Narrative:

Single person operations in the tower. I stepped out of the tower for 10 minutes and when I returned; the local controller informed me that they had a separation error. The local controller was talking to the solo pilot's trainer on the front steps of the tower when I returned to the tower. The pilot's trainer then spoke to me and advised that his pilot on their first solo flight had been shaken up from a situation that just happened. He advised he just wanted to stop by the tower to see what happened and talk about it. He advised that the local controller had cleared aircraft Y for takeoff while his pilot was on short final. He then stated it was not really a big deal and his pilot is ok and worked things out; he wasn't stopping by to get anyone in trouble; just wanted to talk. I got the pilot's trainer's name in case I had any questions in the future regarding the event; then went and talked with the local controller in the tower. The local controller advised it was their fault; they said they were working single person operations and it was busy. Then the local controller stated it wasn't that busy but they were working on the daily staffing rotation to see what we could do to not be single man ops the whole day.the local controller advised they cleared aircraft Y for takeoff; forgot they had aircraft X cleared to land. After clearing aircraft Y for takeoff; the local controller looked back down at the daily staffing rotation; then looked up to see that aircraft X was on short final. The local controller then said they cancelled aircraft Y's take off clearance; and that aircraft Y had rolled past the hold short line but was holding short of the runway threshold. The local controller advised that aircraft X did land; but the error was the [controller's] fault since aircraft Y was past the hold short line. I later asked the other controller where he was when the incident occurred. The other controller advised that they were on break. I then asked a trainee controller if they saw the event; and the trainee controller advised that they were in the tower at the time of the event. The trainee controller advised that they were not paying attention to what was going on in the tower until they heard the local controller tell aircraft Y to go around. The trainee controller then stated that aircraft X overflew aircraft Y and landed. The trainee controller advised that aircraft Y was on the runway turned and was about to depart. I asked the trainee controller about the situation again; they advised the same thing and said their line of sight in the tower was not obstructed. I am currently training here at arrival. When the event occurred; I was here at the tower studying. I advised that I was stepping out of the building to grab a cup of coffee; still did not know of the event until I returned about 13 minutes after I returned to the tower.we were at the required minimum staffing for the opening shift. When working single person operations; I believe concentration should be on working your traffic from the runway out. I believe that the local controller should have called the other controller for assistance with the daily staffing schedule or myself if they felt it would take their attention away from the safe and expeditious flow of air traffic. I believe having a full scan would have solved this problem since the local controller was looking down and not scanning out the window; down the runway; the final; etc.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ARR Local Controller working alone in the Tower cleared an aircraft for takeoff while another aircraft was on short final. The Controller cancelled the takeoff clearance when they saw the landing aircraft. The landing aircraft flew over the top of the departing aircraft which had stopped just over the hold lines.

Narrative: Single person operations in the tower. I stepped out of the tower for 10 minutes and when I returned; the Local Controller informed me that they had a separation error. The Local Controller was talking to the solo pilot's trainer on the front steps of the tower when I returned to the tower. The pilot's trainer then spoke to me and advised that his pilot on their first solo flight had been shaken up from a situation that just happened. He advised he just wanted to stop by the tower to see what happened and talk about it. He advised that the Local Controller had cleared Aircraft Y for takeoff while his pilot was on short final. He then stated it was not really a big deal and his pilot is ok and worked things out; he wasn't stopping by to get anyone in trouble; just wanted to talk. I got the pilot's trainer's name in case I had any questions in the future regarding the event; then went and talked with the Local Controller in the tower. The Local Controller advised it was their fault; they said they were working single person operations and it was busy. Then the Local Controller stated it wasn't that busy but they were working on the daily staffing rotation to see what we could do to not be single man ops the whole day.The Local Controller advised they cleared Aircraft Y for takeoff; forgot they had Aircraft X cleared to land. After clearing Aircraft Y for takeoff; the Local Controller looked back down at the daily staffing rotation; then looked up to see that Aircraft X was on short final. The Local Controller then said they cancelled Aircraft Y's take off clearance; and that Aircraft Y had rolled past the hold short line but was holding short of the runway threshold. The Local Controller advised that Aircraft X did land; but the error was the [controller's] fault since Aircraft Y was past the hold short line. I later asked the other Controller where he was when the incident occurred. The other Controller advised that they were on break. I then asked a trainee controller if they saw the event; and the trainee controller advised that they were in the tower at the time of the event. The trainee controller advised that they were not paying attention to what was going on in the tower until they heard the Local Controller tell Aircraft Y to go around. The trainee controller then stated that Aircraft X overflew Aircraft Y and landed. The trainee controller advised that Aircraft Y was on the runway turned and was about to depart. I asked the trainee controller about the situation again; they advised the same thing and said their line of sight in the tower was not obstructed. I am currently training here at ARR. When the event occurred; I was here at the tower studying. I advised that I was stepping out of the building to grab a cup of coffee; still did not know of the event until I returned about 13 minutes after I returned to the tower.We were at the required minimum staffing for the opening shift. When working single person operations; I believe concentration should be on working your traffic from the runway out. I believe that the Local Controller should have called the other controller for assistance with the daily staffing schedule or myself if they felt it would take their attention away from the safe and expeditious flow of air traffic. I believe having a full scan would have solved this problem since the Local Controller was looking down and not scanning out the window; down the runway; the final; etc.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.