I have read through this with and I am absolutely amazed at Lord SM. I am a UK ATCO, I have no knowledge of procedures in the US, and even I can see that what more knowledgeable people than me have explained a procedure that makes sense. Keep asking show me where it says I can do that is a terribly cock eyed way of looking at anything. I was trained that these are the rules, don't break them but you can do anything else as long as you use common sense. Sadly that is lacking today with more and more small rules being invented to cover someone's ass so that they don't end up in court while we all struggle to comply and not break the rules.
I am more concerned as to why the controller fell asleep. Not to blame them and say they shouldn't have fallen asleep, but as we are all human and our body will overtake our professional needs and we fall asleep in seconds. Anyone who hasn't nearly fallen asleep while driving is lying, this at the end of the day is very similar, so perhaps the procedures for ATCO hours need to be revisited or even created. In the UK we have SCRATCOH which means, among lots of other things, we cannot work more than 2 nights in a row. As we don't work them all the time it is a good idea and helps with fatigue. Perhaps someone could point out the rules in the US. Thanks.
TS