airtraffic

Author Topic: Controller in trouble for letting child direct air traffic at Kennedy Airport  (Read 52671 times)

Offline Lynch_Christopher

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I was watching this story on the news before. A controller is in trouble for letting a child direct air traffic.

Link to the story:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/national/child-directs-airplanes-over-radio-transmissions-at-jfk-airport



Offline looneytunes

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anyone know who it is?

Offline Lynch_Christopher

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I don't think anyone is going to give out the name of the controller which is good since the whole thing is under investigation. If it were me I wouldn't want my name given out for the whole world to see. I am really surprised that he let his son direct aircraft in those transmissions.

Offline aevins

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It would be in very poor taste to do that.

Offline dave

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It would be in very poor taste to do that.

And is in direct violation of one of the rules of behavior for these forums.

Offline rekno13

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I think its the guy I like listening to at JFK too. : (

Offline marcoleon

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Just heard the story on 1010 WINS news complete with a recording. The guy is on administrative leave while the FAA investigates it.

That sucks...

Offline pbramlett

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I saw the story.  I heard the clips and am very saddened by this.  Irritated to be exact.  Daddy was right there, in control, supervising. 

The dad and son just got a lesson in how crap runs downhill.  Its too bad the kid (who did a great job) will not be able to remember this fun day with his dad the way it was meant to be. 

Our society over reacts so much over the most petty things.

sigh

Offline captkel

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It's one of the top stories on Miami talk radio this morning. I gotta go with NO BIG DEAL on this one because (don't tell any one) when I was a little older then this child, maybe 12, I too was a radio star at FLL. That was 40 years ago :-o
I think it's safe to assume that the controller that allowed this no longer works for the FAA :-D

Offline Dan CZQM

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By what I heard, at no time was any aircraft's safety in jeopardy.  He was much easier to understand than some controllers I have listened to.

It's obviously that the real controller was giving the complicated instructions, junior only gave very easy instructions.  He did good.

Was it right?  Maybe not.  Did I like it?  Darn right I did.  Hope all works out for the controller or as the article states "controllers".

Dan

Offline b757lvr

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 :? The situation was 'controlled'  I have to agree that this is really no big deal.

Offline MSN ATC

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That kid did better than some professionals I've heard.

Offline andyjoy

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again the world press making something out of nothing!! the pilots  didnt seem to mind and im sure if they wernt happy with it they would have opened there mouths

yeah perhaps it was wrong but a slap on the wrist for all involved and a dont do it again would have been enough after all not like the kid was unsupervised. Well atleast when he goes back to school he will have a great story to tell  :-D

Offline supadoggie

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again the world press making something out of nothing!! the pilots  didnt seem to mind and im sure if they wernt happy with it they would have opened there mouths

yeah perhaps it was wrong but a slap on the wrist for all involved and a dont do it again would have been enough after all not like the kid was unsupervised. Well atleast when he goes back to school he will have a great story to tell  :-D

I agree completely. The press is blowing it out of proportion (like they always do..)

They make it seem like the child was unsupervised. From the audio it sounded like he was directing ground traffic with the help of his dad right next to him.

unfortunately, the controller will probably be fired for doing this..

Offline edman610

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I agree - the media has nothing better to do than this - which should be a non-story. I listened to the replay on liveATC, it was clearly during a very quiet time at JFK, the kid was doing great, the controller even announced what was going on so the pilots would not think it was a rogue comment from someone with a portable transceiver.

With the shortage of controllers & not many wanting to live in NY for the same pay as elsewhere, they should publicly reprimand the guy, and then privately just say "what were you thinking..?" and let it be done with.

Offline KPryor

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Agree with everyone else here, it's not a big deal at all.  Just another case of making something out of nothing, unfortunately.  I hope no serious disciplinary actions are taken against the controller.
KP

Offline iflyhi

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 hey dave,  why wasnt live atc  initially credited for the recording ?            edman and supadog,    definatly agree w/you.    see    www.1010wins.com   ..   most comments are positive.   i hope all involved come away from this  ok.     no harm here   a slow time in the tower   but probably not a wise decision by dad.   the press has ran amok w/this as usual.     BUT,  id not like to see this on a regular basis.  its cool to bring your kid to  " TAKE YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY"       good  luck and wishes to those involved     we NEED quality/veteran controllers ...

