Air Traffic Controller

Do you see onboard radar technology improving to a point where traditional ATC ground control is rendered largely moot in collision avoidance? Also, what's your favorite line in Airplane:) ?

Asked by Captain Over about 11 years ago

To your first question, the short answer is “Yes.” I’m sure that one day, all “traditional ATC ground control” will be a thing of the past. For now though, there is already a pretty effective airborne collision avoidance system in use. It is referred to in the business as “tee-cas.” TCAS, or Traffic Collision Avoidance System, is a cockpit display, completely independent of ground control. The TCAS system warns pilots of other nearby aircraft that could become a problem. If a conflict is detected, TCAS advises the pilots of each converging aircraft to either climb or descend to avoid collision. Although TCAS has its flaws, I’ve seen it preclude some potentially ugly situations and have no doubt the technology will evolve and improve. As to my favorite line in “Airplane?” That could end up being the toughest question I’ll ever have to answer! There were so many great lines! For now I’ll go with McCroskey’s; “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.” Well gosh, it took me months to quit! Cheers, Factor

Were you on duty on 9/11? What was it like in the tower?

Asked by ZitoSucks about 11 years ago

In fact, I was on duty that morning. When confronted by sudden tragedy (such as an aircraft accident), controllers are generally quite stoic about it. They just push on. Any display of emotion is distracting, unhelpful and counterproductive. The focus has to be on the task at hand and doing what must be done. 9/11 was no exception. In the face of incredible horror and disbelief; everyone I saw deferred their shock until all other flights were grounded and we were reasonably sure that nothing more would happen. It was remarkable. Then came the empty stares, the disbelief and the tears. I felt especially bad for the controllers in the New York City and DC metro towers who could actually see the smoke - and for the controllers who were working those airplanes until communication was lost. Losing contact with a flight under your aegis is a controller's worst nightmare. It's about not knowing what will happen next and having no control over it. But that day was everyone's worst nightmare and we still don't know what will happen next.

I should leave it there for now. Thanks for your question.

 

Did you ever read the chapter in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell where he talks about the assertiveness in some cultures affecting how their pilots dealt with ATC? Did you find pilots from some countries to be noticeably easier or harder to deal with?

Asked by Tim about 11 years ago

I have not read Gladwell’s book. While there likely are assertiveness issues in the way some cultures deal with ATC, there was clearly a culture of assertiveness existing within U.S. airline cockpits up until the 1980s. Before then, the Captain asserted near dictatorial authority over the cockpit crew and questioning his judgment or decisions could place careers in jeopardy. As in the military, one never questioned the orders of a superior. The assumption was that the Captain, by virtue of his position, had far more knowledge and experience than the other crew members. While that might have been true, no one can be right or exercise flawless judgment 100% of the time. Couple that with a cockpit environment that discouraged questioning of the Captain’s decisions and you are not only closing the door on vital input from others; you are opening the door to disaster. NTSB accident investigations are full of examples. Back in the Eighties, United Airlines was the first to provide Crew Resource Management (CRM) training for their pilots, which resulted in a more level playing field in the cockpit. The idea was that full use should be made of all available resources – including the input of a junior First Officer. Regarding the interface between foreign flight crews and controllers, assertiveness was not much of an issue for us. They knew they were on our turf and, as an associate once told me; “Never argue with the crocodile while you’re swimming in his pond!” Actually, U.S. pilots were more apt to argue with us. The biggest problem with foreign carriers, from my perspective, was an occasional difficulty in understanding each other. Control instructions might have to be repeated more than once (or twice); which can be problematic for a busy controller. Once we understood each other, their compliance generally met our expectations. As an aside, flight crew assertiveness was a regular issue during my Air Force ATC years. That’s because pilots were officers and controllers were enlisted grade. For some officers; having to take instructions from us seemed to turn the traditional military pecking order upside down. There were times when we’d be called on the carpet by some irate flight officer who had just landed and didn’t particularly agree with the ATC services received. There wasn’t much to say but “Yes sir!” Sorry for the lengthy response. Cheers.

Was it easy to flip the mental switch and shut out the rest of your life the moment you walked into the control room, and what would you do if you felt your mind wandering while on duty?

Asked by 212EV about 11 years ago

An air traffic controller's shift, like so many other jobs, can be a series of peaks and lulls. When traffic was intense and relentless, it was easy to forget about everything but the tasks at hand. I had no time for thoughts of anything but what was happening in that control room and what needed to happen next. But once traffic subsided, there was a real risk of becoming inattentive or complacent. In my experience, most of our dumbest mistakes occurred during periods of light traffic. There was a chance to sit back, breath deep and chat with other controllers. A wandering mind is an insidious thing though. Sometimes we didn't realize how far it wandered until something was about to go or had already gone very wrong. I usually tried to fill those relatively idle times with activities relating to my area of responsibility. Doing things like coordinating shortcuts for my traffic, mentally reviewing new procedures or tweaking my radar display kept my attention where it needed to be. Still . . . there were those occasional, adrenaline charged moments that gave me something to think about on my way home.

Why do planes get put in holding patterns before being cleared to land? If there's bad congestion, wouldn't it be smarter to hold planes BEFORE they take off (or mid-route) instead of having a dozen planes flying circles near the congested airport?

Asked by Gordie30 about 11 years ago

That’s a great question and I suspect you may be asking on behalf of air travelers everywhere! For the answer and a little bit more, you might need a comfy chair and a bowl of popcorn.

Holding patterns are a necessary ‘court of last resort’ in the air traffic system. Like spare tires, we have to keep them handy but hope we never have to use ‘em! Normally, excess demand is managed in a more fuel efficient manner. But let me back up a bit.

Airports have ‘capacity’ numbers that tell those who work within the air traffic system just how many arrivals and departures can safely be handled there per hour, with little to no delay. Airport capacity is based on several factors such as the number and length of runways, weather conditions, available instrument approaches, etc. Capacity may be reduced by events such as a runway closure. Other capacity limiting factors include adverse weather conditions, aircraft accidents, inoperative landing aids, equipment failures within the controlling air traffic facility and such. When, for whatever reason, an airport’s capacity falls below the projected hourly demand – steps can be taken to limit airborne delays.

There are people in the air traffic system who’s job it is to continually monitor airport capacity and make necessary adjustments to the demand. One relatively simple way to control arrival demand on an airport is by implementing ‘mile-in-trail’ (MIT) restrictions. When MIT is used for a certain airport, air traffic facilities are advised to space their departures headed for that airport more widely than usual. Twenty miles in trail is a common restriction. MIT aims to provide controllers at the arrival end with a manageable flow that won’t exceed the airport’s limited capacity.

There are other tools in use to limit demand. If, for example, arrival capacity is reduced at Chicago O’Hare due to heavy snow and closed runways, a Ground delay Program (GDP) may be implemented. Basically, a GDP makes adjustments to the expected departure times of flights headed for O’Hare. These flights take their delay at the departure point. Without the GDP, they’d take off at their originally scheduled times and fly to the Chicago area, where many would end up in holding patterns because the airborne demand exceeded Chicago’s current arrival capacity.

If things get especially bad at the arrival airport, ATC has an even bigger hammer in their toolbox called a Ground Stop. When a Ground Stop is implemented for a particular airport – all flights destined for that airport must stay at their departure point until the Ground Stop is lifted.

These measures were devised to keep the air traffic system from becoming overwhelmed by airplanes with no place to go but the holding patterns. However; old school and inefficient as they are, holding patterns remain a necessity. Unforeseen, short term constraints at the destination airport may require some limited airborne holding. A good example would be when the airport needs to change landing direction. Some arrivals, already nearby, may have to be delayed somewhere until the change is complete. Holding patterns work well in such cases.

Keep all this in mind the next time, as Christopher Cross once wrote, “you get caught between the moon and New York city!”

Cheers,
Factor

Who has the ultimate decision-making authority in an emergency situation: the pilot or the air traffic controller? Is one required by law to follow the directions of the other?

Asked by dan79 about 11 years ago

Good question. Under normal circumstances, controllers are responsible for preventing collisions, organizing and expediting the flows of traffic. For controllers to accomplish that, pilots must, by law, comply with control instructions. However; if an emergency occurs on board the aircraft, the pilot is authorized to do whatever necessary to mitigate the situation. In such instances, controllers must do whatever they can to assist; even if it means moving other flights out of the way. Think of it like this. If you have to stop where the signs say "No Stopping" because your car is on fire; you'll stop. The police and emergency responders will do whatever they can to assist; even if it means redirecting traffic around you. Thanks for asking!

Also, if I can ask a 2nd question: how long would a pilot have to be non-responsive to an ATC check-in before alarm bells start going off? And at what point would fighter jets be scrambled?

Asked by hersch.adam about 11 years ago

I never charge extra for additional questions:)

To answer the first part; not long at all! Unresponsive pilots are an immediate concern for controllers. I might issue a control instruction and get no reply; prompting me to call again. This is a worrisome situation as we expect an immediate reply and compliance. The clock is always ticking and loss of separation from another aircraft may soon be a factor. I’ll get just as anxious when I ask the pilot to contact another controller on a different frequency. If I get no acknowledgment and the next controller doesn’t get that “check-in” call; now you have two anxious controllers!

Loss of communication between pilots and ATC isn’t always cause to hit the panic button. These things rarely happen but, when they do, there are standard procedures to follow. As long as controllers observe the flight complying with it’s part in those procedures, ATC will follow it’s own procedures for handling “NORDO” or “no radio” flights. Conversely, if ATC observes the flight deviating from those procedures (such as turning away from its planned route of flight or descending rapidly), this can indicate a much bigger problem than broken radio equipment. Controllers will immediately notify shift management, who will disseminate the information appropriately. The decision to scramble fighters will be based on several factors and will be made well above the controller’s pay grade.

Good pilot/controller communication is one of the linchpins of aviation safety. The types of communication failures will vary and can occur at either end. Sometimes pilots can hear us but we can’t hear them. Is it our receiver or their transmitter? Sometimes it’s the other way around; where we hear the pilot but he or she can’t hear us. Then there are times when, due to distractions or inattention, somebody simply misses a call. No matter what the reason, failure to communicate is bad for the blood pressure!

Have you ever had to radio a pilot to abort mid-takeoff? As long as a plane's wheels haven't lifted off the ground yet, is there always enough runway to bring it to a complete stop even if it's seconds away from lift off?

Asked by Dorchesterian about 11 years ago

Excellent questions! It’s complicated but I’ll try to keep my answers short.

Tower controllers may cancel a previously issued takeoff clearance after the aircraft has begun takeoff roll, but only for purposes of safety. I’m sure I’ve done it. However, depending on the type of aircraft, runway length and other pertinent factors – the pilot my not comply. Every aircraft has a ‘point of no return’ relating to speed and runway length, beyond which it cannot safely abort the takeoff. Attempting to abort beyond that point could mean running out of runway before being able to stop the airplane. That’s a bad place to be because, unfortunately, there is usually something off the runway end that’ll stop that airplane anyway, regardless of speed!

There is good news though. Pilots of transport category aircraft are required to ensure the runway is long enough to allow takeoff to be safely continued or aborted from a predetermined go or no go point. That go/no go point is where the aircraft reaches its minimum takeoff speed, known in the business as “V1.” Once the plane reaches V1 speed, it can fly. Beyond that, there may not be enough stopping distance left for the pilot to comply with a controller’s instruction to cancel the takeoff clearance.

An accident occurred several years ago at one of our busier airports that illustrates the point. It involved a DC-10 (earlier version of the MD-11) that had reached the critical go/no go point when the flight crew believed there was an engine fire. Their attempt to abort was unsuccessful, resulting in the aircraft rolling off the runway end. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the plane was only minimally damaged. Investigators concluded the pilot should not have attempted to abort the takeoff. I hope I answered your questions!

Cheers,

Factor

Do you also manage the queue for takeoff? I've always wondered this: if 1 flight is already REALLY late to take off, do you try and move it to the front of the line or do you figure "well, it's ALREADY late, might as well get the others off on time"?

Asked by PNOSE about 11 years ago

To your first question, the answer is yes. Departure queues are normally managed by controllers working the ‘Ground Control’ position in the tower. They’re responsible for staging the departing flights at the runway, where pilots are instructed to contact another controller (Local Control) for takeoff clearance. There are many factors that can influence the departure sequence. I’ll touch on the most common ones.

Your second question is a bit more involved. Basically, ATC does not move “really late” flights to the head of the line. Under normal circumstances, departing flights are staged up on a “first come – first served” basis. The last aircraft to taxi out goes to the back of the line; arriving at the runway after all preceding flights have departed. There are, however, abnormal circumstances that may supersede the normal order. For example; adverse weather (such as a line of thunderstorms) may affect certain departure routes, causing flights headed that way to be delayed. In such cases; flights going in other directions may depart first – regardless of when they taxied. Also; Presidential movements, special military missions and certain civilian medical flights may get moved to the head of the line.

Sometimes the delaying factor is at the destination airport. A snowstorm in Boston may reduce the number of arrivals they can accept per hour (their acceptance rate), thus delaying your departure out of Miami. The same blizzard will affect departures from all over the place if their destination is Boston. In such cases, ATC may implement a computer program that assigns new departure times (referred to as “Expect Departure Clearance Times” or “EDCT times”) to flights headed for Boston. The program looks at several factors such as the airport acceptance rate, the arrival demand (all those planes sitting around elsewhere that want to go to Boston) and the time it will take them to get there. The program’s goal is to equitably assign departure times that will ensure an acceptable number of planes get to the Boston area each hour. Controllers at departure points (in this case, Miami) must, to the extent possible, plan ground movement of planes destined for Boston so that they are sequenced to depart no earlier than 5 minutes before, and no later than 5 minutes after the EDCT. Given that relatively narrow ten minute widow, your flight to Boston my actually depart ahead of other flights that taxied out before you!

Sorry for the essay! Your questions are good ones and the answers can be a little complicated.

Thanks for asking!

Factor

Have you read Touching History? It's the story of 9/11 told from the perspective of air traffic controllers, pilots, and other flying personnel. Good read.

Asked by p.krank about 11 years ago

Thanks for writing. I must confess that I read only part of the book. Like the demise of RMS Titanic in 1912, 9/11 is an epic catastrophe that will live forever in the souls and sentiments of those who endured the day. I am still fascinated with Titanic’s story and never tire of the books, articles, websites, movies and TV specials about it. I believe my continued interest stems from the fact it happened long before I was born and, like so many other accidents, was the result of hubris and poor judgment. September 11 was much different. I was there and it was no accident.

On duty that morning, I witnessed enough of the horror and its effects on people to last a lifetime. Although I will never forget the day, it was a chapter in my FAA career that I don’t want to relive - either through my own or anyone else’s recollections.

I remember visiting with my mother a month or so after 9/11. In her teens when Pearl Harbor was attacked, she said she never imagined something so horrible could ever happen again. There was a look in her eye I had never seen before. “Touching History” brought back too many memories that I will never forget but don’t really want to recall either. I stopped reading. Who knows? Maybe I had that same look in my eye.

I knew a few of the folks mentioned in the book and can say that everyone rose to a challenge they could never have imagined. They were the best there was and that’s worth recalling!

Cheers,

Factor

I never understood this. Planes basically have an infinite number of travel paths, given the sheer vastness of the sky. So how and why do collisions (or even near-misses) occur? Just seems mathematically impossible.

Asked by the red baron about 11 years ago

Yes, the sky is very big but it becomes very small around those places where planes takeoff and land. Airports are all situated at the bottom of a very large funnel. Given the enormous volume of air traffic in our skies every day, the fact there aren’t more mishaps is a credit to the air traffic control system. Keeping airplanes separated, especially in the congested airspace around busy airports, isn’t easy. It requires a standard set of procedures, including routes into, out of and between airports that pilots and controllers understand and adhere to. It demands their constant focus because even a brief distraction can result in the loss of separation. Teamwork is key. Fatigue, inattentiveness, bad judgment, equipment malfunctions and other surprises can all contribute to those collisions and near misses you mentioned. Fortunately, such things rarely happen. An old controller buddy of mine used to say; “If you can hold a dollar between ‘em, they're not that close!” Hmm. Cheers, Factor

Are there strict guidelines regarding duration of ATC shifts, to protect against fatigue-based errors? What's the longest shift you had to work?

Asked by Jed about 11 years ago

Thanks for writing. There are definitely strict guidelines regarding controller working hours. The most current information is covered in the latest Federal Aviation Administration - National Air Traffic Controllers Association contract, which I am not privy to.

Basically, a controller’s workday is 8 hours long. They can work no more than 10 hours per day and no more than 80 hours per a pay period (two weeks) unless they're working overtime. There must be an 8 hour break between shifts and a 12 hour break after a midnight shift. They can work no more than 2 continuous hours on a control position before being provided a break period.

My longest shifts occurred after the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike on August 3, 1981. Where I was working at the time, about 2/3 of our controller workforce walked out and were fired. Everyone left on the job was thrown into the fray. Ten hour days and six day weeks were not uncommon. Fatigue, brought on by the long hours and the stress of training newly hired personnel, definitely took its toll!

Cheers,

Factor

 

 

If a plane is flying to a destination West but the winds require that it take off to the East, how much time is wasted by having to make the big U-turn? And won't that account for tens of millions in wasted jet fuel or is that just not ATC's concern?

Asked by Dorchesterian about 11 years ago

A relatively small amount of time is spent in that U-turn. Normally it’s just a few minutes out of a flight that could take hours. With little exception, ATC is required to use the runways most nearly aligned with the wind and most pilots, especially those flying large airplanes, will insist on it for safety purposes. Rather than seeing the big U-turn as a waste of fuel, it’s generally seen as a safety factor and part of the cost of doing business. And who knows. That westbound flight you mentioned could end up saving time by being able to land ‘straight in’ at its destination rather than having to make another U-turn to land from the West.

