Tri-Service
Getting Out Of The Way Of A Storm
With Florida right in the path of Hurricane Matthew, the US military has been busy moving aircraft out of the way.
At MacDill Airforce Base, air traffic controllers have to guide all aircraft onto the base, but they also have an extra challenge to contend with.
MacDill provides air-to-air refuelling facilities, sending fuelling planes up to fighter jets in order to keep them in the sky.
And they have to be ready at all times. Senior Airman Anthony Riley describes it this way:
"(With air refuelling, the big thing) is, there are different rules. So, we have to co-ordinate that on the ground... Typically on a normal day, we get about 15 minutes max warning. Other than that, everything we do is kind of on the spot".
Before they are allowed to exercise huge responsibilities in the control tower, air traffic controllers spend hundreds of hours in a control tower simulator, where they are drilled on every eventuality in an exact replica of the real control tower that is upstairs from them.
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