Offline joeyb747

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Seems pretty harmless to me...

"The few quick exchanges between the elementary-school-aged child and jets waiting to take off from JFK became public after they were recorded and posted on the Internet. On the recordings, the child appears to be repeating simple instructions given by his father."

From:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20100303/US.Child.Air.Traffic/

Offline TroyUAL

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hey dave,  why wasnt live atc  initially credited for the recording ?            edman and supadog,    definatly agree w/you.    see    www.1010wins.com   ..   most comments are positive.   i hope all involved come away from this  ok.   

I came here to ask if Dave or LiveATC members can help these controllers in any way.  The media is crediting Dave as the person who initially reported these recordings.  I'm curious to ask if that is true, and if so was it reported as an issue, or was it just interesting and cool? 

I'd like to know if there is anyway to help these employees, as I'm thinking they will lose their jobs by the time the media gets done with them.  Any FAA contacts or suggestions from the forum?

Thank You,

Troy

United Airlines SFOOO

Offline supadoggie

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hey dave,  why wasnt live atc  initially credited for the recording ?            edman and supadog,    definatly agree w/you.    see    www.1010wins.com   ..   most comments are positive.   i hope all involved come away from this  ok.     no harm here   a slow time in the tower   but probably not a wise decision by dad.   the press has ran amok w/this as usual.     BUT,  id not like to see this on a regular basis.  its cool to bring your kid to  " TAKE YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY"       good  luck and wishes to those involved     we NEED quality/veteran controllers ...

Dave was credited in the comcast.net article.

Offline iflyhi

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thanks  supadog ,  i wasnt aware of that..         troy,  god bless,  id be one of the first to support them if i knew the regime.  any one out there have any suggestions? 

Offline cateyes_777

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I feel so bad for the kid and his father (I have a feeling whom it might be), it was all so innocently done, and he did such a great job, and it didn't sound like the pilots had a problem with it!!!

Offline timstamper

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Was this the same controller who was in that legendary recording known as "Bad Day at JFK Ground"?

I'm very new to aviation communications but that guy is very good at what he does, even if he does inject a little humor into his job.
The NBC coverage of this was ridiculous, they managed to equate the JFK controller with an Aeroflot pilot who let his kids fly and subsequently crash an airliner. They played B-roll of the wreckage from that crash when discussing the JFK "incident." The mind reels from the lack of ethics.

Offline shortboarder

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This sucks. That guy is my favorite controller - a total pro and fun to listen to, particularly when he's under pressure. Unfortunately, this whole story has become fodder for the 24-hour news cycle since there's literally no other news happening in the world :roll:

When I was young my parents took me to their workplaces (both are scientists in medicine).  You _could_ consider those labs a pretty dangerous place with the variety of chemicals and even radioactive material that was around, so I guess that would make my folks wildly irresponsible in the eyes of the world.  Too bad, since those trips got me interested in science more than any textbook or classroom could.

Of course the FAA has to investigate - they can't immediately issue a statement that says it's "not an issue", but give the guy some slack - the kid isn't vectoring the planes on final approach. Plus, the kid is easier to understand than some of the pilots!

God forbid a father takes an interest in inspiring his kids.....

Offline shortboarder

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I think this is the same controller that talked Jet Blue 654 back into Kennedy shortly after takeoff, even after loss of voice radio comm. If any of the news media are poking around these forums, it might be worth noting that this guy happens to be _really_ good at what he does. It would be a shame if the hysteria around this incident took him away from the tower...

http://www.liveatc.net/forums/atcaviation-audio-clips/jbu654-erj-190-aug-31st-2009-smoke-in-cabin-followed-by-loss-comm/