Those little exceptions I referred to? Well . . . if the surface wind is less than five knots, ATC is permitted to assign a downwind runway. The other exception is when a pilot asks to use a downwind runway and traffic conditions permit. That exception is fairly common after midnight when there isn’t much air traffic and winds are light and variable.

Air traffic control is very mindful of fuel consumption. When designing or redesigning aircraft routes, traffic patterns into and out of airports or other air traffic procedures – fuel consumption is always an important consideration. Having been involved in those processes for several years, I can tell you that close coordination was maintained with various aviation industry advocates. They were always happy to tell us if a proposed new route was going to save or cost them money! Sometimes such consultations resulted in us going “back to the drawing board!”

Cheers,

Factor

Why does the flight path and approach change for the same trip from city A to B? Like, sometimes when I land at Laguardia, we fly right over Manhattan, while other times we never come close to it.

Asked by hersch.adam about 11 years ago

The most common reason for changing flight paths around an airport has to do with the current landing direction, which is a product of the wind direction. Planes like to land into the wind so, if surface winds around LaGuardia are out of the North, you’ll probably be landing on Runway 4 (compass heading 040 degrees). That’s the runway most nearly aligned with a North wind. As you’ll be approaching from the South, your flight path can give you a nice view of Manhattan. Approaching from the North for landing on runway 22 provides an entirely different viewing opportunity. Your views on departure will also be dictated by wind conditions and which runway is being used for takeoff.

Controllers get a great view from the tower but it’s always the same one! Enjoy that changing scenery as your flight lands or lifts off from any airport. You never know what you’ll see!

Are certain types of aircrafts more difficult to monitor than others? For example, what about super fast planes, like those used in the military?

Asked by GA_Joseph about 11 years ago

Another great question! With the exception of military aircraft on special missions, no aircraft are permitted to exceed 250 knots while operating below 10,000 feet. The Federal Aviation Administration also prohibits any supersonic flight over land, regardless of altitude, except in special military flight corridors. These rules make it a lot easier for controllers to handle aircraft of various performance capabilities. When possible, smaller aircraft that operate at much lower speeds than jet and turboprop powered flights are routed differently; along with other flights of more compatible performance characteristics.

Air traffic controllers may also use speed control; instructing pilots to adjust their aircraft’s speed as a way of achieving and/or maintaining required spacing from other aircraft. If speed control doesn’t quite do the job, we can also assign delaying vectors to aircraft in danger of getting too close to the traffic they are following. Speed control and vectoring are among the most essential tools of a controller's trade.

Thanks for asking!

Factor

What is the major air traffic control system and facilities in nowadays?

Asked by winson3535335 about 11 years ago

That’s a difficult one to answer! Overall, the United States, by far and away, contains the most airports. There are more than 20,000 of them, which makes managing our National Airspace System such a challenge for the Federal Aviation Administration. Pennsylvania alone has over 800 airports compared to the 65 or so found in China. The only other countries that begin to approach U S. numbers are Brazil, with about 2,930 airports and Canada with 1,865.

The busiest air traffic control systems on U.S. soil are associated with major metropolitan area airports. You’ll find your fill of airplanes around Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Charlotte and Phoenix. Traffic volume in these areas is largely due to airline hub operations at key airports. Air traffic controllers who work there have to love their work. There’s so much of it to love!

Cheers,

Factor

If you and a pilot are in disagreement about the best course of action, who gets the final say?

Asked by Judd Wunda about 11 years ago

Thanks for writing! Before answering, I should say that pilots and controllers rarely disagree. Although we’re working at different ends of each radio transmission, we’re all on the same team when it comes to safe, efficient flight. When those occasional conflicts arise, flight safety and/or efficiency is most likely at the bottom of it.

Pilots are the final decision makers when it comes to doing what’s best for plane and passenger. The best example I can think of is the “Miracle on the Hudson” when US Airways flight 1549 landed in the river. Once made aware of the flight’s engine failures, air traffic control first tried to get the flight back to La Guardia Airport, then to Teterboro Airport. The pilot refused both options and landed in the Hudson River. As it turned out; he did the best thing.

Another, more general example would be when there are thunderstorms in the area. The radar controller may assign a heading to a flight that the pilot will refuse to comply with. Why? That heading would turn the aircraft into some potentially severe weather. Nobody argues. The controller just has to quickly come up with a “Plan B.” This is a fairly common occurrence during thunderstorm season. Although ATC usually has plenty of radar weather information available; it’s not the same as actually seeing and experiencing it from a cockpit! Well informed as they are; controllers can’t feel the plane shaking.

Basically, a controller’s instructions are not optional. Compliance is expected because it’s a mainstay of aviation safety. However, there are those rare exceptions. When pilots deviate from or fail to comply with instructions; they may be asked to contact the controlling ATC facility after landing, to explain the matter.

I hope this helps!

Factor

This is pretty cool:) What do you do when a pilot doesn't speak English? Are there translators in the tower?

Asked by Quezon about 11 years ago

Wow! That’s the hardest ‘easy’ question I’ve had yet! Here’s the easy part of my answer. By international agreement, English is the global language of aviation and, with few exceptions, must be used between pilots and controllers, regardless of nationality. Air traffic facilities and pilots around the world must have enough basic English skills to communicate with one another. The reason? There needs to be a language standard so that, no matter where you flew or what your nationality, you and the local ATC folks would be able to communicate. It is also important to understand how critical it is for all pilots on the same control frequency to be able to understand what other pilots are saying. It helps them keep that important “big picture” of what’s going on around them. If, for example, one pilot warns of the severe turbulence he just experienced on final approach; other flights following that aircraft will be interested in knowing so they can be ready for it. But what if that warning was broadcast in Chinese?

The hard part of my answer relates to the quality and clarity of the English used by other nationalities. I worked at a couple of big international airports with lots of foreign air carriers flying in and out. The pilots always spoke English to the best of their ability but that wasn’t always good enough for us to understand. They didn’t always understand us either. Talk about a recipe for disaster! Or, at least, a severe headache!

There are no translators in our ATC facilities. The only time I ever saw a translator position in a control tower was when I was an Air Force controller stationed overseas. It was a joint-use military base where hundreds of student pilots from the host country’s Air Force learned to fly high performance fighter jets. They were controlled by ATC personnel also from their host country, in their own language. We controlled all U. S. and other English speaking flights. The translator was supposed to keep us informed of what the other guys were up to and vice versa. It was a fiasco. I attribute many of my gray hairs to those days. If interested, check my Blog (the link is in my profile above) for an entry from March of 2010 titled “Desolation Tower.” You’ll see what I mean.

Thanks for tuning in!

Factor

Have you ever spotted a UFO or seen something strange that you've been unable to explain to this day?

Asked by WRTC about 11 years ago

Interesting question! Yes, it happened one night several years ago when I was on duty in an Air Force control tower. A fellow airman and I were working the midnight shift. It was probably around 3:00 AM and all the planes had long since landed. There was nothing left to do but stare out of the tower windows and talk about the latest squadron gossip. It turned out there would be something to do!

At first, I thought I was “seeing things.” It was a long string of glowing lights, like the passenger windows on an airliner, moving silently across the airfield at nearly treetop level. Only about a mile away, it was moving way too slowly to be an airliner. We figured it was some kind of aircraft though, so we tried calling on all our tower radio frequencies; including the emergency frequencies that pilots switch to when they’re having difficulties. No reply. Then we called the Base radar control facility and asked the controller if they were working any planes near the airport. They were not. Nor did they see any radar targets anywhere in the area. That’s when we figured this was an extraordinary event. I mean, we were standing in the tower watching this thing!

We watched the object move across the field and eventually vanish in the distance. Later on, we called a couple of the nearest FAA air traffic control facilities and asked them if they had received any reports of unusual activity in the skies. The supervisor at one facility told us there had been several reports made by airline pilots who claimed they saw what looked like a low flying, slow moving aircraft heading in the same direction that our thing was moving. Their reports came in about an hour or so after our siting at the base.

The Air Force actually had a program in place at the time called “Project Blue Book” wherein they collected and supposedly analyzed UFO reports. We had the reporting forms in the tower but decided not to fill one out that night. In spite of what we were told, everyone was worried that filling out the report would make them look like ‘whackos’ who’d never be promoted again! Me and my mid-shift buddy agreed to never mention the incident to anyone. To this day I have no idea what we saw that night but somebody out there probably does.

Cheers,

Factor

Is it true that you can't get certified as an FAA air traffic controller if you're older than 31? Why? If you can WORK as an ATC after 31, what difference does it make what age you're hired at???

Asked by Jbaskin about 11 years ago

This is another great question for anyone considering an ATC profession! Actually; if you are 31, you are already too old to become an FAA controller. Here’s an excerpt from their policy; “...a maximum age of 30 years is established for entry into civilian air traffic control positions in the Federal Aviation Administration...” The only exception I know of would apply if you have prior military experience as a controller. The are private companies who provide ATC services but I have no knowledge of their age requirements.

At the other end of an ATC career, the FAA also has a maximum retention age for those “actively engaged in the separation and control of air traffic.” It states that, with a few exceptions, controllers are required to hang up their headsets at age 56.

Yes, you can work as an ATC after age 31 but learning the job and developing the necessary skills is best done at an earlier age. Most controllers I worked with were at peak performance in their thirties. I started my ATC career at age 19. Regarding that mandatory retirement age, I’ll say that ATC is a young person’s game. Depending on where controllers work and how much traffic volume and complexity they have to deal with – they can lose their edge at a fairly early age. Sometimes it’s best to quit while you’re ahead.

Cheers,
Factor

I've really enjoyed reading your responses! I was wondering, who determines when a red alert or Thor guard should be in effect, ATC or another department?

Asked by jordan about 11 years ago

Thanks for reading my responses! I’m glad you’re enjoying them.

ATC can put all kinds of things besides airplanes into motion but the two you mentioned are not among them. We don’t have “red alerts” but every tower I’ve been in (including military towers) has a red phone. It’s an emergency circuit and is activated by simply lifting the receiver. We use it whenever there is or soon will be an emergency situation on or near the airport. The circuit rings at all the places you’d expect; like the airport police, fire & rescue, airport operations and anyone else with an immediate need to get involved. The circuit is tested once daily, at a pre-determined time so that everyone knows it’s a test. Any other time you pull that phone; expect to see all kinds of emergency response vehicles pouring out across the airfield toward the location we’ve described.

I assume “Thor Guard” pertains to thunderstorms or other severe weather phenomena. If so, I can tell you that controllers are very well informed about current and forecasted weather. Most have several radar tools at their immediate disposal, plus FAA staffed weather units in all the ARTCCs (Air Route Traffic Control Centers) and several other information sources to help ATC personnel decide how best to handle the air traffic.

If I misunderstood the question and you are actually asking whether controllers can initiate a 9/11 type of response like scrambling fighter jets, etc.; the answer is – not directly. Controllers will likely be the first to recognize such a situation developing. If so, they will quickly alert supervisory personnel and the information will be immediately forwarded to appropriate authorities for further action.

I hope I answered your question!

Cheers,

Factor

I read an article about Boeing's "Wave Rider", and how this technology could eventually mean 45-min flights from NY to LA. Do you think this is a real possibility? (the article: http://huff.to/RRRFvV)

Asked by forthebyrds about 11 years ago

Good question. Yes, I believe such technology is possible and actually inevitable for military applications. It could also be used for civilian air travel but I’m not so sure it would be a cost effective way to fly. The first generation of supersonic commercial aircraft, such as the British Airways Concorde, were never very profitable. They were relatively small inside, uncomfortable and capable of carrying far fewer passengers than a Boeing 747. Yet ticket prices were many times higher than that of a conventional international flight.

If I had to fly from NY to LA; I think I’d just leave a bit earlier on a standard jet liner. The money I saved could get me some fine dining and/or shopping in Manhattan!

Cheers,

Factor

Looking back, what would you say is the single worst decision or biggest mistake you made while working as an ATC? Were you ever reprimanded?

Asked by jen_hersch about 11 years ago

Thanks Jen. I really enjoy the high quality questions I’m getting. These two are pretty challenging because I have to look back on 34 years of bad decisions and big mistakes. I guess I was lucky the bad decisions never got me fired and none of my big mistakes ever made the Six O'clock News!

Controllers are certain to make a bad decision once in a while. Most of the time it’s not the end of the world. Maybe you simply cleared an aircraft onto a runway for takeoff when the next arrival was too close to touching down. Maybe it was a bad vector that put one plane too close to another. Or perhaps it was deciding to call in for sick leave so you could take your wife out to dinner. Then guess what? The Facility Manager and his wife show up at the same restaurant. He sees you and asks why you aren’t at work. You know; stuff like that. You weather the storm, add another lesson learned to your growing list, pound the dents out of your ego and move on.

I suppose the single worst decision I made was to leave my position as a controller in pursuit of a career in Management. Once I launched onto that trajectory, it was hard to turn back. Making my way though a staff specialist job, operational Supervisor, shift Manager, then on to several Staff Manager positions - the work was always exciting and challenging. The work, however, was not the problem. Problems arose from some of the people I worked for or with along the way. I can’t speak for today’s FAA but during my career, Management seemed top heavy with ego maniacal, power hungry back-stabbers. But why dwell on their good points? Controllers have the best job in the FAA and, in retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have traded my headset for a desk set.

Was I ever reprimanded? Of course. In a job that leaves no margin for error; we’re all bound make them now and then. Good Managers know how to handle such things without demoralizing the offender. Fortunately, there were a few good Managers in my career. Looking back, they are the one’s I learned the most from.

Cheers,

Factor

Do cell phones REALLY disrupt anything radar-wise or communication-wise on aircrafts?

Asked by MoJo_84 about 11 years ago

Good question. The vote is still officially out on that but, from what is known so far, it appears doubtful. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may have imposed the ban because they weren’t sure what impacts cell phone technology would have on aircraft. From what I’ve read, evidence is inconclusive. So if you are the FCC, you err on the side of safety.

The ban may actually be supported by some airlines. Rather than a concern for disrupting anything radar or communication-wise, the real concern might be for disrupting passengers. Airlines may not want to deal with complaints of having spent hours on an airplane, seated near the cell phone user who wouldn’t shut up!

Cheers,

Factor

Aside from watching the radar screen, does ATC have to have a set of human eyes follow every landing and departure?

Asked by Krass about 11 years ago

Yes. Air traffic controllers are the ‘all seeing eyes’ of aviation. We watch everything that goes on in ATC to try and prevent the things that go wrong in ATC. Things still go wrong every now and then and it’s often because we weren’t watching! A busy controller has so many things to watch that could, in time, develop into bad situations. The trick is to prioritize and know where to look first!

There are enroute radar facilities (Centers) watching the planes you see pulling those long, white contrails in the high skies. We have terminal radar facilities (TRACONs) working the planes into and out of the airports. Then there are the tower controllers who are right there where the rubber meets the runway. If the airport has an operating control tower; you can be sure there are sets of controller eyes watching every plane that lands, takes off or taxies. Whether looking through a radar screen or tower window; the controller’s eyes are irreplaceable tools of the trade.

Thanks for writing!

Factor

This is so interesting, thanks! I want to know if air traffic controllers develop hyper-vigilance in ALL aspects of their lives? Do you find those habits difficult to leave at the office?

Asked by Kayla almost 11 years ago

Hi Kayla. I’m glad you are enjoying my Jobstr Q&A. How interesting this forum is depends largely on the quality of questions received. I’ve been lucky so far and your question is another great one! While I can’t speak for all controllers, I can tell you that work habits and attitudes followed me and many of my coworkers out the door after each shift (usually to our favorite watering hole, then home).

The hyper-vigilance you mention is an essential on-the-job skill that controllers must master if they are to succeed. We refer to it as “scanning” or “situational awareness.” Without it; we can make a mess of things pretty quickly! Controllers must be able to focus on several immediate situations simultaneously and resolve them safely. At the same time, they must anticipate what will need to be done within the next few minutes and come up with a plan. The best controllers not only handler their own traffic but are able to keep an eye and ear on the other controllers working around them. You can even learn to read changes in the pace and pitch of a coworker’s voice that indicate trouble. ATC is a ‘team sport’ and the ability to recognize when a teammate needs or will need help is the first step in providing assistance. This is a great skill to bring along into those “other aspects” of life!

Controllers are generally an impatient bunch. Impatience is another survival skill at work and you draw from it so often that it eventually starts seeping into your personal life. If you were already the impatient type going in, ATC work will amplify the trait over time. Controllers rely on near instant compliance with their instructions to make the overall traffic picture work. A time lag in pilot compliance or from a need to repeat instructions can have a ripple effect; especially when the controller is very busy and has already accounted for every second of the next few minutes. We get impatient knowing that a beautiful plan is fragile and can fall apart with one, seemingly insignificant delay or distraction. However, the rest of life is rarely so urgent.

Although impatience and a constant sense of urgency keep things moving at work, they are not necessarily good things at home. Fortunately, the further I got from ATC after retiring, the more patience I was able to regain. On the other hand, heightened vigilance and situational awareness are always useful. They were post-ATC keepers and I would recommend them to anyone; both on and off the job.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

Even though you're not a pilot, do you think you know enough about planes that you could land a plane in an emergency if you absolutely had to?

Asked by Shane about 11 years ago

That’s a fair question but I’ll have to give you a kind of unfair answer in response. I do hold a commercial pilot license so, if I absolutely had to, I’d give it my best shot! Of course success or failure would depend heavily on what kind of plane it was and the destination weather conditions! I’d be more likely to succeed in a smaller plane during clear weather conditions. But if I was sitting at the controls of a B-747 and the weather was horrible? Well . . .better hope everyone else on board had their affairs in order!

