With all these accidents taking place in aviation nowadays, it’s nice to hear a success story every once in a while.
Last September a young Cessna 172 pilot was talked down by ATC at an airport in the United States after three failed landing attempts. NPR has an interview with the controller who helped the young pilot land her aircraft after a few hard bounces on the pavement.
When I started flying, I was under the impression that ATCs are the unapproachable officers of the skies. They are there to set rules and make sure everyone is following them. Then I solo’d and realized exactly how helpful and understanding controllers are. Not only did the controller basically clear the pattern for me, he made sure that I was following another airplane in the circuit rather than being followed by it. Now that doesn’t seem like much, but when you’re alone in the left seat for the first time and you have to keep track of that airplane coming up on you, it adds an extra stress that is certainly not needed. When I landed, ATC congratulated me and was very friendly. A few days later, on a trip to the tower, I met the controller in person and we had a great rapport.
Good on the US controller for helping the student out, and thank you to all ATCs out there for keeping us all safe!
