Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as the country learned today, certainly we learned in Nevada, there was a terrifying close call at the Reno airport last night. It is a miracle that everyone is OK today, and we are grateful they are. This is what happened. Only one air traffic controller was in the tower during last night's overnight shift. Medical aircraft carrying a critically ill passenger couldn't land because the controller fell asleep on the job. We now know that the pilot circled several times. We now know that he tried to call the tower not once, not twice, but seven times. The controller slept through every one of the calls. He slept through the circling of the aircraft. More than 15 minutes later, with the passenger critically ill in the airplane, minutes during which no one could reach the air traffic controller while this critically ill passenger suffered in that aircraft, the pilot landed without any guidance from the airport. The Reno airport is situated right below the great Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is an extremely difficult place to land. Those of us who have been landing there for all these years know how terribly rough it is many times coming out of there with the winds coming off the Sierras. To think this pilot was forced to land without any control on the land is very scary. This should not happen in Nevada. It should not happen anywhere in the country. It shouldn't happen in any airplane, and it certainly shouldn't happen to an air ambulance.…”