JFK tower getting mad

[xnvyflyer]

That was hillarious.  That pilot was a bit of a stump but the controller needs to tone it down just a tad.

[keith]

The pilot needed to get a pen and write down his instructions. Asking him to repeat the MERIT portion wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't asked for his taxi route twice, and been told to cross the rwy twice.

Controllers usually do a pretty good job of issuing the instructions clearly enough such that they're not ambiguous and don't bear repeating. A pilot who reads it back correctly, then later asks for a repeat is either being overly cautious, or has forgotten the original clearance.

Asking for MERIT again once he reaced the rwy was very strange, since they had talked about it before. The name of the SID is the MERIT3, so it's kinda of hard to miss it.

That said, the controller wasted all that air time chewing him out when he could've just said said, "Mike Echo Romeo India Tango, MERIT".  Restating MERIT HFD PUT  was useless as the pilot has already read all of that back.

When I start getting annoyed at pilots on VATSIM as a controller, I'll drop in a "listen carefully..." or "as I said before..."  but taking that much time to chew someone out if you're busy/tired is a waste of your own energy.  I've tried the long chew-outs in the past, and have never felt good about it afterwards.

[davolijj]

When I start getting annoyed at pilots on VATSIM as a controller, I'll drop in a "listen carefully..." or "as I said before..."  but taking that much time to chew someone out if you're busy/tired is a waste of your own energy.  I've tried the long chew-outs in the past, and have never felt good about it afterwards.

Chewing someone out on the frequency is counter-productive.  It may make a controller feel better at the time but it can only exacerbate a conjested frequency and kill any rapport the controller has with pilots on at the time.

As for the VATSIM example...my problem with VATSIM is there are so many people who participate at different levels.  Many of the pilots flying around the network have very little knowledge of IFR procedures or even the basic flying.  In the real world controllers expect a certain level of knowledge and awareness on the part of all pilots, especially those flying IFR or in busy terminal areas.

[keith]

Chewing someone out on the frequency is counter-productive.  It may make a controller feel better at the time but it can only exacerbate a conjested frequency and kill any rapport the controller has with pilots on at the time.

Agreed. The only exception is when the pilot is SO far off base that even other pilots start turning on them.

As for the VATSIM example...my problem with VATSIM is there are so many people who participate at different levels.  Many of the pilots flying around the network have very little knowledge of IFR procedures or even the basic flying.  In the real world controllers expect a certain level of knowledge and awareness on the part of all pilots, especially those flying IFR or in busy terminal areas.

Yes, it's an ongoing problem, but the network is generally worthwhile, and there are enough solid pilots to sustain a good experience.

[pblocki]

Those guys work on the edge

[AirKevin]

"Do you have any further questions about your route, your taxi route, the route you're going to fly, anything else."
"Not for now, sir."
"So now I'm sure in 30 seconds you'll have another one, but continue to the runway."

Fun.