Air Traffic Controllers: Safety in the Skies This summer I took my first flight, when my sister and I flew to Los Angeles to visit family. From the moment I entered the airport, my mind started filling with questions about how the planes worked and how everything ran smoothly. I had never been exposed to something like this before. When I go to the airport, I love the energy of everyone hustling to get where they need to go. It's fascinating to me watching planes take off and land. I'm probably the only person you'll ever meet who loves security checks. The airport is probably in my top 10 favorite places to go. I can never get bored in an airport. However, when I boarded my flight, the nerves increased. I was alone, with my 11 year old sister on a plane for the first time. Sure, it was a direct flight and I knew where I would meet my family when we landed, but it was scary to think that some people would throw this huge hunk of steel down a runway, then send it flying at 500 miles an hour, almost 400 miles along the California coast. I was scared. Then I looked out the window and saw the control tower. Again, I had a lot of questions about who was in there and what they did. I thought it would be an amazing job, being able to watch planes land and take off all day while you told him how to do it. This is how I found a career as an air traffic controller. Air traffic controllers control aircraft within certain airspaces and guide planes along their routes and around hazards. There are two different types of air traffic controllers, tower controllers and radar controllers. Tower controllers (the type I'm most interested in) use eyes, headset communications,... middle of paper... controller would be the one for me. Career as "air traffic controller" cited by Works Cruise. Anaca Technologies Ltd., 2014. Web. 7 February 2014. “Air Traffic Control: How Does It Keep You Safe?” Watchtower Online Library. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2013. Web. February 19, 2014."Air traffic controllers." US Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan. 8, 2014. Web. Feb. 9, 2014. “Air Traffic Management.” Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, 2014. Web. 14 Feb 2014."Careers - Air Traffic Controllers - Transportation." Careers - Air traffic controllers - Transport. Collegeboard.org, 2014. Web. 09 February 2014. “FAA Academy”. Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, 2014. February 18, 2014. Korbas, Crystal. Personal interview. February 21st 2014.