Narrative:

Arrived late night -- actually it was early morning. Dfw ATC was staffed by only 1 person. He was working dfw tower for all 4 active runways, operating as ground controller and clearance delivery. Under normal circumstances, this might be acceptable. However, with storms in the area and extensive delays and extreme taxiway and ramp congestion, I think this is totally unsatisfactory. This controller had his hands overly full and, in my opinion, a situation like this could very easily lead to an accident. Additionally, it contributed greatly to all of our inbound and outbound delays. 1 person working all of dfw ATC in the middle of a stormy night is a good example of very poor staffing decisions. It is unsafe and unacceptable and costs the company a great deal of money. Supplemental information from acn 473340: this WX was not a surprise but had been there all afternoon. Must we let the blood ethic hindsight prevail in every safety situation like this?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: S80 FLC CONCERNED WITH ARPT AND FREQ CONGESTION WHEN PERCEIVING THAT ALL TWR CTL FREQS WERE BEING WORKED BY 1 CTLR.

Narrative: ARRIVED LATE NIGHT -- ACTUALLY IT WAS EARLY MORNING. DFW ATC WAS STAFFED BY ONLY 1 PERSON. HE WAS WORKING DFW TWR FOR ALL 4 ACTIVE RWYS, OPERATING AS GND CTLR AND CLRNC DELIVERY. UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE. HOWEVER, WITH STORMS IN THE AREA AND EXTENSIVE DELAYS AND EXTREME TXWY AND RAMP CONGESTION, I THINK THIS IS TOTALLY UNSATISFACTORY. THIS CTLR HAD HIS HANDS OVERLY FULL AND, IN MY OPINION, A SIT LIKE THIS COULD VERY EASILY LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. ADDITIONALLY, IT CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO ALL OF OUR INBOUND AND OUTBOUND DELAYS. 1 PERSON WORKING ALL OF DFW ATC IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORMY NIGHT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF VERY POOR STAFFING DECISIONS. IT IS UNSAFE AND UNACCEPTABLE AND COSTS THE COMPANY A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 473340: THIS WX WAS NOT A SURPRISE BUT HAD BEEN THERE ALL AFTERNOON. MUST WE LET THE BLOOD ETHIC HINDSIGHT PREVAIL IN EVERY SAFETY SIT LIKE THIS?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.