You never know what you’re capable of though! Several years ago, as a newly hired controller, I heard something that taught me a lot about hidden potential. I was working in the tower one afternoon, when we all heard an obviously panicked woman calling on the emergency frequency. She was the only passenger in a small, twin engine plane. The pilot had suddenly gone unconscious. Terrified, she didn’t know what to do. A controller who was also a licensed pilot began talking to her. He took her calmly, step by step, through all the things she’d need to know to land the airplane. Meanwhile, other controllers radar identified the plane. The guy talking to her explained how to turn the airplane and maintain altitude.

I’ll make a long story short. With the controller’s help, she flew the plane to the nearest airport and landed safely – having never piloted a plane before in her life. It wasn’t a pretty landing but as they say; "any landing you can walk away from is a good one!"

It was determined that the pilot had actually died during the flight.

Thanks for writing!

Factor 

Is there an embargo on Airplane! quotes in the tower? I'm not sure I could make it more than 10 minutes.

Asked by Fly about 11 years ago

Wow. Now there’s a question more chilling than the beer coolers we kept in the tower! If the FAA had banned “Airplane” quotes, it would undoubtedly have lead to even more fistfights with those wimps in Management. Not that knocking a Supervisor down the tower steps would be a big problem – but it might have wakened the controllers trying to get some sleep downstairs! Then we’d have TWO problems; pissed off controllers and the indefinite loss of a Supervisor who kept us all supplied with amphetamines, beer and glue! Damn! Everybody would have to go back to rehab; where the meals are worse than airline food! Thinking about that is even scarier than “Airplane!” and all the other aviation documentaries!

What? You thought “Airplane!” was a comedy??? Jeezus!

Real life. “Thank God it’s only a motion picture!”

Factor :))

What's one of the crazier stories you can share from your time in the Air Force? (And thank you for your service!)

Asked by TimRainesHOF about 11 years ago

Stories I can share? Hmm. I suspect this forum is rated “G” or, at best, “PG-13” so sharing the craziest stories from my Air Force days might get me thrown off “Jobstr!”. There are a lot of interesting memories though; several of which you can find on my blog (click the link on my Profile above). Once there, search the “Tags” section for “Desolia” and click on it. You’ll find three blog entries about my time at an overseas Air Base I’ve named “Desolation” to, errr, protect the innocent. My tour of duty there definitely ranked high among the crazier times.

Thanks for writing!

Were you still working when the 2002 Uberlingen collision happened and what did most controllers think about the incident and who was to blame? Were any lessons learned from that crash incorporated into future FAA training and procedures?

Asked by gopherball about 11 years ago

Thanks for your questions! I was still onboard when Uberlingen happened. As you can imagine, controllers are always fascinated by aviation accidents – especially those involving air traffic control. That’s why you’d find copies of the latest National Transportation Safety Board accident reports in many controller break rooms. We’d talk about each accident; attempting to reconstruct the events and decisions leading up to it in a way that might change the outcome. Sometimes 15 or 20 minutes of second guessing and saying things like “I sure wouldn’t have done anything that stupid!” or “Why didn’t they do (whatever)?” had the effect of distancing us from the reality that it could have happened here.

Midair collisions, or “aluminum showers” as we called them, are a controller’s worst nightmare. Uberlingen was the embodiment of that nightmare. Sure, there were contributing factors such as how the flight crews should have reacted to their TCAS (collision avoidance) alerts, contrary instructions from the controller, etc. To us though, the real issue was having two aircraft on converging courses, at the same altitude. That’s a bad setup and one that should be avoided whenever possible. If unavoidable, it must be monitored continuously to ensure that one plane either passes well ahead of, or behind the other. And if the controller becomes distracted by other duties? That’s how the nightmare begins.

The fact that there were two controllers on duty but one was sleeping made us squirm in our seats. The practice of allowing one controller to sleep for the first half of a midnight shift then swap with whoever worked that half was common practice at many facilities.

As to lessons learned? Not much. I already mentioned the bad setup of two converging flights at the same altitude. In converging situations, the best controllers always try to build in some altitude separation. It’ll save the day if they become distracted. The fact there were two controllers on duty but one was absent from the control room reminded me of my early years in ATC. It seemed safe after midnight, when there was very little air traffic but there’s no doubt an extra set of eyes can prevent a catastrophe.

I doubt there were any new training or procedural initiatives taken because of this accident. For controllers, there were existing directives and good operating practices already in place that would have covered a Uberlingen type situation.

Thanks for the interesting questions!

Factor

 

How often does the air-to-ground communication system on an aircraft just outright fail, such that you can't communicate with the pilot at all? What happens then?

Asked by Jose E. about 11 years ago

Complete communications failures are extremely rare. What we see more often is known as a “stuck mike.” That’s when one aircraft on a control frequency transmits (usually by pushing a button) and that button sticks. This leaves the aircraft’s radio in a continuous transmit mode; meaning no one else on that control frequency is able to transmit – including the controller! (And they wonder why we drink.) It’s like using a walkie-talkie to communicate with with twelve other people. If you make a call and your transmit button sticks – everyone will hear you but will not be able to respond. In such situations, the pilot won’t become aware of what has happened until he or she realizes things have become unusually quiet! Hopefully, the other pilots on that frequency will quickly recognize the stuck mike situation and call the air traffic facility on another frequency. Eventually, the pilot with the problem will realize what happened and check his or her mike button. Then life is good again!

If an aircraft experiences a complete radio equipment failure, the pilot can select a special code that is sent from a different kind of non-voice transmitter. That code lets ATC know the aircraft has lost its radios. This information is forwarded to all other ATC facilities along the aircraft’s route. Controllers will keep other known traffic out of the way till the flight lands at its destination. Fortunately, today’s technology and the aircrafts equipment redundancy make such situations highly unlikely.

Good question - thanks for writing!

Factor

Do air traffic controllers need to be good at math? I'm in junior high and its what i want to be (or a pilot) but my parents say that I need to know algebra but I'm bad at it. Is there a lot of math on the exam to get certified? What kind? Thank you!

Asked by BlairC about 11 years ago

Blair, I am so glad to finally hear from you! Your first question gives me the chance to tell Jobstr readers all over the world just how badly I suck at math. It’s true. It took me months to learn that milk plus cereal equals breakfast! Learning algebra, like learning to play a musical instrument, may be useful in your future and you should learn both. However, neither will do you much good as an air traffic controller.

Controllers must employ several skills that are hard to teach in schools. They must be able to think on their feet, have excellent short term memory and the ability to concentrate in the middle of a dozen distractions. They need to be able to assess situations and know how they will evolve over time. Keep in mind; controllers are dealing with machines that travel at hundreds of miles per hour. Take a snapshot now but you can bet the picture will have changed dramatically in two or three minutes. Understanding how it will change helps controllers in their planning. It’s never enough to simply keep up with the traffic. You need to stay way ahead of it. Oh, and the ability to work well with others and keep calm under pressure are big assets!

There is also plenty of book learning involved. Making it through ATC school is similar to learning another Country’s language and the laws of their land. It was bewildering to me at first. Learning the language of aviation, its many rules and occasional exceptions took time and I spent a lot of that time memorizing things. By the time controllers actually begin to work with live traffic, their heads are packed with national ATC rules and regulations, aviation weather, aircraft flight characteristics, plus volumes of information specific to the site where they’re working.

It’s a complex career field that is constantly evolving and improving. Rarely boring, the job is different every day. To me, it is the best job there is! Here’s a bonus. Become a professional air traffic controller and you can still learn to fly airplanes on your own time. I did and was much better for it. Flying is almost as much fun as ATC and it broadens your understanding of the aviation community.

I wish you all the best Blair and hope you achieve your goals! Let me know how it works out.

Cheers,

Factor

What experience and credentials are required to be an air traffic controller?

Asked by Jameson11 about 11 years ago

Requirements have changed some since I signed on. For the absolute latest developments, I suggest doing a web search for air traffic controller education requirements. The last time I checked, applicants had to enroll in one of the education programs authorized by the FAA, pass a pre-employment aptitude test for the job and have either completed four years of college, have three years of work experience or a combination of both. It was also possible to get in with military experience. Once accepted into training, expect 12 weeks of intensive instruction at FAA’s Academy in Oklahoma City (a great town!). It’s a tough three months and about 50 percent of the trainees are washed out during this phase. Graduates are assigned to an air traffic control facility where they start off with more classroom time. Then it’s on to the control rooms for on-the-job training. From there, it can take between 18 months and three years to become a fully certified controller. If you are considering ATC as a career, those are the tangible requirements. After many years in the profession, I can tell you that the intangibles are at least as important. Maybe more so. ATC can be either the best or the worst job ever; depending on your attitude and expectations. Like a drug; it’ll take you high as the sky. Just be aware that what goes up must come down. Things can and will go wrong now and then. It happens to all of us but when it happens to controllers, it’s a hard landing. Cheers, Factor

Is your employer the federal government, and if so: is it as hard to get fired as an ATC as it is to get fired from other government posts? Would a single high-profile mistake be enough to get you fired?

Asked by dave almost 11 years ago

Thanks for writing, Dave. Although many air traffic controllers work for private companies, most are employed by the Federal Government, in either the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I spent most of my ATC time in the FAA.

I don’t know much about how difficult it is to oust an employee from other Government agencies but to throw a controller out of the FAA is very, very difficult. In fact, you’d have better luck trying to throw a bowling ball into an open window on a speeding train. A “single high-profile mistake” should be sufficient justification if the employee was proven to have been grossly negligent or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This would be an extraordinary situation though. In my experience, most attempts to remove an employee from his/her current position were based on far less dramatic circumstances.

As is the case with certain other professions; not everyone is cut out for ATC. The hope is to identify those individuals during the hiring process. If pre-screening fails, on-the-job training usually uncovers those who are in - way over their heads. Unfortunately, removing such individuals before they make that big mistake can be a protracted and ambiguous process. Documentation is key and relies heavily on the diligence of training instructors and supervisory personnel to ensure that substandard performance becomes part of the trainee’s official record. In other words; put it in writing!

Demands of the job sometimes keep on-the-job training instructors and supervisors too busy to maintain comprehensive performance documentation. This can have unfortunate consequences. In my experience, most individuals who were deemed training failures appealed management’s decision. Unless there was sufficient documentation to support that decision, management would lose. Being able to remain in a job that they’re not really capable of handling means the employee loses too. They just might not realize the fact until it’s too late.

Cheers,
Factor

Did you find yourself using traits or skills that you developed as an ATC outside of work? Did you become more analytical, risk-averse, cautious, focused, vigilant, etc as a person?

Asked by Peter E almost 11 years ago

I had to think a while about that one Peter! You may be referring to traits like my graying hairs (there’s a story behind each one) and my nervous tic or skills such as the ability to drive a stick-shift VW Beetle home after a midnight shift while drinking a quart of beer held between my legs. I never spilled a drop and, by the time I got home, I’d feel mellow enough to fall right to sleep. Being able to get around eight hours of sleep during the daytime was an essential ATC skill if your job was to stay up most of the night! But seriously...

I believe the real answer to your question is that most controllers already had many of the necessary traits and skills needed before they entered the ATC profession. For example; the ability to work under extreme pressure cannot be learned on the job. There is no time to teach someone how to be more analytical, cautious, focused, etcetera when they are struggling to learn the unique skills of ATC work.

As to using one’s acquired ATC skills outside of work? Unlike doctors, plumbers, programmers and such, who can still practice their unique skills after ‘clocking out’ for the day , a controller’s ability to handle air traffic is of absolutely no use off the job. You’ll never find us in the Yellow Pages. What I did take away with me after work was the often annoying sense of urgency and impatience I acquired over years of working airplanes. Not generally useful, marketable or necessarily a good thing. Still, ATC was the only job for me. Although I tried my hand at a few other things before becoming a controller, I could never have made a career of them. I think we’re all cut out to be something – artist, air traffic controller, worrdsmith or whatever. If we’re lucky, we discover our true niche in life before it’s too late. I was lucky!

Thanks for writing!
Factor

If you're able to consider the question objectively :), does the country need as many ATCs as we currently have? In other words, I hear we're about to be 149 towers shorter...is that a healthy trimming of fat, or a scary reduction in safety?

Asked by 23Jordan about 11 years ago

This is an important question. I’ll attempt to answer it with callous objectivity - tainted by a sprinkling of subjective sentiments and a smidgen of erratic rationale. Always the controller.

The Country actually needs more controllers at the busiest FAA facilities and fewer to none at the less active locations. I would suggest a redistribution of resources except for the fact that controllers from the closing towers are not FAA employees. They work for private air traffic control services under contract to the FAA; the same FAA who pays them around a half million of our tax dollars per year, per tower. The airports these contract controllers work at did not meet the threshold in air traffic volume to justify an FAA tower. While I hate to see anyone lose their job; I’d say that closing these towers is “a healthy trimming of fat.” They are a legacy of better times.

The “scary reduction in safety” card is being played mainly for political purposes. One Congressman stated; “Closing control towers is equivalent to removing stop lights and stop signs from our roads...” This is not only a bad analogy but isn’t even amusing hyperbole. Closing those towers will be more like adding a few small speed bumps to air traffic operations. While some operations at these airports may be slowed down a bit; safety won’t be compromised. I’ll note here that all pilots are trained in how to conduct flight operations at uncontrolled (no tower) airports. Controllers are too. I worked at two busy radar facilities that had control jurisdiction over dozens of towerless airfields. Operations were conducted efficiently and with no derogation of safety.

Closures are slated to occur at low density airports with less than 150,000 takeoffs and landings per year. Doing the math; that amounts to a little over 400 aircraft movements in a 16 hour day (assuming no midnight shift) or about 25 takeoffs and landings per hour. In comparison, Atlanta Hartsfield Airport averages around 2,500 operations a day. If airport operators, users and other interested parties feel strongly enough about keeping their particular tower open, I suspect they could approach their State and/or local government about funding it.

Cheers,

Factor

What was the most serious accident or near-miss that happened while you were on duty?

Asked by DomNJ about 11 years ago

That’s a tough one. There were several of each over the years. I remember seeing a large airliner make a hard landing during a severe thunderstorm. It went off the runway and broke in half in the grass. It was raining heavily when I saw the passengers come scurrying out of the wreckage. Fortunately, there was no fire and not a single fatality! I also recall watching a small, twin engine commuter aircraft take off. A couple hundred feet off the ground, the nose pitched up, the plane tilted sideways and fell. It made a large, smoking hole in the grass and no one survived. "I'll have these moments to remember."

Every November I recall a particular accident involving a small, privately owned, airplane. The pilot had flown into an airport we had control jurisdiction over. Another fellow and I were working the radar sector when he later took off with his young son. It was the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving and they were headed home for the holiday. All was normal as the plane climbed to four thousand feet. It was then that we lost radio and radar contact with the flight. Local authorities quickly found the main wreckage site. One wing was missing and later located a mile or so away. No survivors. That one really bothered me.

The near misses I’ve seen weren’t as memorable – except for one. I was supervising the radar operation when one of my controllers issued a turn to one of the airliners he was working. To make a long story short, the pilot turned the wrong way. The turn took him directly into the path of another airliner flying at the same altitude. Both flights were operating in the clouds and couldn’t see each other. The two radar targets merged into one and my heart nearly stopped. In my head, I could see the two aircraft colliding, the fireball, the falling wreckage and the next day’s headlines. It was the most horrifying moment of my life. Just seconds later, when the radar antenna scanned that area again, I saw the two targets moving away from each other. I nearly fell over.

And they wonder why controllers drink.

Thanks for the question!
Factor

What's the male / female ratio among air traffic controllers? ps you're a great writer!

Asked by Edgar about 11 years ago

Thanks for your question and I really appreciate the compliment!

Although I cannot tell you what the gender ratio is these days; I can tell you there were no women in the Air Force towers I worked at during the Vietnam era. There were two female controllers and about 80 male controllers at the first FAA facility I worked in. The number of women gradually increased but not dramatically. By the time I transferred out (about nine years later), there were six to eight women onboard. One was fired during the 1981 strike. Damned shame too. She was an awesome controller.

The strike actually brought a significant influx of women into our workforce. When I arrived at my next facility in 1983, about 10% of controllers were women. That number grew significantly through the years and when I left there in the mid-nineties, both the Facility Manager and Assistant Manager were women.

I’m sure that, even today, the majority of controllers are male. I can only guess that’s because more women are not applying for the job. It is a tough, intimidating, male dominated and testosterone fueled profession but I can say the female controllers I worked with were among the best.

On my blog (the link is on my profile above)You can read about two of the women I worked with. Look for an entry I made on 01/12/12 titled "On Politics, Passing Acquaintances And Change." Skip down about eight paragraphs if you like and look for the part where I talk about Bonnie and Clare.

Thanks again!

Factor

What's the chain of command in the air traffic control room? Do controllers ever disagree about what order to give a pilot, and have you ever been ordered by a superior to give an instruction you disagreed with or thought unsafe?

Asked by 844rfa about 11 years ago

Thanks for your questions. They’re good ones and they bring back a few memories!

In my world, which was a terminal facility where controllers were required to work in both the tower and radar room (a configuration that the FAA is moving away from), there was one Supervisor in the tower cab. Down in the radar room there was at least one Supervisor walking the floor and sometimes two if the demand required it. The day and evening shifts also had a second line Supervisor known as an Area Manager who manned the desk and was responsible for the entire operation. Although job titles have changed, you’ll still find a first line supervisor in most towers, plus a number of them in the radar room. That number will vary depending on how many control positions there are in the room.

Controllers didn’t disagree with each other very often but when they did; the exchange could become pretty intense! Sometimes these differences would be worked out later on in the break room or somewhere else after the shift ended.

In the thick of battle, Supervisors would often ‘ask’ controllers to do certain things they felt would facilitate the movement of traffic. Being able to circulate among all the control positions, a good Supervisor was able to maintain an overall picture of what was going on and act on that knowledge. Individual controllers needed to focus on their own area of responsibility and didn’t have the broad perspective Supervisors had. We were free to disagree with a Supervisor’s direction but compliance was mandatory; unless we were willing to face a charge of insubordination. That didn’t happen very often.

