But, let me just say this: When I was at ZAU I served 14 months in Quality Assurance. I cannot tell you how many times a controller who came into the office as a result of an incident was absolutely, positively convinced he’d said this or done that. Not a doubt in his mind (all opinion, of course). Then we played the tape.

Nothing in one’s opinion or recollection counts until one has listened to the tape. One can defend one’s opinion until hell freezes over, but if the tape proves that one’s opinion is wrong, it’s still wrong…and indefensible.

It seems to me such a simple solution. Maybe everyone at PBI is wrong in the assessment they made after listening to the tape. But in every case, it’s a more informed assessment than one can have if they haven’t listened to the tape, even if (and especially) they experienced the situation in real time.

Listen to the tape. I don’t even care if you report back, but if you don’t listen to it, your opinion doesn’t even count as an opinion.

LRod
ZJX, ORD, ZAU retired

P.S. “UU” are your real life initials MI? We worked together.

I have read no unprofessionalism in this article, as it is the opinion of a crew. However, I have read a few unprofessional comments about this article.

The original writer has shown no malice. I don’t see why some individuals here are getting so defensive about this particular situation. The writer felt the situation was worth writing about. We also have the right to express out opinions and views as well. I just encourage all to express them as professionally (if not more-so) as originally written.

Really? I think the explanations and invitations to meet/talk/listen from the “other side” have shown far more credibility than your steadfast refusal to do so. Seriously, I think all of my questions have been adequately answered.

UU/ZAU

I used to work at FLL, about 9 miles to the north is FXE (smaller arpt). At night the county required us to shut the runway lights off on 9R making our arpt layout, from the air and at night, almost identical to FXE. I had a commercial airliner (I won’t mention the carrier so as not to start another war of words) tagged on radar to land at FLL. MIA, who is the parent approach control, vectored the aircraft almost over but slightly west of FXE for their approach to FLL and a visual approach landing.

After the pilot told MIA that they had FLL in sight the MIA controller cleared them for a visual approach to RY 9L at FLL and switched them to me. This pilot called and proceeded to make a 270 degree right turn and line up for RY 8 at FXE on about a 7 mile final. I informed the pilot that he appeared to be lining up for the wrong airport and where FLL was. The response back was “Missy, you just let me fly the airplane.” OK, I called MIA and let them know I was trying to get them back to the south and FLL, I also called FXE to make sure that they understood that I had the airplane and was trying to get him off their final and to ensure that they kept any traffic clear of him. The pilot was positive that he was correct and at a 2 mile final I canceled his clearance, climbed him, turned him to the south and pointed out FLL. He landed safely with no additional incident.

I thought it was over but the pilot was livid, demanding my name and the facility number. I guessed as to what happened, the localizer freq for FXE is 111.10 and for FLL it is 110.10, a simple misdial on his equipment. He told the sup (who witnessed everything) that he had everything under control until “That Woman” interfered with his flight. That MIA for some reason had vectored him over FLL and brought him in from the south and through the localizer (localizer misdial is becoming more believeable).

Nothing the sup said would satisfy this PIC. The sup even offered to produce the radar print out to show him how he never flew south of FLL and it was another arpt to the north (FXE) that he overflew. MIA was in the loop the whole time and it was only after a threat of a pilot deviation from MIA that the PIC backed down. The next day the first officer called to apologize, not to me but the facility. I guess after sleeping on it they realized that they were in error or maybe it was when they were in the craft the next day and saw the misdialed frequency.

I guess the point of the story is that you might think everything is fine until it isn’t and then people start reading more into the situation that really isn’t there. Did you pay attention to the controller’s voice before being taken off the runway? His tone might never have changed either before or after he talked to you but because something unusual happened, you might have read more into it then what went on.

When you put this blog out you set into motion an investigation by the facility or by the region. Not out of curiosity but because you leveled a charge of unprofessionalism of the unnamed controller. This is something that many facilities take very seriously and not something that would be covered up.

