"Airtraffic control, its me, coach class row 13, I've got this sinking feeling, is everything alright?"

~ Jets to brazil

Airtraffic control

So as everyone in America has learned ::Gasp:: an Airtraffic controller took his kids to work and let them talk on the radio.... ITS ANARCHY!!!!! RUN!! HIDE!!! THE END IS NIGH!!

On a more realistic note, lets be serious here for a minute.... Yeah, it was against everyone's rules to take the kids there, SIDA rules, FAA rules, blah blah blah.... We understand it was against the rules what the guy did, there is no question there... But, if you listen to the news and all the talking heads, you'd think the world was coming to an end or something. I mean lets be serious, if you listen to what the kids are saying to the outbound flights, they aren't issuing any critical instructions really. A trained chimp could call back the flight's call sign and tell them to contact departure.

To elaborate a little, the kids apparently told one flight they were "cleared for take-off" (Which I'm sure one of the adult ATC guys directed the flight into position prior to letting the kid issue the final take-off order), and told a few others to contact departure (Which just means your high enough to be on radar and should stop receiving instructions from the ground controller and switch frequencies to get directions from the departure controller).

Now, we all know they broke the rules letting them do this, but its not like it was the end of the world here.... Some people are going on and on about the ATC guys possibly getting distracted or something by the kids, but I really doubt they brought the kids up there at any point where it would be a serious issue. I wouldn't be surprised if they brought the kids up there while another crew was on duty even just to show them around the tower. Mind you now, this story is over a month old if I'm not mistaken and people are just now finding out about this. Furthermore, if you listen to the pilots calling back the commands, they don't seem in the least bit concerned about the whole ordeal, they think its cute. I can't really say I blame them here, I mean when I was a kid we used to be able to go up to the gate and see our family member's plane come in and if you were REALLY lucky, one of the flight crew might even take you down and let you sit in the cockpit for a minute or two. Also, when I was a kid, I went up into the control tower and had a look around even while flight operations were going on and controllers were working. It isn't like this is something new and amazing, its been going on for longer than some of us have been alive. Furthermore, if it had have happened at over a hundred other airports, we probably wouldn't even know about it... ATC net only covers a small fraction of the thousands of airports around the country, just so happened someone was listening and recording JFK that day (not surprising, its JFK after all heh).

A few news agencies have pointed out that an Aeroflot flight crashed in siberia because kids were at the controls.... Yes, thats true, it happened, but with that said there is a lot of difference between being at the controls of a flying plane and being behind the ATC radio with your dad behind you.. Furthermore, if the flight crew of that aeroflot plane had been as familiar with the way their brand new fleet of scarebuses (Airbuses to most people) operated, the accident never would have happened. In russian planes you apparently don't turn off just parts of the autopilot system, its either completely on or off, and you also get a loud bell sounding when its turned off (The scarebuses apparently don't for only parts being turned off). Had the flight crew known about that (As they should have) they could have stepped in and avoided the whole disaster.

I guess all I am saying is don't blow the story out of proportion. Yeah, it violates security and a dozen rules having the kids up there, but from a realistic sense, no planes were going to crash from the kids reading back some very simple commands on the radio. I can sympathize with the ATC guys though, I mean were losing the  parts of our lives that make us who we are in a way. You can't take your kids to work anymore and show them what daddy does for a living (even one day) and you never get to see their eyes light up in amazement at just how cool dad's job is anymore.... Sad state of affairs this world of our's is these days....

Tags: Airport Airline Airtraffic Control Kids

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