At one time in the late 1970s, there was an Article in the Professional Air Traffic Controller Organization (PATCO) Contract with FAA that attempted to address professional disagreements between controllers and Supervisors. The Article absolved the controller of responsibility for any negative outcomes that might occur from following the Supervisor’s order. It worked like this. If a Supervisor ordered you to do something either you or the union believed was unsafe; you would inform him or her that you were invoking that Article. Then you’d comply with the order. I never actually saw anything go wrong in these situations. In those days of constant friction between PATCO and FAA, I think that Article was simply a way for controllers to poke Management in the eye. It made some some people feel better but had no tangible effect on things.

Thanks again,

Factor

Does the FAA have robust security measures in place to encrypt communication between ATC and planes? I assume that it's more than just standard radio frequencies, otherwise couldn't anyone basically talk to pilots with just a CB radio??

Asked by B.T. about 11 years ago

You’ve asked an easy question B.T. but the answer makes me very uneasy! When people work within a system for years, decades and careers, they accept the technology in use and rarely consider its vulnerabilities. That’s good in a way because understanding just how fragile something is could be distracting or, at worst, make you brood over it. If you do a lot of flying; I hope my answer doesn’t have those effects on you.

The FAA does not encrypt voice communications between pilots and controllers. They both use “standard radio frequencies” in the very high frequency (VHF) range for most ATC functions. The frequencies used are widely published and available to anyone; as is the radio equipment required to transmit and receive on them. This lead to an unexpected situation in 1981, after the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike against the FAA. Things didn’t go well for the union and, as the strike dragged on, they grew increasingly determined to convince the public that non-striking controllers were dangerously incompetent. Plans were made and here’s what happened next.

Reports started coming in of ‘phantom controller’ radio transmissions to pilots during critical phases of flight. For example; an airliner about to land might be suddenly waved off or a plane might be cleared for takeoff just as another was about to land. Anything to create confusion. These incidents were perpetrated by striking controllers, using their own radios tuned to our control frequencies. They’d sit, somewhere near the airport where they could watch and listen. Then, at the right moment, they’d transmit bogus instructions. As former controllers, they knew exactly what to say and when to say it. Of course the pilots initially thought it was us! Fortunately, this didn’t go on for long after the FBI got involved.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

How much do air traffic controllers get paid? And is everyone in the room a "controller" or are there other roles too?

Asked by tandembyke about 11 years ago

How much we got paid depended on who you asked. It’s probably the same story today. Some will say “Not nearly enough” and others will say “Too much!” I was always happy with my salary but never complained when I got a raise! Controller pay rates have changed through the years but their earning potential is still among the highest for Civil Service workers.

Salaries vary depending on where a controller works. Those who work at low traffic density airports don’t make nearly as much as those who work in very busy facilities like Atlanta, Dallas or Washington. Starting out at the GS-7 grade, the annual base pay is about $33,979.00. Controllers who end up in one the busiest facilities can work their way up to the GS-14 level; making as much as $110,104.00 in base pay. The highest supervisor grade (GS-15) can make $129.517.00. To those base salaries, add on extra money controllers make for working nights, Sundays, holidays and other premium pay situations that bump those annual totals higher. Keep in mind, I am referring to Federal ATC positions. There are a number of private ATC companies supplying controllers to facilities that don’t meet the criteria for FAA controllers.

To your second question – Yes, everyone in the control room is or once was a controller. First line management(supervisors) work directly with controllers and are required to stay proficient on the control positions. Falling into the “was” category would be the second line management folks who are responsible for the entire shift but are no longer required to control traffic. A desk job.

Thanks for asking!

Factor

Nice blog:) What does your screename "no longer a factor" mean?

Asked by Yoanda almost 11 years ago

Hi Yoanda. Thanks for the nice compliment on my blog! I should also congratulate you for being the first person ever to ask that question. The phrase “No longer a factor” actually means a couple of things to me. I’ll begin with the more esoteric meaning; familiar mainly to controllers and pilots.

Let me set this up. Pilots can have a hard time seeing other airplanes, even under the best weather conditions. No surprise, given the speeds that modern airplanes operate at. Pilots might not see converging traffic until the two flights are very close together, and that may be too late. Think about two planes, each traveling at, say, 300 knots and moving toward each other. Their actual rate of closure is more like 600 knots. Assuming the pilots saw each other at some point, there would be very little time to react if they needed to avoid a collision. This is where a controller working a radar sector can help.

As you might guess, radar can spot airplanes long before a pilot can. ATC could be working both planes or just one of them but either way; if it looks like the two might pass in close proximity to each other, the controller will issue what we call a traffic advisory. That way, the pilot or pilots won’t be surprised when they see the other aircraft. In the congested airspace around busy airports, traffic advisories can be very important in helping pilots be aware of what’s going on around them.

Traffic advisories are always issued in reference to a twelve-hour clock. The aircraft’s nose is always at the twelve o’clock position. For example; if the controller saw a radar target on a converging course with your flight, eight miles ahead and to your left, he or she might advise you; “Traffic, ten o’clock, eight miles.” By cranking your head around from the 12 to the 10 o’clock position, there is a pretty good chance you’ll see the other airplane. If that traffic is under ATC control, the controller may add that the other flight is not at your altitude so you won’t worry so much. Once the other plane has passed the potential point of conflict; the controller will tell you; “Traffic no longer a factor!” In 500 words or less, that’s the ATC insider’s meaning of the phrase.

Using the phrase as my screen name is just my way of saying that, as both a controller and a pilot, I once was a “factor” in the aviation industry. As I am now blissfully retired from ATC, have not flown in years and my blog provides only tangential contact with the industry; I am officially “no longer a factor!”

But you can call me “Factor.” Thanks for writing!

Thanks for answering my question about the landing gear! So have YOU ever spotted something amiss about a plane about to land and had to radio the pilot to abort the landing??

Asked by Aaron almost 11 years ago

I appreciate your interest in the profession Aaron. Although I've spotted a lot of crazy things and witnessed a few serious mishaps; I've never personally had to tell a pilot to abort the landing because of an observed problem with the aircraft. I have, however, been in the tower when other controllers had to. 

During my Air Force career, a teammate waved off an F-4 Phantom pilot who was about to land without his plane's wheels down. The pilot later sent a case of beer to the tower, which we quickly consumed after work! 

While working overseas, another tower controller tries to warn a pilot of the same problem. Unfortunately, the pilot wasn't paying attention and landed, gear up. There were a lot of sparks but luckily - no fire.

One night in the tower, I watched a TWA B-707 takeoff. It looked a little odd to me because it seemed the runway lights were all behind the plane as it passed, left to right, in front of us. Sure enough; the guy had taken off from the parallel taxiway. Realizing what he'd done, the pilot quipped something about how blue the runway lights looked. Not another word was spoken.

I saw an Eastern Airliones B-727 make an intentional gear-up landing due to mechanical problems. It was textbook perfect. The plane slid to a stop and was immediately surrounded by emergency vehicles. Everyone in the tower cab clapped.

Then there was the foreign air carrier pilot who advised, as he approached the airport, that he was going to test the plane's new 'autoland' system. Cool! We cleared him to land. It was one of the craziest landings I ever saw. The plane bounced, swerved and actually rolled off the runway edge then back on again before eventually finding a taxiway to turn onto. Suspecting the pilot may have a bit, err, "impaired" - we called the airline's operations office on the airport. After explaining what the pilot told us, the company representative said that particular aircraft was not fitted with an autoland system. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that pilot.

No matter how well trained we are or how far the technology advances; aviation remains far from being an exact science. It's crazy but maybe that's why I love it.

Thanks again for writing!

When there's a big storm coming, do you try and speed up the takeoff queue to get as many planes in the air before the storm hits?

Asked by TLL almost 11 years ago

Absolutely! We’ll shove as many departures into the sky as we can before a storm shuts off the exit routes. Of course, we can’t put more planes in the air than the receiving controllers can safely handle. Wouldn’t want to throw too many balls to the jugglers! But still; we’ll try our damndest to get as many flights out of town as we can before it's too late. The same applies with arriving flights. As long as we can get planes to the airport before the storm gets there; we’ll keep on running the traffic. Once the weather blocks an arrival route, we can sometimes get the impacted flights routed onto another arrival route. ATC’s actions during severe weather can go even further than that to keep traffic moving.

In areas like the Northeast, where there are several large cities and many busy airports, consideration is given to which airports have the most airplanes waiting to go. For example; the New York area has LaGuardia, Teterboro, Kennedy and Newark Airports. Each one can be very busy. At any given moment, each could have several flights waiting to go. There is an element of ATC known as “Traffic Management.” Their staff will assess the four airports and determine which has the most departures waiting. That airport may be given priority consideration for a while to get their traffic going – while the other airports keep theirs on the ground.

There are many other initiatives, too numerous to mention, that ATC will take to reduce or avoid weather delays. One thing we try especially hard to avoid is having so many airplanes waiting on taxiways that the landing flights can’t get to their gates or parking areas. That’s a situation we call “gridlock” and it’s not a pretty sight! There are certain airports out there, busy ones, that were built in the early days of commercial aviation for piston-powered airplanes. These places are prone to gridlock because of runway/taxiway configurations that were not designed for today’s jets and the heavy traffic volume. They get special attention when the skies turn unfriendly.

Thanks for the great question!
Factor

So Adderall use by controllers is actually BANNED? That's interesting, especially because its effect would seemingly allow you to do your job better. Are you tested for that and other drugs regularly, or is it just when you apply?

Asked by heathercharles about 11 years ago

Interesting that the recent conversation turned to drug use as it relates to controllers. It gives me the opportunity to highlight related safety measures taken by those responsible for our air traffic control system. Although I can’t say there isn’t abuse of drugs and alcohol in the profession, those instances are rare. In my entire career I saw just one controller fired for alcohol use and one for drugs. I should add that controllers don’t have to completely abstain from alcohol use. That would never do! However, Federal regulations prohibit both controllers and pilots from consuming alcoholic beverages within eight (8) hours of going on duty. We always made up for that after work – but rarely for eight hours!

Adderall is a Schedule II controlled substance. Unauthorized use of any such drugs by controllers will get them fired quicker than you can say “DEA.” If use of a Schedule II drug is prescribed by a physician (it happens), the controller will be removed from active ATC and placed on sick leave or possibly assigned administrative duties until it is determined they no longer need the drug.

Since controllers directly affect public safety, job applicants can expect to be tested for drugs during the hiring process. Controllers on the job are also subjected to random drug and alcohol testing for the same reason. The testing personnel arrive, unannounced, at an ATC facility and will not leave until testing is completed. Testing positive for either drrugs or alcohol will buy you a bunch of trouble - but not nearly as much as being involved in an accident or serious incident while on duty. Controllers involved in an aircraft accident will be tested as soon as possible. As you might imagine; any controller found to be under the influence will see their troubles multiply exponentially.

Thanks for a great question!

Factor

When you worked at a major airport, how often would a pilot declare an emergency landing? Does all hell break loose in the tower when that happens, or is it pretty calm?

Asked by ZitoSucks about 11 years ago

Thanks for stopping by again! Bring your friends next time. I give group discounts!

During my years in military air traffic control, there were fairly frequent emergencies. Low fuel, engine fires, engines out, hung ordnance, smoke in the cockpit – all kinds of problems. No surprise though. The military pushes their planes pretty hard. I once saw a single engine fighter jet touch down without landing gear and slide down the runway in a shower of sparks. That was riveting enough but Just as it was coming to a stop, the pilot ejected from the aircraft. Maybe he thought the thing was going to catch fire. We sure did! Maybe he just panicked. I don’t know but his parachute barely had time to open before he bounced onto the runway. That had to hurt.

Once in the civilian end of ATC, emergencies were infrequent. There were occasional unsafe landing gear indications in the cockpit. The pilot would usually request to fly past the tower so we could make a visual check. Even if the wheels appeared to be down, the landing gear could still collapse when the plane landed. We would alert the emergency responders and keep our fingers crossed. There were several other kinds of “routine” emergencies where procedures required that we activate an emergency response. Although the outcome was completely safe most of the time, you wanted those folks standing by at arm’s length just in case! You know – the Murphy’s Law factor.

Once an emergency was declared; the most challenging part of dealing with it could be moving all of the airborne and ground traffic out of the emergency aircraft’s way. Emergencies, even the more routine ones, are given number one priority.

In my experience, both military and civilian controllers reacted to emergencies in a way commensurate with the crisis at hand. If you walked into a tower or radar room during most of those “routine” emergencies, you’d probably never know the controllers were dealing with a problem. Things are, as you say, “pretty calm.” But there are those rare and extreme emergencies when we knew, by the nature of the problem, that something bad was very likely to happen. A landing flight might have only two of the three main landing gear down. In that case, you know part of that plane is going to hit the runway but you don’t know what’ll happen after that. There was a situation I described in an earlier question, where the pilot died and his passenger, who was not a pilot, had to land the plane. Another nail-biter. “All hell” never breaks loose but the tension among controllers is palpable.

Thanks for your interesting question!

Cheers,
Factor

Is there any difference in your communication with passenger versus cargo planes?

Asked by Austin almost 11 years ago

Hello Austin! Your question brings us to an important but relatively rare aspect of air traffic control. Here’s the short answer. There is generally no difference between the way passengers and cargo flights are handled. If two B-747s are headed from Dallas to Dulles; it won’t matter that one was full of people and the other full of boxes. Guided by egalitarian principles, controllers apply the same priority to both. It’s referred to in the business as “first come, first served.” Just like the ticket line at a movie theater; nobody cuts in. There are, however, exceptions.

One important exception would be an aircraft using the word “Lifeguard” in their radio callsign. Whenever an air carrier or air taxi flight uses the “Lifeguard” term in their callsign, it tells ATC they are transporting important and highly perishable cargo such as vital organs, blood, urgently needed medical material or patients. For obvious reasons, these guys get priority handling. That means ATC will get them airborne as quickly as possible, try to give them “shortcuts” to their destination and steer them around rough weather along the way. We’ll even phone ahead if needed to make sure they get expeditious ground handling when they land. This is how the surgeon quickly gets a much needed kidney from Illinois to a transplant patient in New York. It’s a thing of beauty.

I hope this answers your question!

Cheers,
Factor

Do the ATC towers at airports only handle takeoffs and landings, or do you also handle check-ins and communications for the flights at cruising altitude that just happen to be in your area?

Asked by olemiss2013 about 11 years ago

Controllers in airport towers are mainly responsible for takeoffs and landings. There may occasionally be some low altitude traffic (helicopters and small planes) that need to cross over the airport at very low altitudes. They will call the tower for permission to fly through their traffic pattern. These flights won’t be landing but tower controllers must keep them safely separated from traffic operating in and out of the airport.

Tower controllers do not handle aircraft operating at cruising altitudes. Those flights are controlled by facilities known as “Air Route Traffic Control Centers” or simply “centers.” Working in large buildings that may not be anywhere near an airport, center controllers provide radar service over huge portions of airspace. For example; Cleveland Center controls an area that extends from central Pennsylvania, West to central Michigan!

Thanks for your interest!

Factor

i don't seem to be able to pick up any aircraft frequencies on my scanner any more -- used to be able to hear air traffic controllers and individual planes. I live in nyc. have these communications recently become encrypted?

Asked by scannerfan almost 11 years ago

Greetings Scannerfan! I believe I’ve heard of NYC. It’s somewhere near New Jersey, right? But seriously; I don’t know very much about scanner technology so I’m not sure I can answer your question. I can tell you that ATC radio frequencies are not encrypted.

As a scanner fan, I’m sure you’ve checked your receiver and antenna for malfunctions. Among the questions I’d ask you, if I could, would be; Are you able to receive any other transmissions? Do you know anyone else who listens to New York ATC? If so; are they receiving any transmissions? Have any new buildings gone up that might be blocking your reception?

Although it doesn’t happen very often, ATC frequencies occasionally change. Have you verified you still have the current frequencies selected in your scanner? I believe there are websites that provide ATC frequency information. You could also check the most current aeronautical charts for the New York area to see if the frequencies you’ve selected are correct.

As a secondary source; I know there are several websites where you can monitor ATC frequencies.

Thanks for writing and I hope this helps you!

Cheers,
Factor

I'm currently training for my instrument rating. Is it possible to request and receive a practice departure or arrival procedure when filing an IFR flight plan?

Asked by Matthew almost 11 years ago

Thanks for writing, Matthew. I am glad to hear you are working on your instrument rating. It’s a great way to build confidence in your airmanship! Once you receive your rating you’ll have more options when it comes to traveling between points A and B. Just take it slow for a while after your check-ride. Getting an instrument rating doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready for long flights in actual IFR conditions; especially if you are flying solo! As you may have already noticed, cockpit workload is much higher on an IFR flight plan. If possible, take a qualified friend along as an extra set of eyes, ears and hands.

To your question, it is definitely possible to practice Departure Procedures (SIDs) and Standard Terminal Arrivals (STARs) in conjunction with your flight plan. When published for a particular airport; SIDs and STARs are usually the ‘default’ setting with ATC. If you don’t include them in your flight plan, they may be assigned anyway. They can be difficult to avoid unless you add “SSNO” (pilot cannot accept SIDs or STARs) to your remarks section.

Assuming such procedures are published and available for your departure and arrival airports and you want to fly them, you should include them in your flight plan (FP). You might even add a remark to the FP regarding instrument training. That will indicate to ATC that you need to practice the procedures you filed. Many controllers besides myself held Instrument ratings and I’m sure many still do. It helps them better understand “the big picture.” Your remark should resonate as they’ve experienced the critical training you’re now going through.

If, when you receive your IFR clearance, it does not include the SID you filed for; advise the controller you’d like to fly that procedure if possible. Same with the STAR arrival. When enroute, if ATC offers a shortcut or takes you off your planned route for another reason, let them know you’d like to fly the full arrival procedure if possible. I’ll put a qualifier on that though . . .

