Dan's Landing » ATC http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog Flying Dan's adventures in the air, on the ground and in between Thu, 27 May 2010 03:47:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 One of the most frustrating ATC exchanges I have heard http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/one-of-the-most-frustrating-atc-exchanges-i-have-heard/ http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/one-of-the-most-frustrating-atc-exchanges-i-have-heard/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 03:47:13 +0000 Danny http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/one-of-the-most-frustrating-atc-exchanges-i-have-heard/ Let me set it up for you: Swiss air 1311 experience bird strike after take off and declares an emergency. Russian ATC is seemingly oblivious at how to handle an emergency and makes a stressful situation even more so by pestering the pilots for unnecessary information. Once on the ground, engines shut down, the pilot [...]]]> Let me set it up for you: Swiss air 1311 experience bird strike after take off and declares an emergency. Russian ATC is seemingly oblivious at how to handle an emergency and makes a stressful situation even more so by pestering the pilots for unnecessary information. Once on the ground, engines shut down, the pilot asks for an inspection from the fire crews and a tow. The finale is the greatest though:

1311: “Did you contact our company?”

ATC: “I don’t have contact information for your company. In any case, what would you like me to tell them?”

I must warn you, the facepalm level is high in this video:

The following is a dedication to the ATC people involved in this emergency:

Double Facepalm: When the Fail is so strong, on Facepalm is not enough

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]]> http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/one-of-the-most-frustrating-atc-exchanges-i-have-heard/feed/ 0 A full service tower http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/a-full-service-tower/ http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/a-full-service-tower/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:49:00 +0000 Danny http://www.dannyvacar.ca/blog/a-full-service-tower/ 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 [...]]]> 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!

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