad-Tirupati Jet Airways flight with 60 passengers on board as it approached the Tirupati airport at 7.30am on January 9. At the other end, inside the air traffic control tower of the airport, it was a fireman who replied, as neither of the two air traffic controllers supposed to be on duty had turned up

Basha entered the ATC tower and operated the radio. Speaking in broken English, he gave the pilot the information needed for a safe landing.

Initial investigation revealed that the DGM in- charge of ATC instructed the fireman to rush to the tower and speak to the pilots as he wanted to hide the fact the ATC was unmanned. He feared that higher ups will come to know that controllers have not turned up for duty if the flight was diverted," an AAI official said.

The ATC at Tirupati is manned by five controllers - one or two at a time on shifts. "The controller who was supposed to have reported for work told the officials that he forgot about his duty time and over-slept. " the official said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Fireman-guides-plane-to-...