One of the most important skills any pilot who deals regularly with ATC can learn is the ability to estimate your controller’s workload. If you hear a lot of other planes on the frequency, the controller sounds a bit harried or is handling a specific issue at the time – it might not be a good idea to make special requests. It’s a judgment call, I know. Just try not to limit your listening to the transmissions directed at you. There is much to learn by being aware of what is going on around you.

Finally, listen to your instructor! If he or she disagrees with anything I’ve said here – go with your instructor’s guidance! They hold all the cards until you’ve completed your check ride.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

Are there other FAA roles made available to controllers when they reach the mandatory retirement age of 56, or do they just boot you out the door? Regardless, I hope there's a sweet pension for you if your primary career is yanked away at 56!!

Asked by EvanOO about 11 years ago

Good question! Basically, the answer is - If you are still actively engaged in the separation and control of air traffic by age 56, “they just boot you out the door!” There is an exception though. FAA regulations state that they may exempt a controller “having exceptional skills and experience as a controller from the automatic separation provisions until the controller becomes 61 years of age.” Assuming you were hired before turning 31 (the maximum age you can become an FAA controller is 30), you will still retire with at least 25 years of service. Depending on where you were working; you might be ready to run for the door by age 56!

There are “other FAA roles” that controllers can move into, such as staff and upper management positions, but they shouldn’t wait till they are about to get the boot before bidding on such jobs. I suspect the competition is tough.

On the bright side, Federal retirement benefits are still fairly good. Also, retiring at age 56 means you still have plenty of time left to write that book, open a lemonade stand or start up the career ladder in the fast food industry. Actually, several of the controllers I knew went to work with Aviation consulting companies that do business with the FAA. I hear they pay pretty well!

Thanks for writing!
Factor

Are medications for concentration/focus popular amongst ATC's?

Asked by Ruben about 11 years ago

Well Ruben, You’ve asked a very insightful question! The key word is “medications.” There are very few medications that controllers can take and still be allowed to do their job. The kinds of drugs that enhance concentration are strictly prohibited. There may be some non-prescription botanicals (herbal medicines) that would help but they’re really not necessary. The most effective concentration/focus enhancer a controller can use is more traffic! The busier we get, the more concentration is required and the more focused we become.

In the Seventies, when I was a newly minted journeyman controller, I had an interesting discussion with my neighbor one day, during a pause in our lawn mowing. I told him about my recent certification and what it felt like to work a busy radar sector without an instructor backing me as a safety net. Having all those planes and passengers depending on me alone was both terrifying and exhilarating. I’ll tell you though; I was never more focused in my life.

My neighbor, a Cardiologist, smiled and spoke of a similar feeling when, during his first open-heart surgery, he touched a live human heart. When you absolutely have to depend on your own knowledge, skills and judgment to get a job done; there is no need for medication. You concentrate, you focus and you may even experience an adrenaline rush.

Through most of my career, the only consumable stimulants used in our workplace were great quantities of caffeine and nicotine. Oh yeah! Back then, people smoked in the tower till you could hardly see out the widows.

Thanks for asking!

Factor

Happy July 4th!! On that topic: do pilots and ATC towers get advance notices about big fireworks displays? Have there ever been plane crashes due to fireworks?

Asked by No. 1 Uncle almost 11 years ago

Hello “No. 1 Uncle,” and a happy 4th back at you! I hope you enjoyed a fabulous fireworks display.

In order to obtain a permit for public fireworks displays, the organizers must obtain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Any conditions the FAA imposes must be followed in order to receive that permit. The FAA then makes the information on such events available to those who need to know.

I can’t say there have never been aircraft accidents due to fireworks displays. Using absolutes like “always” or “never” tend to get me into trouble. I’ll just say I don’t recall hearing of any and that makes sense to me. After all, aeronautical charts clearly indicate minimum safe altitudes (MSA) to fly at. Planes rarely operate below the MSA unless they are taking off or landing. It’s a pretty safe bet your FAA won’t approve fireworks displays near an airport, along those departure or arrival paths. Besides, fireworks don’t go much higher that a few hundred feet. Certain flights do operate at those altitudes but only during daylight hours; a bad time for fireworks. These planes are involved in such things as crop-dusting, banner towing, aerial photography or some other low altitude mission.

I hope this answers your question. Thanks for writing!
Factor

By the time I am 29 1/2, I will have my bachelors degree from Lewis University. Lewis is the best aviation school in Illinois and a top ten in the nation. My worry is that people are telling me I may not be selected before turning 31. Is this true

Asked by Tom almost 11 years ago

Hi Tom. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! My initial advice is to disregard what people are telling you. Either that or find someone who will say you’ll probably win the Powerball Lottery before you turn 31. Between us; I think your odds of being selected for a controller position are much better. What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t believe what people are telling you unless they officially represent the recruiting arm of the FAA. Even then, they can be misinformed. Try for a second opinion.

Assuming you are enrolled in the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative and will graduate with a degree in Air Traffic Control Management, I’d recommend you work as hard as you can and be optimistic about the outcome. As more and more controllers reach the maximum age limit of 56, the FAA will definitely have to hire new ones. They will be looking for people like you.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

Once someone is selected by the FAA to attend the training program in OK City, is the age requirement of 31 thrown out the window for him/her? or must they FINISH the training program before turning 31 as well? Hopefully this makes sense. thank u

Asked by Tom almost 11 years ago

This is a good question and an easy one for me. Thanks for that! Some questions I get require answers that are a bit convoluted. When that happens, I worry that my explanations are not put together in a way that is easy to understand.

To your question; just remember it this way. You must be employed by the FAA prior to your 31st birthday. That’s it! So if you are hired a month before turning 31 and find yourself in class at the FAA Academy on your birthday; don’t worry. You will not be forcibly ejected! You probably won’t get a cake with candles either.

Cheers,
Factor

Is every square foot of airspace above the US covered by radar or are there any 'blind spots'?

Asked by Isaac almost 11 years ago

Thanks for writing Isaac. The answer to your question is no! There are radar blind spots all over the continental U. S. The good news is that, as a pilot or passenger, you don’t have to worry about it too much. The blind spots are generally at very low altitudes and there are pilot/controller procedures used in the non-radar environment to keep aircraft safe from other airplanes and the terrain. Around airports where most commercial flights operate and at the altitudes they cruise at, radar coverage is continuous – unless one of the radar sites is not working (it happens). In such cases, those pilot and controller procedures I just mentioned come into play.

Even though an aircraft is below radar coverage, the pilot has several options to maintain flight safety. When weather conditions permit; pilots can visually separate themselves from obstructions such as mountains, antennas or power lines. If pilots cannot maintain good flight visibility, there are usually instrument procedure available that keep the airplanes safely above such obstructions and guide them to their destination.

Radar is a wonderful tool for both controllers and pilots but it has its limits. The radar pulses travel outbound from the antenna in ‘line-of-sight’ fashion. If there is an obstruction in the way of the beam (for example; a mountain or cityscape) the beam will go no further in that direction, at and below the height of the obstruction. It will, however, continue to travel in that direction above the obstruction. So...if you had a radar system in your front yard; your house would prevent you from seeing radar targets in the back yard but you would still get a radar image of the plane flying above your house.

I hope this answers your question!

Cheers,
Factor

Hi,
I have questions for some fiction I'm working on. Could you describe how a standoff in a small airport might look? If there were a prop plane trying to evade police and then forced to land for lack of fuel, who is in charge of the scene? Thanks

Asked by James Bardwell almost 11 years ago

I think I can help you James. I’ll tell you a story that isn’t really fiction but it’s close enough to fool most anyone.

The scene was a fairly large airport located somewhere North of Florida. Characters in this story included a team of tower controllers plus several local and Federal law enforcement officials. One of them had called the control tower and advised the supervisor that they had been tracking a suspected drug smuggling plane ever since it left Central America several days prior. It was expected to land at this airport very soon. The Agent was very specific in his instructions to the tower supervisor. When this flight checked in with the tower, controllers were to act as normal as controllers can possibly act. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, there were additional instructions.

Upon landing, the plane was to be guided to a specific parking area on the ramp, where extensive preparations had been made to arrest the crew. The supervisor briefed his controllers, who immediately grew excited by the idea of taking part in a drug bust! The excitement intensified with each passing minute. Eventually, the airplane did call the tower for landing instructions. All seemed normal as the plane landed. There were no signs the pilot was suspicious as the tower controller instructed the flight to contact Ground Control.

Now, we were all sure that the “preparations” must have looked like a scene out of Miami Vice; with walkie-talkies crackling away in everyone’s ear, snipers hidden in the shadows and a dozen SWAT Team guys, dressed in black and ready to storm the plane. We all watched as it taxied off the runway toward the parking area.

The ground controller appeared a little nervous but responded promptly and professionally when the suspect aircraft called him. After all; this was his moment to shine – his 15 minutes of fame! The response he gave would become permanently ensconced in local ATC folklore. Remembering everything he’d been told about the situation by his supervisor (but apparently forgetting the part about why), he instructed the pilot to “Taxi to the Northeast corner of the ramp. The Federal agents are waiting to meet you there!”

The plane made a quick turn back onto the runway and accelerated. It lifted off, leveled at crop dusting altitude and vanished quickly over the horizon. Nobody heard whether the pilot was ever caught but the tower supervisor sure was. Within minutes, the cab was full of astonished and very irate agents who had brought with them a huge headache for that supervisor.

Thanks for writing and have fun with your fiction.
Factor

I saw another belly landing happened in Newark the other day when the wheels malfunctioned, and I just want to know how pilots can even train for doing that because I assume it's too dangerous to actually practice in training.

Asked by Aaron almost 11 years ago

Good hearing from you Aaron. The gear-up landing at Newark was pretty dramatic. Whenever airplane bellies rub runways; sparks will fly! Your question is a good one because videos like the Newark landing show up in the news periodically, yet it’s hard to understand exactly what’s going on. People watch and wonder if a pilot can actually train for such a thing, how does it happen, what are the risks, etc.

First off; pilots obviously never make gear-up landings for practice. That would be kinda like practicing shooting yourself in the foot. The best way to rehearse for such an event is to practice landing WITH the landing gear extended. The trick will be in how the plane approaches the runway, which is going to be pretty much the same as a normal landing. The airplane will be slowed to the normal landing speed, with the nose pointed straight down the runway. Once over the runway, the pilot will ‘flare’ the aircraft; raising the nose to bleed off more speed as the plane descends those final few feet to the surface. Once on the runway, the pilot can use the aircraft’s rudder to try keeping the plane on the runway centerline.

How gear-up landings occur can vary. The most obvious reason is a mechanical malfunction. There is another, fairly common, reason. My flight instructor once told me that there are two kinds of pilots; those who’ve forgotten to put the gear down before landing and those who WILL forget! It’s not quite that extreme but sometimes pilots, especially pilots with low experience levels, can overlook that one important detail in an otherwise perfect landing. If there is an operational control tower at the airport; an alert controller may notice and have the pilot pull up before it’s too late. If the field is uncontrolled, the pilot may not be so lucky!

Risks associated with these landings are pretty much what you’d expect; lots of damage to the plane, a possibility of fire, personal injury and maybe even damage to the runway and associated lighting. No matter what happens – it’s never good and I do not recommend it!

Thanks for writing!
Factor

I have just started college, but due to financial reasons, I was unable to go to a school with an AT-CTI program. Do I still have a chance of getting into the FAA Academy? And what major do you recommend if aviation and ATC are not available?

Asked by CollegeGirl over 10 years ago

Greetings CollegeGirl! I am happy to see a continuing interest in the ATC profession.

The situation you describe is going to make it difficult for you to land an ATC position with the Federal Aviation Administration unless you can somehow get two to four years of college with an aviation related degree. Other options include gaining ATC experience in the military, which was my pathway in. Or perhaps you might apply for employment with one of the private ATC providers. You should also consider flight training while you are in college. Having your pilot’s license will help you meet the threshold for aviation related experience.

Best of luck and thanks for writing!
Factor

I know pilots avoid flying into big storms, but just WHAT PART OF THE STORM makes it unsafe to fly through? Is it the wind? The chance of being hit by lightning? The lack of visibility?

Asked by Devious Jim almost 11 years ago

Hello Jim! Thanks for bringing up a very important issue. Whether pilot or controller; thunderstorms are the bane of their workday. All three factors you mentioned can affect the safety of flight. Lightning can be pretty disconcerting but not as dangerous to an airplane as you might imagine. Today’s planes are given extensive lightning certification tests to ensure the safety of their design. That could be why the last commercial plane crash attributed to lightning happened in 1967.

The lack of visibility, although a hazard in some instances, is not a major problem for pilots flying in or near thunderstorms. Rather than looking out the cockpit windows, they’re normally relying on the aircraft’s flight instruments to keep it properly oriented.

By far, the biggest safety hazard relates to the tricky winds found in and around those things! Accident investigation reports are rife with accounts of what can happen when airplanes experience the vertical wind shears and microbursts associated with thunderstorms (See Eastern Airlines Flight 66 landing JFK in 1975 or Delta Flight 191 landing DFW in 1985 as examples). Especially hazardous when planes are operating near the ground (taking off or landing), such winds can cause the aircraft’s wings to lose the lift they need to maintain flight. If this happens to a landing airplane (and it can happen instantly), all the available engine power may not be enough to save it.

When a plane loses the lift needed to maintain flight it becomes more like a brick that someone has thrown. It may still be traveling forward but only due to forward momentum and only for a very short time. I saw this happen from one of the control towers I worked in. An airliner flew through a thunderstorm situated on the final approach course and turned into that “brick” within a mile of the runway. When I finally saw the plane; it was no longer really flying but wallowing left and right as it fell. Fortunately, it fell onto the grass adjacent to the runway and eventually slid to a stop. The aircraft was destroyed but incredibly, there were no fatalities. I’ll tell you though; my shift couldn’t have ended fast enough.

Thank you for writing,
Factor

Hello, if I am 29 1/2 with a bachelors from a top ten AT - CTI certified University, in your opinion, do you think I will be selected by the FAA before turning 31 yrs of age? There is a possibility I will be 30 by the time I am finished with school.

Asked by Tom almost 11 years ago

Greetings and thanks for writing. Although my opinion is worth a little more than a burned out matchstick; I’ll give it to you. I think you should contact the FAA Regional Office nearest you. A list of such offices can be found here:

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/ro_center/

Ask to speak with someone who is directly involved in hiring controllers, Tell them of your situation and ask if they plan on hiring within your specific timeframe. Don’t be discouraged if they say they won’t be hiring. There are nine (9) FAA Regions and just because one of them has no upcoming vacancies doesn’t mean some or all of the other eight Regions won’t be hiring either. Give ‘em a call. When I was trying to get the job, my ‘home’ Region told me they were not currently hiring. They advised me to call another Regional Office (RO). I did - and that Region was indeed hiring. They also told me I’d have to have my application transferred from my ‘home’ RO to their office. Apparently at the time, you couldn’t have your name on more than one Region’s list of applicants. I don’t know if that is still the case or not but it’s a question to ask them.

If you run into a dead end with the FAA and are still determined to be a controller; contact one or all of the private companies who provide ATC services and ask if they’re hiring.

Best of luck to you!
Factor

Hi here's a rather simple question. In tiny airports, is there a time period necessary to notify the tower before being allowed to take a plane off? Is an ATC tower required to keep a schedule for take offs even if they have say less than one a day?

Asked by JB over 10 years ago

Thanks for writing, JB. First off, I should mention that very few small airports have operating control towers. It is not cost effective to have controllers at airports with very little air traffic. Even if you see a tower there; chances are you’ll find far more cobwebs inside than controllers.

To your question though, I will break it down into a few important points. At airports without towers, most planes come and go as they please. They are responsible for separating themselves visually from other traffic. At such airports, the only pilots that need permission to take off are those who filed an Instrument Flight Plan with ATC. As there would be no controllers on site; permission is generally obtained from the ATC facility responsible for that airport, either by phone or radio. Pilots are issued a short time window in which to depart so that ATC knows when to expect them and provide ATC services.

At airports with operational towers, all flights must receive a specific clearance to take off and/or land. Without that ATC clearance; pilots can do neither.

There are also airports with part-time control towers. When the tower is open, the rules specified in the previous paragraph apply. When it is closed, expect what I outlined two paragraphs back. There are several publications available that list all towers and their operating hours, so you’ll know what to expect when you go flying.

You also asked if a tower is required to keep a schedule for take offs, even if they have say less than one a day. Although towers do not generally keep flight schedules, they do receive information on the proposed departure time of flights on Instrument Flight Plans. This information is normally transmitted to the tower via computer.

I hope this answers your questions!

Cheers,
Factor

what is optimum 'on position' working duration and break time

Asked by bg over 10 years ago

That’s a very simple, straightforward question! So here I go with another long and convoluted answer. I know, I know. There’s that old adage that says to never give ‘em more information than they asked for. Generally good advice but I don’t think it applies here on Jobstr. If people are interested enough to write; they probably want a response that’ll actually help them understand the subject. And uhh, one day I hope to produce such a response! But for now; just read on and test your attention span.

First off; the optimum time on a control position is different than the time limit defined in FAA’s labor agreement with the controller’s union (National Air Traffic Controllers Association). I’m not sure whether that limit has changed since I left the FAA but it used to be two hours. The time limit for working a control position was established back in the 1970s because controllers were frequently being left bleeding to death on very busy positions with no relief in sight. By the time someone showed up to give them a break, they were beyond exhausted. Depending on conditions; even a 90 minute stint could shred your nerves like confetti. I’ll just say this lead to safety issues.