You now have heard that the facility found no unprofessionalism on the controller’s part and a request by many to listen to the tapes once again. We could never get the unnamed carrier pilot to do it even though 3 separate facilities saw his error so be the better pilot and listen again without all the distractions of a cockpit environment. You might be surprised that maybe things didn’t go down the way you thought they did.

I still think we should simply agree to disagree, but that simply doesn’t seem to be enough for you.

And for the record, having flown into PBI during the Thanksgiving Hell weekend, I’ll bet you probably are a pretty good controller.

I never said you or anyone else down there were bad controllers.

Rob

One thing to consider. If the transmissions came across to the crew as “snippy’, you might want to think about it.

I guess I should explain to you that controllers are kind of like cops and tend to close ranks when they feel threatened.

A decent manager will defend his troops and the quality assurance department is usually comprised of people who were controllers, who took the job to impress the powers that be so they can move up in the ranks and maybe become managers themselves one day.

Now that I’ve been retired a couple of years I can see things more clearly than I could when I was working. West Palm Beach controllers, regardless of what they say, have never really been a happy bunch.

We got a bunch of them at my old facility who were promoted back in the 90’s and they were usually either slackers or whiners. Maybe the culture in PBI has changed since then.

As I ponder this, if I were still a working controller, I would probably be quite upset and offended if someone posted an article like this that questioned my service.

BUT, I would like to think that if there were any truth to it, I would learn from it and not be quite so offensive in response.

The fact that he is so vehement and vocal reinforces to me the vanity he possesses.

Shane, the union rep, is actually a pretty nice guy, but also young. His job is to defend his people, so expect nothing less from him.

Keep in mind also, that most controllers really do work hard and try to do the best job possible. PBI does work an incredible amount of traffic for the type facility they are, especially at this time of year. Thanksgiving week is HELL in S. Florida, and most of Florida, especially V-3.

It isn’t an easy thing to write a blog either, is it? I think you do a great job. Perhaps you’ve pissed some people off, but that’s the hazard of free speech.

It isn’t as if you named names. They were the ones who identified themselves in your remarks. Think of all the hate mail my friend John Carr must have received over the years.

Keep plugging!

Signed,

Retired ATCer

The dictionary calls an opinion, “a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.”

Honestly though folks, the more vehement and the more personal this discussion becomes the more questions it is raising in the minds of the public, I think.

I never mentioned anyone by name and I never said anything was unsafe at PBI. But that, of course, is just an opinion. It’s not right, or wrong … it is just the way I see things.

You are certainly free to agree or disagree.

Then to claim ethnic bias? You should issue a written apology to all involved, including the pilots for this horrible claim. You are the one who embarrasses American ideals of truth, fairness and personal responsibility by allowing your article to remain posted the way it is written. It is clear you dont have an editor (and that you need one). I can re-write your article for you:” I was sitting in the cockpit with two pilots who weren’t listening like they should. We had to waste time and gas because of it. The airport was busier than it looked because of construction and maybe the controller got a little annoyed with us. He wished us a good day on the way out anyway. When we made it to new york safely, the controlled talked a lot more, which I think is cool. I like to brown-nose my pilot friends.” –Sounds like what you were going for to me.

I noticed that this blog is sponsored by Cessna. If I were Shane and Charlie, I’d play the tapes for Cessna and see what they think of the kind of trash their corporate name and money is sponsoring and associated with. I would also show Cessna the 11-21 response from the author which is sarcastic and shows low character in my “opinion” -which Robert, you gotta agree with me having, since you want to be so entitled to yours. I guess one is entitled to their opinion when they think they are facile with the written word. Using Roberts logic, I think am a good writer, therefore what is above is acceptable too, right? I mean, its well written and cute too!! (In my opinion)

Robert, Whatever sarcasm you may have thought you detected from the bad apple, you clearly have exceeded in your smug 11-21 reply. Which makes you a hypocrite as well. Just apologize and take this ignorant, unsubstantiated mess down.

I would love to catch this on the LiveATC feed archive.