well, not quite, more like *junior to captain*.   I can see both sides of this, given that I grew up around airports (daddy started with Southern Airways in 1958, I think), and there's no place that I didn't get to go, inluding the towers.  However, I wasnt' allowed to pick up a radio and talk to a pilot either.

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I read about this thing this morning. Awful.

Reminded me of my cousin who would not stop having my little neice answer the phone and carry on a 4 minute conversation of which I could understand 5 words. Cute but enough is enough.

Charlie

The pilots seemed to enjoy it (from what I heard on the radio today).

Wouldn't you have LOVED to have been on the plane the kid was 'talking' to?

Ya'll know I love kids and think they can do "nothing" wrong, but this was a little over the line. Daddy needs his butt spanked for taking him to work in the first place. The control tower in a major airport is NOT the place for a kid.

My 2 cents.

:-*

Quote:

The control tower in a major airport is NOT the place for a kid. My 2 cents.

Ditto

We are up to 4 cents

And it happened not once, but twice.  What I find amazing is the amount of people defending the pilot, *no harm, no foul*.

Could have been a major foul if there was some sort of emergency and there were two kids in the way.

This kid obviously had his dad standing right behind him calling all the shots. He's probably better than your average air traffic controller, and he let his kid act on his behalf - equivalent to letting your kid sit on your lap while driving for a short time with his hands on the wheel. You're still in control of the vehicle.

What is there to get so uptight about here? The dad was obviously still in total control of the situation, and I'm finding it difficult to see where he was being irresponsible.

Hell, America elected a man-child who's more unqualified to do HIS job and is now trying to ramrod an overhaul of one-seventh of the American economy on a straight party line vote - an overhaul the vast majority of Americans strongly disagree with. Who's more irresponsible?

Lighten up, people.

FAA said it best.


Quote:

This lapse in judgment not only violated FAA's own policies, but common sense standards for professional conduct. These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable,"

So get bent out of shape about it. You're entitled.

What a country.

Brew wrote on Mar 4^th, 2010 at 10:28am:

This kid obviously had his dad standing right behind him calling all the shots.

Overriding though, the FAA calls the shots there.

Kevin_M wrote on Mar 4^th, 2010 at 12:26pm:

Overriding though, the FAA calls the shots there.

His father, as an employee of the FAA, being the FAA calling the shots there.

Yeah, but would you have wanted a kid in the tower the day that plane ended up in the Hudson?

Brew wrote on Mar 4^th, 2010 at 12:33pm:

His father, as an employee of the FAA, being the FAA calling the shots there.

Being they are probably the ones combing fields and oceans to reconstruct a jet piece by piece to find the cause, I'd imagine they'd like certain precautions as preventive measures in place. 

Just wow.

With so many possible scenarios, where would the line be drawn.


"My buddy's been feeling really down since being laid off so I thought I'd bring him to the tower and announce some takeoffs"

"I got a new girlfriend I'd like to impress and let 'er say "Ready for takeoff" from the tower."

"My kid's got the day off from school and..."


Which are ok, which not.  Or perhaps it should just be a controller communicating.

Nevermind, Kev.

Ok.  I was just wondering if the option three presented was no big deal, what opinions might be on all other possibilities.

Kevin_M wrote on Mar 4^th, 2010 at 5:20pm:

Ok.  I was just wondering if the option three presented was no big deal, what opinions might be on all other possibilities.

You'll have to solicit those opinions from others. I just can't relate to all the "rules are rules" stuff.

Nobody has fun anymore.

Safety is one thing where rules can be helpful, though not maybe fun.

Brew wrote on Mar 4^th, 2010 at 12:33pm:

Kevin_M wrote on Mar 4th, 2010 at 12:26pm: Overriding though, the FAA calls the shots there. His father, as an employee of the FAA, being the FAA calling the shots there.

I'm an emplyee of a large real estate management company but I certainly don't call the shots for the company. I, like the the controller, am expected to follow the companies policies and procedures. If I don't then I will pay a consequece for that. Just as the controller should. He was suspended and justly so.

[/quote]

I will pay a consequece for that. Just as the controller should. He was suspended and justly so.
[/quote]

As should any pilot of any airplane landing or taking off based on the instructions from a child's voice.  The pilot should have radioed back, "not moving this plane until the controller tells me to".

Just my 2 cents

Sandy

Only in America do we defend something not too fucking bright?

The people around Buffalo, where the crash that killed so many friends and family a year or so ago, don't find this amusing.

Charlie

This was ground control, not air traffic control.

But rules are rules. And everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Quote:

This was ground control, not air traffic control. But rules are rules. And everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Hopeless.

This guy simply acted stupid. I have no doubt his heart is in the right place but jeesh. He needs the rest he is getting. I don't think he should be fired but as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake would say: "He deserves such a pranging."

Charlie

This one's a tough call.

There's little doubt in my mind that the controller in question had a firm handle on the situation. He certainly was wearing a mini headset-type communication system and could easily over-ride his kids' transmission if some emergency were to arise. The kids were probably using a hand-held microphone used for training purposes that can be over-ridden by the instructor/controller. And it is doubtful that this happened during peak traffic hours.

It is sad that so many people who have no idea whatever what goes on in a tower, RAPCON or ARTCC have gotten their panties in a bunch over this. Granted, Father Fed has its rules, and this controller broke one of them. On the other hand, I don't think this controller endangered anybody or anything by his action...unless it was his own position as an active controller.

Brew wrote on Mar 4^th, 2010 at 8:59pm:

This was ground control, not air traffic control. But rules are rules. And everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Nat'l Trans. Safety Board:


Quote:

In the late 1980s, an inordinate number of runway incursions/ground collision accidents resulted in substantial loss of life, and the NTSB issued numerous safety recommendations addressing the issue.

As opposed to being described as uptight, bent out of shape, or getting panties in a bunch, some might think policies simply appropriate to the hazards.

In any event, when it comes to dealing with airline safety, perception is one of the biggest parts.

Charlie