Defining the optimum time on position isn’t as easy as it sounds. “Optimum” is probably one of the original fifty shades of gray. I had one friend who would awake before dawn and drive 1,100 miles to visit his girlfriend in the Florida Keys. He’d stop only for gas or the men’s room. Sixteen hours at the wheel didn’t bother him at all. But me? Driving more than eight hours would probably get me into a news headline that began with the word “Tragic.” Another friend I worked with would become irritable if he was left on a busy sector for more than 60 minutes. In time, the best ATC Supervisors learned what the “optimum” time on position was for each of their controllers and tried to get them relieved before they burst into flames. We were all different; kind of like the contents of that ‘junk drawer’ in your kitchen. Don’t have a junk drawer? I’ll send you a starter kit.

As to the break time; that depended on factors like who you were working for (Captain Bligh or Captain Kangaroo), how busy the shift was or the individual controller’s work ethic. If a controller had taken a particularly brutal beating on a position; most Supervisors would allow them a little extra break time if they could. Some controllers would either refuse a break altogether or take a very short one if they knew their teammates needed them. Then there were the controllers who’d milk their break until an angry Supervisor came and chased them back to work. The optimum break time was always as subjective as the optimum amount of time on position.

Thanks for writing and for making it to the end of this response!

Cheers,
Factor

Can you talk about how those horror stories of people waiting in a plane for takeoff for hours on end likely happened, and how the Air Traffic Control tower impacted those situations?

Asked by FrequentFlyer almost 11 years ago

Hey there Frequent Flyer! Thanks for sending a great question. I’m sure you represent the millions of other frequent flyers who’ve had those whimsical daydreams about cutting their way out of a grounded airliner with a can opener. Believe me; their frustration extends all the way up to the control tower.

How do these things happen? The root of most such delays is a reduction in system capacity; either enroute or at the airport. A recent example would be the Asiana Airlines crash on San Francisco Airport. I’m pretty sure that, immediately after the crash, every plane destined for SFO was either held on the ground at its departure point or delayed in the air until a determination could be made that the airport was accepting arrivals. Even when arrivals were resumed, SFO was left with a runway that was closed indefinitely. Closed runways will affect the capacity of any airport, slowing down both arrivals and departures.

Airport capacity refers to the number of landings and takeoffs an airport can handle per hour. Factors that may reduce capacity include such things as aircraft accidents, adverse weather, a reduction in the amount of available runways, equipment failures, controller staffing, workload, etc. There are several more but you get the idea.

Enroute capacity can be affected by many of the same factors that affect airport capacity. If, for instance, there is a large and hazardous storm system affecting the routes from New York to Chicago; the enroute controllers may have their hands full rerouting airborne flights around the bad weather. In such cases, other traffic scheduled to depart New York for Chicago during that time period may be held on the ground for a while. If you’re lucky, your flight might not have boarded yet and you can wait out your delay in the departure lounge. Other planes that have already left the gates may be held on a ramp or taxiway.

Controllers don’t like to see their taxiways blocked by delayed airplanes. If the delays are long enough, some of those planes may have to return to their gate. This can cause additional problems for controllers because flights returning to the gate can complicate the task of getting other departures out to the runways. It’s much like an ‘18 wheeler’ changing its mind half-way up the on-ramp to a busy Interstate highway, then deciding to turn around. A critical mass of congestion can occur. There have been situations where airports became so congested with planes trying to get on or off the ramps while others sat waiting on taxiways that the moment comes when no one could move at all. Total gridlock. When that happens, the last thing needed is more arrivals, so they too are stopped and placed into holding patterns.

Reduced capacity and the resulting delays, especially at the busiest airports, are a major frustration to everyone involved; particularly those who are out in the thick of it, like pilots, passengers and air traffic controllers.

Thanks again for writing!
Factor

I know that pilots have secret code words to report a hijacking in progress. When those code words change (which I assume they do), how does the change get relayed to the tens of thousands of ATC's across the country?

Asked by Emilio Suez almost 11 years ago

Hi Emilio. From what I read and hear, the days of being able to keep secrets are gone. But, to your question, the process by which pilots could alert air traffic control to a hijack situation never was a secret. Pilots and controllers alike are trained in notification and response procedures. Whenever there are changes made to hijack response procedures and procedures for handling other special situations, the Federal Aviation Administration has systems in place to alert all concerned parties. Although most of it is unclassified and available to all, you probably wouldn’t see it unless you were involved in either ATC or flying airplanes.

Back in simpler times, when people were hijacking airliners to Cuba or D. B. Cooper was hijacking for the chance to skydive for dollars, the pilot’s response was relatively unknown by all but those in the aviation industry. With a hijacker in the cockpit, it might be a bit awkward for pilots to broadcast the situation to controllers until the hijacker wanted it known. However; a simple change to the aircraft’s transponder (a special radio that transmits a continuous, cryptic broadcast to ATC radar equipment) could surreptitiously alert controllers to the situation without the hijacker’s knowledge. Those days are probably gone as well. The 9/11 hijackers were obviously well schooled in transponder operation and made sure the equipment was either disabled or never set to the appropriate code broadcast.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

Is there a single behavior or character trait you think would (or should) disqualify someone from being an ATC, even if they were otherwise qualified?

Asked by Liv.Pasch almost 11 years ago

Hi Liv. Your question is most interesting because there are so many ways to answer! It’s like asking if there is a particular electrical appliance that should not be plugged in and thrown into the bathtub while someone is bathing. There are so many!

In answering your question, I suppose I need to separate, in my own mind, the character traits that are merely annoying from the ones that make ATC the wrong choice for a career. There are also common traits shared by every successful controller I’ve worked with. Lacking one of these traits may not completely disqualify a person for the job but they may wish it had. Keep in mind that what I say here is based solely on my experience and opinions. Far from scientific.

One trait I believe should disqualify an ATC candidate is an inability to track several developing situations simultaneously, take action on each one at a precise moment while assessing new situations as they develop and predicting when they’ll need further attention. Whew! If the aspiring controller can’t manage an ever changing air traffic picture continuously, over the course of one or two hours; they might want to seek a different profession. Unfortunately, deficiencies in this area are usually uncovered sometime after the candidate has been hired. Pre-employment aptitude tests are no substitute for the crucible of a live air traffic control facility.

Another ‘must have’ trait is self-motivation. Controllers work independently; without direct supervision. Normally, there won’t be someone there to tell them what to do and when to do it. If our candidate is the kind of person who needs frequent direction and guidance to get through the workday; they should stay away from ATC.

A good controller must also be able to accept, if not embrace, change. The ATC environment is constantly changing. It’s not just the volume, type and complexity of air traffic either. There are continuous changes in weather conditions and changes on the airport surface that require controllers to immediately adjust. And let’s not forget about technological changes. ATC equipment – the tools of a controller’s trade – are ever changing. New aircraft, such as the Boeing Dreamliner, are coming on line and with them; new flight characteristics the controllers must adjust to.

There are the more obvious ‘show-stoppers’ such as substance abuse, alcoholism, and flatulence. (Maybe I’m just kidding about the flatulence but try spending several hours in the confines of a control tower with someone who has it!)

I could go on but don’t want to bore you. The bottom line is; there are several behavior or character traits that don’t really work well in the ATC environment. Unfortunately, the FAA’s pre-employment screening process isn’t 100 percent effective.

Thanks for a great question! Hope I wasn’t too long-winded.

Cheers,
Factor

Just two simple questions, do employment prospects for individuals wanting to enter the ATC field look good or bad for the future? Also, considering all the variables Was it worth it? Thank you so much for answering!

Asked by How do employment prospects lo over 10 years ago

Hello again and thanks for your questions! The subject of employment prospects may bring different responses, depending on who you ask. Controllers, especially those working in the busiest ATC facilities, will likely say they need more help. I worked in very busy places where the normal “minimum” staffing levels could quickly turn into “critical” staffing levels due to vacation schedules, sick leave and controllers on special details to administrative tasks. Throw in some bad weather, unusually high traffic demand or unplanned equipment outages and you’d end up with a bunch of drained and disgruntled people by shift’s end. Had you asked me your first question at the end of such a shift; I’d have said we needed more controllers, as soon as possible!

Management’s view varied; depending on how far they were from the epicenter of discontent. Shift supervisors generally felt the same heat as their controllers during a busy, understaffed shift. They’d usually agree we needed more help. The front office’s response was to point out that perhaps too much leave was approved or that not enough overtime was called in. The regional office, far from the immediacy of a hectic, understaffed shift, would only see the facility’s authorized staffing levels, performance figures (traffic count figures) and other numbers that belied the challenges associated with them.

FAA should also be mindful of the attrition rate of controllers due to retirement. Succession planning is an important factor in current and future staffing levels. Then, of course, somewhere far above our level, there are congressional committees working with the FAA on its annual budget request. Those folks are about as far from a controller’s daily reality as you can get. It’s like a crazy analogy where the leaves in the treetops place limits on how big the roots grow.

We should also keep in mind that the FAA is always seeking new technology that might automate certain controller functions, thus decreasing their recruitment needs.

Was my career worth it? Even with the occasionally unpleasant variables, I’d have to say emphatically; yes! I always considered myself lucky to have the best job there was. Like sky diving, sports car racing or skating on thin ice; it was a thrill - as long as nothing went wrong.

Sorry I had to give such convoluted answers to your “two simple questions.” Sometimes I drink too much coffee in the morning.

Cheers,
Factor

Why do commercial flights always cruise in the 30,000 to 36,000 foot range? Is there something magical about that altitude that makes it best for flying?

Asked by Starberry almost 11 years ago

It’s high time for this question Starberry. Although we magicians are never supposed to reveal our secrets; I’ll share a little aviation magic with you – like how an airplane can gain around 100 extra knots of groundspeed, save fuel and shorten the time enroute to its destination. The trick involves using a relatively narrow band of fast moving upper air current known as the jetstream.

Although it shifts around from day to day, the jetstream remains basically a West to East wind that can be found in the 23,000 to 39,000 foot range. The altitudes commercial and other types of flights use, such as those you mentioned, are often based on where the jetstream happens to be that day. Pilots will want to get their plane into it and take advantage of the boost in speed this powerful wind can give them. Conversely, if the direction of their flight happens to run opposite to the jetstream, pilots will try to plan their route and altitude so as avoid it. After all; being able to shave 30 minutes or so off a transcontinental flight is truly magical! On the other hand; adding additional flight time because you picked a route and altitude that put you into that hefty headwind is more ‘tragical’ than magical.

Thanks for writing,
Factor

I'm a high schooler badly aching to get into ATC. A friend told me that a place such as O'Hare would never hire someone fresh out of the training program, even if everything was done excellently. How true is this and what would your advice be?

Asked by ATC Wannabe almost 11 years ago

Hi there, “ATC Wannabe.” I really hate it when I can’t answer a reader’s question but just going to have to buck up and admit defeat. I have no idea what O”Hare or the Great Lakes Regional Office’s hiring policies are. O”Hare Airport is within The Great Lakes Region’s authority. As in the previous reader’s question, I recommend you call the Great lakes Region when you are ready and ask them about ATC job openings. I also recommend you take your friend’s opinion as well intended but likely to be uninformed. As a “high schooler” – you have plenty of time to position yourself as a viable ATC candidate - anywhere.

As to the idea of starting your career off in one of the many busy facilities; there are differing opinions. The skeptics and those motivated by ego will say you must be an experienced and exceptional controller before setting foot in the door. While I understand their argument I disagree. Having started my own FAA career in a very busy facility, I can attest to the benefits of learning how to handle complex and heavy traffic conditions right off the bat. I also know that, later in my career, when I was training folks who transferred in from less active facilities, it was hard breaking them of their more laid back work habits. When you start off in a busy place, you learn to work quickly and efficiently. Plus; the steady pace of traffic makes for more frequent and meaningful training opportunities. This is something the smaller facilities can’t always provide.

I’m happy to hear of your enthusiasm for air traffic control and wish you all the best in your pursuit of a career.

Cheers,
Factor

I read the answer that English is the International Language for air traffic. But as a practical matter, in the middle of a large country for a domestic flight, isn't it likely the pilot and ATC speak in the native tongue?

Asked by arizonagirl13 over 10 years ago

Howdy Arizonagirl13 and welcome to my tiny piece of Jobstr real estate. Looks like it’s time to pay the rent! You’ve posed an excellent question and I’m hoping my answer will keep me from being evicted.

Although it is true that English is recognized worldwide as the language of air traffic control, I am sure there are occasional deviations. Pilots in non-English speaking countries who fly in and out of airports that handle only regional traffic probably converse with controllers in their native language. Why not? Their home language is familiar to all concerned, so there is less chance for any misunderstandings. I’ve worked as a controller at a foreign airport and know this to be true. However, if one of those pilots had to use an airport that handled flights from other countries; that pilot had better be familiar with the jargon of ATC in English. The same principle would apply if an English speaking pilot arrived at a foreign, regional airport. The controllers there would be expected to do their work in English.

If pilots and controllers are not on the same page (language-wise), chaos can quickly gain momentum. The foreign airport I mentioned above was actually a joint-use military base and a glaring exception to the ATC language standards. Our tower was staffed with both American and locally grown controllers. The locals were responsible for any flights operated by pilots of their own nationality; using their native language. We worked all our traffic in English. As if that wasn’t chaotic enough, there was an interpreter in the tower, who’s job it was to keep each set of controllers advised about what was going on. Without someone with knowledge of both languages to translate, neither side knew what the other was doing. Unfortunately for all of us, our interpreter was about as helpful as a rodeo clown in a slaughterhouse. Inattentive, lazy and frequently absent, we all learned to work around him and deal with the mayhem on our own. All that to say that clear communication between everyone involved in maintaining safety of flight is essential; no matter what part of the planet the planes are flying in.

Thanks for writing and I hope my answer was helpful.

Cheers,
Factor

Thank you much for your thoughtful answer previously. I'd like, as you suggested, for my 1st job in this career to be non-stop. So, would mind outlining the basic steps I must/could take? I'm guessing 4 years college, then off to Ok. City?

Asked by ATC Wannabe almost 11 years ago

Hello again! Getting into the basics of your question; you will need either some related military air traffic control experience or two to four years of college in aviation related degrees. If you decide on college rather than the military, you should look for colleges that offer the Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI).

Three years of progressive work experience or a combination of college and work experience is another possible pathway in. The kind of “work experience” they’re looking for would be in jobs such as a commercial pilot, navigator or air dispatcher. Those are the standard, ‘paper’ requirements necessary to be eligible but there are more ambiguous job requirements that are so important in ATC work.

The ability to multi-task and keep a fast moving, three dimensional traffic picture in your head is essential. The ability to concentrate in an environment rife with distractions and keep up with frequently changing rules and technology is equally important. You’ll need to handle pressure well and be pretty thick-skinned. Most controllers I knew could be brutally blunt at times and were masters in the art of sarcasm. All in good fun and necessary forms of stress relief in an environment that could really heap it on at times. The trainees I knew who failed did so - not because they didn’t have the necessary knowledge but because they didn’t have these and other necessary abilities.

ATC is like many other jobs in that a person can get all the required book-learning but still be unable to enjoy the work and do it effectively. Looking at other “Jobstr” contributors and learning what they do, I shake my head, knowing I’d fall into that category.

By the way, Oklahoma City is a great place to visit and the academy a terrific place to learn. I always enjoyed going down there for one course or another. You will too!

Best of luck to you!
Factor

Talk about handling pressure. How do you do it? Are ATCs trained in pressure--not stress-management. Is handling pressure a selection factor and if not, why not? thanks, I am a psychologist and look forward to your response

Asked by dr. hank almost 11 years ago

Thanks for writing, Doctor Hank. I’m glad you caught me during office hours. You’ve raised some great questions but, unfortunately, I don’t make house calls.

In fact, I was trained in stress management and the ways of coping with pressure - but the FAA didn’t provide this training. They did, however, provide the learning environment. Our primary means of dealing with pressure was simply understanding that nearly everyone else on the crew was dealing with it too – perhaps even simultaneously. There was a strong team “will” to meet and defeat the challenge. No one had to face the dragons alone and knowing that made a big difference.

Then, after those dragons were dispensed with, we’d all come together for the best kind of therapy we knew. We’d meet at our favorite after-work bar and rehash the shift’s best and worst moments in a non-judgmental environment. As you know; talking about your issues with others who have been through the same thing is both calming and cathartic. As a result; we’d usually show up for our next shift - free of regret, revitalized and ready to do it all over again.

Everyone had their own individual ways of coping with pressure; some more obvious than others. As a floor Supervisor, you’d learn to recognize the signs that a controller was feeling the squeeze. A change in body posture, pumping a leg, drumming fingers, changes in voice level, cursing or throwing things were a few of the more obvious signs. Others were more subtle but a good Supervisor knew them all and acted quickly to assist.

One thing we all tried not to do during periods of high stress was to imagine the number of lives in our hands and the consequences if something went wrong. Stuff like that is distracting and will quickly throw your whole game off.

As to the ability to handle pressure being factor in hiring controllers; I cannot speak for FAA's current policies. I can say that, during my career, there was no reliable way of assessing a potential new employee’s strength in that area. Everyone, including the new employee, had to find out during their first few dips in the crucible. Some did the backstroke and others burned up. Going into the profession, I doubt that many people know how they’ll react when the vise begins to close. I sure didn’t. Although their coworkers may notice some early indicators; most controllers don’t recognize that emotional squeeze until it’s too late. Robert Burns nailed it when he wrote; “O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.”

Thanks again,
Factor

How do I ask ATC for “Simulated IFR” plan if I’m using a safety pilot and neither of us have an IFR rating during VMC. Do the centers have the VFR plan like the IFR plans? I want to practice my VFR plan as if it were IFR similar to flightfollowing.

