Ever wonder why air travel is such a pain in the ass

[J-Man]

NEW YORK – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether a child directed planes from Kennedy Airport's air traffic control tower.

A child's voice can be heard on a tape making five transmissions to pilots preparing for takeoff on Feb. 17. The recording was obtained by WFXT-TV in Boston.

In one exchange, the child can be heard saying, "JetBlue 171 contact departure."

A male voice in the tower says: "That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school."

The child later clears another plane for takeoff, and says, "Adios, amigo."

The FAA said in a statement: "Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic." It added: "This behavior is not acceptable."



http://ajc.newsinc.com/video.html?wid=1529&cid=5051&vid=74765

 

[Diamond45]

I've heard of "Bring your kid to work day" but this is NOT what they should be doing!

 

[AngraRULES]

And then they use the TSA to make us feel safe, not exactly to make us safe.

Unbelievable...

 

[nailz]

I don't see the problem if they're being told what to say and when to say it, and being clearly supervised. If they make a mistake or say something wrong, at least someone can jump right in and correct the mistake before disastrous results happen.

No, I would not care if someone under 18 who was being told what to say told my pilot to take off. Landing, or air navigation, however, would be a different story.

 

[PureXul]

I don't see the problem if they're being told what to say and when to say it, and being clearly supervised. If they make a mistake or say something wrong, at least someone can jump right in and correct the mistake before disastrous results happen.

I don't think it's so much the kid saying something, as it is indicative of the fact that the air controller probably isn't taking their job completely seriously. It could very well just be a harmless lapse in judgment in this case, but 1) I'm guessing there are protocols in place that dictate that air controllers shouldn't be having their kid sit there and issue commands for them and 2) I'd rather not have air controllers get in the habit of having ANY lapses in judgment.

 

[nailz]

Yah, you're probably right. I guess I'd like to know how old the kid was before I jump to conclusions. I mean, people have to be trained to be ATC's anyway, so you're not always going to have the experience guiding your plane, right? *shrug*.

 

[Yippee38]

It's no big deal. It's not like the kid was making decisions. He was saying what he was told to say, when he was told to. THIS IS NOT A BIG DEAL! Our society is so eager to get their panties in a bunch, it's disgusting.

 

[booB]

I'll laugh if Barack Obama has to nuke someone, and he lets Melia push the button.

 

[BABS]

Yes, this was very entertaining to read in the morning news. I go from wanting to smirk and then flip out because it truly is a serious issue.

Remember that movie that had John Candy in it where he's an air traffic controller and he starts flipping out while staring at the screen and giving directions? Maybe that's what happened here with someone's daddy needing to go outside for fresh air or take a whiz (lol).

 

[nailz]

It's no big deal. It's not like the kid was making decisions. He was saying what he was told to say, when he was told to. THIS IS NOT A BIG DEAL! Our society is so eager to get their panties in a bunch, it's disgusting.

As someone who flies, I will definitely believe you. It also helps that I agree.

 

[Pellaz]

It's no big deal. It's not like the kid was making decisions. He was saying what he was told to say, when he was told to. THIS IS NOT A BIG DEAL! Our society is so eager to get their panties in a bunch, it's disgusting.

As several pilots confirmed this morning on Neal Boortz's radio show....hearing the kid clearly and (relatively) slowly giving directions was a welcome change to the pilots involved...since the controllers at Kennedy and in the entire Northeast Corridor are notoriously fast-talkers.

Listening to clips from the actual tape, it was clear that the pilots involved were amused, and not upset by it. But I'm sure that a scapegoat will have to be found, and the controller whose kid it was will be thrown out on his ass in the street come next week.