A French passenger plane was forced to circle the skies above Corsica after the only air traffic controller on duty fell asleep as the aircraft was preparing to land.Firefighters and police were called to the scene in an effort to wake the man when the control tower failed to respond to the plane’s radio calls.

A passenger jet plane was reportedly forced to circle for an hour before landing after the air traffic controller fell asleep. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, an Air Corsica Airbus A320 had to remain in the air as staff members tried to wake up the controller, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.

A supervisor allowed an air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan National Airport to leave early, hours before the passenger plane collided with an Army helicopter in midair, according to reports. Staffing levels were “not normal for the time of day and ...