Asked by LearningHolds over 10 years ago

This is a tricky question. If you want to fly airways, under the hood, in VFR conditions; you can do it. Just have your safety pilot on hand and fly at VFR altitudes. I would recommend patronizing your local approach control/s, who can provide flight following, traffic advisories and perhaps let you get some practice approaches in at one of their airports. With few exceptions, center sectors are not the best resource for practice approaches. Whichever you choose; try to get a feel for when the controllers are busiest. Call the ATC facility, tell them what you want to do and ask when would be the best time. Peak traffic periods should be avoided when seeking flight following, practice approaches, holding, etc.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

What if a air traffic controller or even the pilot dont know English?

Asked by mr pep almost 11 years ago

Hello there Mister Pep! Thanks for writing.

The short answer to your question would be “confusion or chaos.” We’re lucky though. Here on Earth, English is recognized as the official international language of aviation. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says so. However; as one flies further and further away from the U.S. and big, international airports elsewhere, you are likely to hear pilots and controllers communicating in their native tongue.

The big challenge is for pilots and controllers who must communicate in English - when English is not their native language. Unfortunately, it becomes too easy to lose patience with a pilot or controller who is trying to speak English but isn’t doing so well. When controllers must ask for repeat transmissions, it literally doubles their workload and can put them behind in other time-critical tasks. Tempers may temporarily flare but not for long. Such problems are quickly forgotten in ATC’s fast paced environment. That’s when me and my teammates could get back to the problem of misunderstanding each other :(

Fortunately for all concerned, aviation has its own unique lexicon. If everyone sticks to the prescribed, standard phraseology for the situation at hand, everything is usually fine. If not; I blame it on what happened over at the Tower of Babel.

Keep those cards and letters coming,
Factor

Which area of ATC is at the top of the senority list and pays the best? Ground, Tower or Approach/Departures/centre?

Asked by Greg the pilot over 10 years ago

Good to hear from Greg the Pilot! I can’t tell you how seniority is calculated these days. I’m sure it is addressed in the contract between the controllers union (NATCA) and the FAA. As to pay – it should come as no surprise to learn that controllers in the busiest facilities have the greatest earning potential. For example; controllers working at Chicago Center, Atlanta Approach or Kennedy Tower will make more money than those working at a much smaller, low density facilities. Of the busy places; controllers working in centers and approach controls will generally be paid more than those working strictly tower duty.

Monetary compensation aside; controllers learn more and learn quicker in the busy facilities. If you plan on joining the profession and want to work lots of airplanes, those are the places to be.

Thanks for writing!
Factor

What facility do you currently work at? I just toured KMSY last week and it was awesome! I've toured KNEW, but nothing like MSY.

Asked by Matthew over 10 years ago

Hi Mathew! Having retired from the profession, I don't work at an air traffic facility anymore. I can tell you though; all air traffic facilities are awesome places to see. Some are impressive from an architectural standpoint, some for the cutting edge equipment the controllers use but all are amazing for the high level of responsibility their staff takes on when they’re controlling traffic.

Another amazing but rarely seen or acknowledged group of professionals are the ones who maintain the myriad of equipment that controllers and pilots rely on. They install and maintain the radio, radar and telecommunications gear that makes air traffic control possible. Gotta love ‘em!

Thanks for writing!
Factor

After a weather mandated airport delay in take-offs, how is the new take-off order of planes determined?

Asked by C fed over 10 years ago

Well “C fed,” I wish I could come up with a simple answer to that one; like maybe we use a Ouija Board or just let the pilots draw straws. What really happens can often be far less organized or egalitarian. I’ll start with the easiest part to answer. If the adverse weather event is taking place at the destination airport; departures heading that way will normally takeoff in “first come – first served” order. Flights to that destination will be metered out according to how many aircraft the destination can accommodate each hour. For example; if there is a firestorm impacting Hades International and they can only land 20 flights per hour; departures from Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington and other points will be metered out so as not to all arrive in Hell at the same time.

If the weather event is affecting the departure airport; it may affect much of or all departing traffic, regardless of destination. During these situations, departing traffic is affected if the weather is impacting their particular departure direction and/or route. The ultimate destination doesn’t really matter. If the weather is projected to impact that route for some time, ATC may begin rerouting those flights onto an alternate route.

Then there are times when a severe storm parks itself right off the departure runway end. In such cases; nobody goes until the storm moves away and flights can takeoff safely.

During rapidly changing weather conditions; departure routes may open and close several times as the bad weather blows through. This presents the Ground Controllers with very difficult challenges. Generally speaking airplanes cannot pass each other on taxiways. So if, for instance, the third airplane in line can go but the first two can’t? Everybody might have to wait. Flight crews become frustrated, passengers get angry and controllers wish they’d stayed at home. Things eventually get sorted out but not before some departures take significant delays.

The key to all of this is patience; how much everyone has and how long it lasts.

I hope this helps!
Factor

Isn't it common to say "Good Day" or "Alright Good Night" when handing off your plane to another controller or it leaves your air space? Of course I am referring to Malaysia 370. Thanks.

Asked by Mike about 10 years ago

Hi Mike! Yes, it is quite common to bid a flight “Adieu” when it leaves a controller’s jurisdiction. Flight crews usually do the same; whether entering or leaving a particular controller’s world. It’s a way of injecting a bit of calm into the cold, clinical chaos of air traffic control.

Err, have a nice day . . . ?
Factor

In the Air Force and Navy, do the planes on combat missions have contact with any ATC? For planes that take off from carriers- after they leave the ship's airspace, do they have contact with the ship? Thank you.

Asked by 123 about 10 years ago

Will answer soon.

Are air traffic controllers prohibited from joking and sarcasim in their communications with pilots because their statements could be misinterpreted and result in an accident?

Asked by C Lester over 10 years ago

Now there’s an interesting question. When it came to clever quips and scorching sarcasm, most controllers I knew were quicker with their tongues than a rattlesnake. By necessity though, we stuck to our script most of the time – the ‘script’ being a voluminous FAA Order that specifies precise phraseology for every normal and most abnormal situations a controller might encounter. The main reason for this is to standardize the way controllers communicate, thus standardizing what pilots and other controllers expect to hear in a given situation. It’s about safety. Standardized communication even helps compensate for hard to understand accents – foreign or domestic. When you are familiar with the script, you are more likely to understand, even if the person speaking is not fluent in your language or dialect. But there are exceptional moments.

Controllers can be like a jack-in-the-box. The crank turns, the music plays and everything sounds normal. At some point though, a situation occurs that triggers an irresistible urge to step out of the box – often at the cost of our better judgment. When this happens, the lid flies open and out pops anything from the very humorous to the wildly inappropriate. I should add that pilots are equally skilled at this. I’ll tell you though; if anything goes wrong enough that other parties, such as other FAA offices, lawyers or the NTSB, have to review the recordings (it’s all recorded); we end up looking extremely unprofessional – at best.

Thanks for the question!
Factor

How far does an average ATC radar reach? Are there many different strengths for different sized airports? Can they penetrate things like mountain ranges, or go right over them? Thanks

Asked by Jim, over 10 years ago

Hello Jim and thanks for asking another ‘above average’ question!

The average airport surveillance radar (ASR) has about a 60 mile reach from its rotating antenna. Anything that stands in the way of the radar beam (terrain, buildings, bridges and such) will keep it from seeing objects behind and below that obstruction. The radar will, however, see the airplanes flying above it!

Think of your radar antenna as flashlight. From the street, it would light the front of your house but not the back yard. Shine it over the roof of your house and it will illuminate the tops of the trees growing along your back fence. The propensity of radar to reflect off everything in its way actually created a big problem for controllers until someone invented “moving target indicator” (referred to as “MTI”) technology. MTI tells the radar system to display only moving targets on ATC radar scopes. Stationary objects are filtered out so that we can ‘see’ airplanes flying over top of them. As you know, airplanes takeoff and land over cityscapes, mountains and other obstructions all the time, yet they remain in constant radar contact with controllers.

When a new radar system is installed, much attention is given to where and how high the surrounding obstructions are. A process known as “panoramics” is done; whereby a camera is mounted on the radar tower. Then a series of photos are taken in a 360 degree sweep. Distances from the antenna and heights of all obstructions are mapped. From this, technicians can determine where areas of no radar coverage will exist. Sometimes raising the height of the antenna will make a significant difference in coverage. Eventually, air traffic controllers are provided with those maps so they’ll know where the radar blind spots are.

As for the strength of the radar? ATC always uses the “full strength” product, regardless of the airport’s size. As a public service, milder versions of radar can be found in police cars so they can let you know how fast you were going.

Cheers,

Factor

On ATC "RADAR" is it true radar or more like a GPS tracking system because how are the planes all labeled? Do ATC towers have any workers from the airlines or just the FAA?

Asked by Hello over 10 years ago

Hello, Hello! Although the Federal Aviation Administration is in the process of transitioning to a hybrid GPS for tracking air traffic; it is not completely there yet. Most ATC controlled flights are still tracked by radar. The labeling you refer to is done by computer. Each radar controlled plane transmits a discrete code to the computer; which then uses that code to label the radar target with a”data block.” Data blocks typically contain information such as the aircraft’s call sign, current altitude, groundspeed and several other pieces of information the controllers can use. If,for any reason, the airplane stops transmitting that discrete signal; the ATC computer can no longer track that flight. However, radar will still be able to see it.

Airline employees do not work in ATC towers. Thank goodness for that! Given all the different airlines; each with their own special interests at heart – the tower would become a very crowded and contentious place! Instead, there are airline advocate groups that meet periodically with ATC to bring the airline’s concerns forward. Similar associations exist to represent non-commercial or “private” flyers. These various groups help keep the FAA informed of their customer’s current and future needs.

Thanks for stopping by!
Factor

Regarding ATC Operating Initials, what is the traditional method controllers use in determining their operating initials?

Asked by Starfox over 10 years ago

Hi there Starfox! That’s one of the first questions they answered for me when I began my Air Force ATC career. We were encouraged to use the first and last letters of our last name; a method that seemed to coincide with nearly everyone’s initials in the facility. Being “Starfox, you would probably have taken “SX” for your initials.

Once I signed on with the FAA, the ‘operating initials drill’ was still one of the first things they addressed at my first tower. I picked the same initials I used in the Air Force, using the standard method. Trouble was; another controller working there already had those initials. In such cases, the junior employee (me) had to pick different initials.

There really is no rule or regulation pertaining to this. If the first and last letter of the last name doesn’t work; you can actually choose any letters you want. I ended up using the first and second letter of my last name. Thank goodness it is now that easy! Back during the Punic Wars (264 to 146 BC), controllers traditionally settled such disputes with swords and javelins. Last man standing got the initials. To this day I hate sword fights :)

Thanks for writing,
Factor

This Malaysia mystery got me thinking: why can't they record a live cockpit audio feed for all commercial flights. In other words, why only record it to the black box? Recording it REMOTELY as well would be priceless in solving plane crashes.

Asked by Jimbo about 10 years ago

Thanks for writing. I worked with a guy everyone called “Jimbo” but I don’t know why. His first name was Harrison.

Your question is a good one. As you probably know; all communications with air traffic control are recorded on the ground. These recordings are an indispensible source of information during accident/incident investigations. Cockpit conversations between crew members are not currently recorded on the ground. They are recorded on the aircraft’s so-called ‘black box’ but, as I recall, only on a continuous 30 minute loop. Who knows? With the advent of digital recording; the duration of these recordings may have changed somewhat.

The ability to examine the last thirty minutes of cockpit dialogue can be extremely helpful in reconstructing the circumstances leading up to an accident or incident. However, I hesitate to say it would be a good idea to remotely record all cockpit conversation from a flight’s start to finish. As with most other workplaces; conversations may take place that could be embarrassing or worse if heard by unintended ears. Imagine what fun the news media would have with a conversation between the Captain and First Officer about their love life – even if it took place six or seven hours before the accident/incident. People start judging. In my opinion; there is already too little privacy left in this world. Private conversations, as the song goes, “Ain’t nobody’s business.”

Cheers,
Factor

I noticed that at big airports with multiple runways, sometimes LANDING planes will land ON A RUNWAY perpendicular to the one being used for takeoffs, whereas other times all planes either landing or taking off use parallel runways. How come?

Asked by rOGERrOGER over 10 years ago

“Thank you for writing. Your question is important to us. Please stay on this site. All questions are answered in the order they were received.” Make yah wanna scream? Well don’t! Fortunately, Jobstr doesn’t allow patronizing, pre-recorded messages.

Good question! Runway use at airports with multiple runways is determined by several factors. As you know; planes like to land and take off into the wind so the wind direction always plays a key role in runway selection. Other things to consider include the size of the planes involved and how much runway they need to safely conduct landings and takeoffs. What we refer to as “operational advantage” also influences runway assignments. Many times, a pilot will request to land on a runway that is closest to where the plane will park. Although ATC can’t always approve such requests, we try to help out when we can.

I should also mention that controlling perpendicular flight operations simultaneously can be extremely challenging for both controllers and pilots. When projected flight paths cross (like when one plane takes off on one runway while another plane is approaching to land on a crossing runway), timing is everything! Controllers must set the operation up so as to ensure both planes don’t meet up at the point where their projected flight paths cross. Accomplishing this often requires some tricky radar vectoring and speed control for the landing airplane and perfect timing for the controller in the tower who ultimately clears the departure for takeoff. Think of it as trying to throw a bowling ball into a particular window of a speeding train. This is one game where you never want to get a ‘strike.’

Thanks again for writing!
Factor

How has no one asked you this yet: what the heck is your take on this Malaysian mystery? I still don't understand how it took DAYS for them to announce that the plane had veered hundreds of miles off course. Why didn't radar spot that immediately?

Asked by claymation about 10 years ago

All I can say for certain at this time is that it’s unwise for anyone to postulate or prognosticate about what happened or why. Yet that is the only kind of narrative we’ve been receiving up till now. No surprise. Whenever such things happen; the news media drags out the same writers and “talking heads” that blathered on about the last tragedy and all those before. Each of them amply compensated and hoping to be proven correct at some point, which could enhance their credibility and careers. Tripe. About the only thing I haven’t read or heard yet is the possibility of an alien intervention.

Once air traffic control loses visual, radio and radar contact with an aircraft; it is nearly impossible to determine what happened next and why until hard evidence is found. I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty though. Gravity eventually intervened and the plane returned to Earth; either in one piece or in fragments.

Factor

What purpose do the flashing lights on airplane wings serve? (The ones that light up rhythmically even at cruising altitude.) Just so other pilots see the plane? And is there any rhyme or reason to the colors (red/blue) or flash pattern (fast/slow)?

Asked by Copperhead over 10 years ago

Howdy Copperhead and thanks for the question with a very “seasonal” theme! Those red, green and white lights you see while hurtling through the night sky could mean one of two things. Either there’s another plane out there somewhere or you are about to fly into someone’s Christmas tree. Unless you’re flying daringly low; it’s probably the former. That being the case; it’s a good idea to know what those lights ahead are telling you!

Aircraft are equipped with “navigation lights.” These consist of a red light on the left wingtip (in relation to the pilot), a green light on the right wingtip and a white light. That one is normally located on the vertical stabilizer and can be seen clearly from behind the plane. So, basically, if you look out the cockpit window and see another plane’s navigation lights; you will immediately be able to tell whether it is flying toward, away from or in your same general direction.

If you see the red light on the left, green on the right and a white light in the middle? You are approaching from behind. If, on the other hand, you see that red light on the right, green on the left and no white light? You may be in for a head-on collision; which takes all the fun out of a beautiful night of flying. Those lights will also reveal whether the traffic you see is crossing your flight path from right to left (you see only the red light) or left to right (you see only green). This is also good information to know if you’re as determined as I am to avoid an embarrassing crash.

Those bright, white strobe lights you may see on airplanes are simply there to get your attention. What you do next depends on whether you’re laying in a hammock with your beer or piloting another plane.

Thanks for writing and have a happy holiday season!

Factor

Hi! When you see a plane squawking "7500" and you confirm that they meant to, then what is the prodedure?

Asked by Matthew over 10 years ago

Hijacking attempts or actual events are a matter of national security and require special handling, which will likely be different for each event. There is no standard formula. When you look back at the history of aircraft hijackings you will see many variations in how they were handled and how they turned out.

Cheers,
Factor

Do commercial aircraft and private recreational aircraft use the same ATC controllers? Also what altitude do most small private planes fly at? Thank you.

Asked by 123 about 10 years ago

Yes. Depending on their operating altitude; airplanes, commercial or private, using ATC services, use the same control frequencies. Generally; ATC areas of jusisdiction are stratified, so that pilots flying at lower altitudes are talking to different controllers than the ones working high altitude flights.

Most small private planes are unpressurized and usually remain below ten thousand feet. Climbing much higher than that could lead to hypoxia or "altitude sickness." You never want that to happen while you're trying to fly an airplane.

Thanks for writing!

Factor

Under the one/few floors at the top of an ATC tower, it is just an elevator and a staircase? (Where there are no big windows.)

Asked by Hello Again over 10 years ago

Hello again! I really wish my answer could be more intriguing; like maybe the floor beneath the tower cab is where controllers change into Super-Heroes, bake cookies or visit with their psychiatrists but, sadly, there is usually nothing more than a stairwell and elevator shaft.

There are exceptions. I have worked in towers where some of the communications equipment was located just below the cab. One tower had the weather reporting station one floor down from us. A few newer towers have their administrative offices located just below the tower cab. After all; the boss should at least have as good a view as the workers do. Overall though; most of the action takes place on the top floor!

Thanks again!
Factor

What's the most inappropriate thing you've heard of happening in an ATC tower (whether at your airport or elsewhere)?

Asked by Staley over 10 years ago

Hi Staley. Thanks for writing! First off; I have to say that whatever happens in the control room is expected to remain only in the minds of those who were involved. So I couldn’t possibly comment on such things as the guy who showed up for work drunk. Nor could I mention the various sexual escapades that were known to occur. Fights between controllers? Unless they made the national news; they couldn’t have taken place. Of course there are rumors of very inappropriate verbal exchanges between controllers and pilots but I am not in a position to substantiate them.

Now; there are those nasty incidents that are caught on tape and/or captured in a supervisor’s log entry. There, they become a matter of public record for all to hear, see and misinterpret. But if you ask me; I know nothing!

Factor

When a plane is just flying en-route with no nearby airports, are the ATC they talk to in towers at no airport? How many people are talking on one radio channel at any given time? One ATC and multiple pilots?

Asked by Future AF over 10 years ago

Hi there, “Future AF!” Good question. ATC controlled airplanes operating somewhere between their departure and arrival points are usually talking to controllers who work at an Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC for short). These are the controllers working those planes you see flying thousands of feet up, drawing their long, white contrails across the sky. When a flight reaches a certain distance from its departure point; it is turned over the ARTCC. Later on, when it gets close to its destination, the ARTCC controller turns the flight over to a terminal facility (approach control & tower). Repeat the process thousands of times each day and you have our National Airspace System!

On your second question; only one controller at a time talks to a flight. However, that same controller may have several other planes on his or her radio frequency. Then, at some point, each one is instructed to contact another controller working in an ARTCC, tower or approach control.

Cheers,
Factor

While practicing multiple IAPs, you're cleared to the IAF. Is this a clearance limit? Approaching the IAF, the controller is busy and is unable to provide IAP clearance. Do you enter holding at the IAF, or do you continue the IAP inbound?

Asked by Greg about 9 years ago

Why are published holding courses sometimes different By a few degrees than the inbound arrival course

Asked by Bhiler59 over 5 years ago

I work on Eastern Hops FSX Server , do aircraft practise Pattern work at a Class bBor C airport jaylevine589@hotmail.com

Asked by Jay Levine almost 5 years ago

Does it mean Simultaneous Close Parallel PRM Approaches when you have information from ATIS at KATL like below

ATL ARR INFO J 2252Z. 34004KT
10SM SCT200 BKN250 21/09
A3011 (THREE ZERO ONE ONE
RMK A02 SLP192. SIMULTANEOUS
APCHS IN USE VIS 8L, VIS 9R,
VIS 10.

Asked by Hakan over 3 years ago

I am an aircraft mechanic for an airline at DFW. Obviously we have to taxi. We have always used the Gnd. Freq the whole time . Lately we have been told to monitor the tower freq @ the HS line. Why are we doing this now . What does this mean ?

Asked by Dannyd about 7 years ago

What is sfo airport control tower shifts like on a weekday

Asked by Daniel about 10 years ago

After being certified by the FAA as an air traffic controller in the United States, do you have the option to work as an air traffic contoller in another country besides the US?

Asked by Matthew about 7 years ago

You are doing a practice approach, you ask the tower controller to do a touch and go. Is “cleared for touch and go”proper phraseology? And if you did not actually touch down before going missed did you commit a pilot deviation?

Asked by Jeff over 4 years ago

Hi, I'm planning a flight from the Seattle area to the vicinity of Salem, then to around John Day, then back to Seattle area on Monday the 21st of August to view the eclipse. I plan to file IFR. Any issues you can forsee?

Asked by Greg over 6 years ago

How much does jfk airport get paid for air traffic control

Asked by Daniel about 10 years ago

Normally, I pick up my IFR clearance on the ground before I take off. If I were to take off without a clearance, remain VFR, and then call for a my clearance, would that throw a wrench into your works? Is it annoying to you or not a problem?

Asked by Todd over 8 years ago

What uni degree would i need to have to be an ATC? Eg., Bachelor in Management, Bachelor in Aviation Management? (im not from the US, so FAA standard don't really apply to me)

Asked by ATCwannabe about 8 years ago

How many times did you try to become an Air Traffic Controller? What did you do to prepare for your tests if you didn't go to school?

Asked by Ismael over 7 years ago

What is the red phone (emergency phone)'s name and what does it do?

Asked by Redha over 6 years ago

On a flight from Las Vegas NV to Boston Logan Int. airport how many air traffic centers are you in contact with

Asked by Glenn Comeau almost 10 years ago

hi
i wanted to ask if air traffic controllers can work anywhere out of their country of origin

Asked by Ngassam Moise over 9 years ago

In the .65 it mentions that Tracon may omit saying the airport name when telling aircraft to contact tower. For example contact Altus tower versus just contact tower. Does that same rule apply to RAPCONs considering that they're both radar appch cntr

Asked by Chris over 7 years ago

Hello - Just curious - This eve, June 23, about 8:15 PM, I saw a 4 engine WW II model aircraft fly over State Coll, PA, direction, SE to NW, straight & level. Large, 4 engines. If I had to guess, B-29, How/where could I learn about this flight? Thx

Asked by Joe K - state college, PA almost 5 years ago

Hi Factor: about the age cutoff, I always thought there were employment laws that prohibited age discrimination. So how can the FAA get away with a strict age cutoff of 31?

Asked by AgeWut almost 10 years ago

Hello - this eve, June 23, ~ 815PM, saw a 4 engine WWII era aircraft - appeared to be a B-29 (!?). Direction (SW to NW) & alt.,1st thought it was on approach to SC airport. But realized it was straight/level. I'd like to find out what it was. Thx !

Asked by Joe K - state college, PA almost 5 years ago

I want to photograph Stone Mountain monument. Flying under the Atlanta class B should I still call in for a squawk code and advise of my intentions or not bother them and just assure I remain clear and don’t climb into their airspace.

Asked by Nytom over 3 years ago

Do major airports keep records of all incoming and outgoing flights and if so, for how long? Thank you!

Asked by Ed over 8 years ago

I'm very interested in getting started with a career as an ATC but with all the info out there, I'm having trouble establishing the best way to go about it. I have no experience as of yet. Could you please provide me w/ an outline of steps?

Asked by down2theT almost 6 years ago

I have a flight leaving out Fort Lauderdale Airport Friday (09/30) that's headed to Charlotte, NC but with hurricane Ian path forecast to come across Florida to the NE direction, the normal flight pattern is the area of the storm will it be cancel?

Asked by Paul over 1 year ago

IN CASE OF NORDO FLIGHT, IF THE ATC TOWER DONT HAVE GUN LIGHTS WHAT OTHER WAT TO COMMUNCATE WITH PILOT FOR LANDIND OR GO AROUND, THERE ARE ANY SIGNAL BY USING THE AIRFIELD LIGHTS. THANKS

Asked by RSM over 3 years ago

I am currently finishing high school, and I am interested in becoming an ATC, is there any advice you can offer me to become an ATC?

Asked by Kate over 6 years ago

Is it easy for a woman to get into the ATC world? I know that it is a male dominated job and was wondering as I aspire to be one when I'm older. Also, do you have any ideas on what courses i would need to be one? I'm from the UK. Thank you :)

Asked by Amber about 10 years ago

Assume CAVU day, flat farm land from 1 sea level A/P to another. A/C has two radios, Mode C transponder, ADSB IN & OUT. 100% radar coverage. Any reason to ask for flight following?

Asked by John Vybiral over 3 years ago

I live near a small busy airport. My computers sit in front of a window and keep dying. When the latest started to go I moved it and it was instantly cured. Is there a way to measure the radar coming through the window? Am I safe?

Asked by Wordmaster about 8 years ago

Can I be an Air Traffic Controller if I have a diagnosis of ADD? I have taken Ritalin, Concerta in the past from 1st-9th Grade. I have been off of the medication for 2 years and counting now. Will my chances be slim to none? Thanks for the response.

Asked by Ethan about 5 years ago

what are your hours:)

Asked by Ben about 9 years ago

What are the shifts at sfo airport on regular week days

Asked by Daniel about 10 years ago

Is working in the control tower on a holiday really boring

Asked by Daniel about 10 years ago

How do you feel about air traffic controller jobs being taken over by robots?

Asked by Rachel jefferson about 6 years ago

Lost Communications: While on flight following, radio communications have failed while outside a airport in class C airspace. Can I squawk 7600 and enter the traffic pattern at the airport?

Same question while not on flight following?

Asked by OCPilot about 7 years ago

what is different between air traffic control now and past

Asked by aljawalat over 9 years ago

Hi; I've been retired since Jan 2008 and don't even know anyone from my last facility. I have a friend whose son is going to have a new hire physical soon. Do you know what kind of physicals they are doing for new hires? Class II or just controller?

Asked by Jane G Lee about 3 years ago

what is the different between app. conrtroll and en route ?
and tell me what each unit provide ?

Asked by aljawalat over 9 years ago

What determines where flight livels begin?

Asked by Jess almost 10 years ago

I'm going through a custody case. My ex claims he can never request time off. How does scheduling work for someone who's been an air traffic controller for 1-3 years? Is it really tat impossible to submit a request ahead of time and will be denied?

Asked by Concerned Mom about 8 years ago

Under what conditions does the tower (local) controller have to give heading instructions to an aircraft upon takeoff clearance?

Asked by Stefan over 7 years ago

Can an Air Traffic Controller quit his job whenever he/she wants to move on in life,and start going back to College?Or,must they have to get fired in order to quit the job as an Air Traffic Controller just to get back to College ?

Asked by CLIVEN about 7 years ago

How many days in a week did u train during training and how long was the session?

Asked by sixth form student over 3 years ago

Can an Air Traffic Controller quit his job whenever he/she wants to move on in life,and start going back to College?Or,must they have to get fired in order to quit the job as an Air Traffic Controller just to get back to College ?

Asked by CLIVEN about 7 years ago

Can an Air Traffic Controller quit his job whenever he/she wants to move on in life,and start going back to College?Or,must they have to get fired in order to quit the job as an Air Traffic Controller just to get back to College ?

Asked by Cliven about 7 years ago

Hello, I’m 15 in high school looking forward to being a future air traffic controller and I was wondering if I would have to be very good in math to even begin this career, Thank you.

Asked by Iyana Hudson about 4 years ago

Hello, I’m 15 looking forward to being a future air traffic controller. My question is, do you have to be very good at math to have this career. Thank You.

Asked by Iyana about 4 years ago

I was an air traffic controller in the navy back in 2004. I'm 34 now and I haven't seen a control room 13 years. Is it too late for me to go back?

Asked by Rahsaan almost 7 years ago

My aircraft doesn’t have a working radio at a towered airport and I want to fly out. How do I let the tower know I am ready for taxi?

Asked by Dedyamisha about 1 year ago

When a Controller says descend "out of" FL300 and then descend via....arrival, to get under traffic, what does the words "out of" mean since the aircraft's current altitude is higher than the FL300? In other words, define the words "out of?"

Asked by ZB over 6 years ago

I want to be an air traffic controler at Australier.I'm Srilankan.Now I'm following degree at Open university in Sri lanka.What can I do for winning my goal?

Asked by A.D. almost 9 years ago

When a new airline is coming in for the first time like its inaugural flight do you focus in that airplane and help it get around quicker than other planes so you can make a good impression

Asked by Da about 10 years ago

ATC instruction: "Descend FL280 to be level at INGOR".
During this descent, still before INGOR, the next ATC controller gives us "Direct to KOLIV, descend FL 100". Does this cancel the requirement to be level 280 by INGOR?

Asked by Koen over 5 years ago

Need 2 ask question about helicopters in the western long Island, queens and Brooklyn areas.. (basically all the space within 30 miles of JFK, Laguardia, and the two small airports on Long Island but only am allowed a minimal amount of characters

Asked by NumberoneMetsfan over 8 years ago

If someone can email me ccmeyerowitz@gmail.com so I can ask my question I'd appreciate it

Asked by NumberoneMetsfan over 8 years ago

I hear you can get into ATC with a combination of schooling and work experience. I went to college but never graduated and have worked at an airport on and off for three years. What’s the requirements for work and schooling to get into atc training?

Asked by Bran over 3 years ago

Will signing a contract that a USAF member will not consume alcohol during enlistment/obtaining a waiver to continue ATC duties after an alcohol related incident carry into civilian world/affect civilian employment?

Asked by Anon almost 7 years ago

During RNAV arrival, ATC issues a "descend and maintain" any lower altitude. Do pilots have to comply with published speed restrictions if no other clearance is obtained? (No descend via, nor cleared xyz arrival...)

Asked by Jose Sanchez over 6 years ago

I live in Brooklyn, NY. Helicopters fly barely above my building, blowing curtains and freaking out my cat. They are flying from JFK to the East River Heliport. How low are they allowed to fly over residential neighborhood?

Asked by mmgreene13@gmail.com almost 10 years ago

What books do you recommend for someone who is interested in ATC and wants to learn more about it (bare in mind im 17 :)?

Asked by Daira almost 3 years ago

Enroute from MPV to ACK is it better to fly direct over BOS T 7500 or rout via PVD at 5500?

Asked by Tom Emory about 8 years ago

What are those four letters (for example : "Foxtrot Zulu Charlie Quebec") refer to, at the end of some conversations the tower has with aircrafts ?

Asked by crowdedskies almost 7 years ago

In your experience, is it safe to fly? (as a passenger) Some pilots sound less than intelligent on ATC videos. See: Kennedy Steve on YouTube

Asked by Jax about 8 years ago

My question is a simple one, ATC uses phonetic numbers (WUN, FIFE, NINER) when saying individual digits, but what about when specifying an altitude of 1900 ft? Is this spoken as ONE THOUSAND NINER HUNDRED (note the use of NINER) or not?

Asked by Stephan E. almost 7 years ago

Do airport approach/departure controllers work at the top of the tower along with ground and tower controllers, or are they somewhere else, like a nearby TRACON facility?

Asked by Edgardian over 7 years ago

When you control, do you regularly experience mind wandering (thinking about something not related with ATC)? How do you fight it?

Asked by Jonas over 8 years ago

I was a 911 dispatcher at one time and think your job would be 10x more stressful than that. You guys have nerves of steel. My fav show AIRDISASTERS....so interesting!

Asked by mcmjuly over 9 years ago

If I am currently taking a testosterone booster DHEA 65mg, and have to get a drug test in a week for pre-employment, is this a drug that is considered banned by the FAA?

Asked by Sean about 4 years ago

In the Air Force and Navy, do the planes on combat missions have contact with any ATC? For planes that take off from carriers- after they leave the ship's airspace, do they have contact with the ship? Thank you.

Asked by 23 about 10 years ago

In case of communication failure during IFR in VMC in controlled airspace pilot has to maintain last assigned alt (..etc) for 7 min. (Annex 2) Is there a reason it is 7 and not 10 or 5 or 3?

Asked by Alex K about 10 years ago

..correction: in IMC.

Asked by Alex K about 10 years ago

At smaller fields, where permission has been given to proceed, what you like to hear over the radio as a callsign and procedure-wise from a powered paraglider?

Asked by p51randal over 6 years ago

When given a traffic advisory, if I don't see the aircraft visually but do see it on ADS-B equipment, should I tell the controller I can "see" the traffic?

Asked by John H. over 7 years ago

Hello...
Can an air craft make low pass over the runway in use while another traffic on line up waiting for a take off clearance?? I just thinking of the jet blast !
Thanks a lot

Asked by Nader Ben Ismaeil over 3 years ago

Hi, if a plane was to suffer a failure that would lead to it crashing in a town/built up area would ATC notify local emergency services of what was happening to allow them to assist with preservation of life? Thank you

Asked by Rosia over 9 years ago

Hey there! I'm glued to this Q&A.
Have you ever heard of a controller being demoted? Or sent for retraining?
Thanks so much.

Asked by Patrick over 8 years ago

Hello, what do they ask in entry exam

Asked by James over 8 years ago

I'm currently training as an ATC in Qatar. When I finish my course I will get diploma certificate. Am i able to work with this certificate?

Asked by kim over 4 years ago

Back story I’m a US military service member who is getting a CTO before i get out. I won’t have 6 months with it but per the Far 65.39 military members are exempt if they have 6months in the tower. Will i get a contract job ?

Asked by BM about 2 years ago

hello, i have a question for the atcs. i'm interested, when taking off from the runway (06) and want to do a right hand turn but want to be parallel to the runway, what my new heading should be. is there any kind of formula ?

Asked by Vako over 6 years ago

Hy. Let say this is your clearance: you are cleared to Miami Airport as filed. After take off, tun left heading 220. Climb and maintain 2000 feet. Expect 12000 feet after 10 min.." What do you do if you lost comms right after takeoff? Thanks

Asked by Michael about 9 years ago

I know the maximum age for FAA ATC is 56. If you retire from the Air Force as an ATC at the age of 39, will the FAA extend your separation age so you can still receive the 20 year retirement?

Asked by Nick about 8 years ago

How will the shape of class B airspace and flow of traffic change in the far future as higher thrust-to-weight ratios, VTOL, and aerospace operations become more commonplace? Specifically, the height of class B with space-shuttle-like approaches?

Asked by Jason Reskin almost 7 years ago

I have a Quicksilver light sport aircraft without a transponder. There are several GA airports just within a Mode C veil that I would like to go to. Is there a way to fly into them with prior approval?

Asked by Frank about 8 years ago

I have a Quicksilver light sport and operate just outside a Mode C veil. The plane has no transponder but there are several airports just inside the Mode C veil that I would like to fly into. Can I fly into the veil with prior approval?

Asked by Frank about 8 years ago

many years a go a C130 aircraft after establishing ILS, at 4 miles deviated to the left and crashed to a bulding, were the cotrollers (radar and tower) reponsible for this crash? why?

Asked by ezk over 5 years ago

AIM 5-3-3 Sates that we must report when our ETA changes +/- 3 mins. Is that information you actually use? I can see advising of larger changes but +/- 3 mins seems insignificant.

Asked by FlyinRyan over 4 years ago

While using VFR flight advisory service and being told by the controller "radar service terminated, contact advisory" prior to landing but he doesn't say "squawk VFR, should the pilot stay with the previously assigned discrete code?

Asked by Scott brewster almost 8 years ago

Just wondering, generally speaking, if atcs are allowed to direct planes to taxi ON runways. Especially at major airports.

Asked by TrafficNut over 6 years ago