Pet Peeves: Communication breakdown

The disagreement/misunderstanding between controllers and pilots are sometimes the result of legal box-checking (weather alerts), or requirements demanded by previous accident investigations (“maintain 2,500 feet ’til established”). And still others are simple human errors where pilots and/or controllers, both of whom have to juggle several balls at once, miss a detail or two.

Airline pilot Alistair Stanton said, “I call ground with the ATIS. Without fail, ATC responds, ‘Let me know when you have the ATIS.’” While I wouldn’t go so far as to say “without fail,” this happens often. Then again, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to add the ATIS code myself, and I’m not the only pilot who does that on any given day. This would be a perfect example of human factors prioritizing the important issues and zoning out the less important, yet still required information. First on the controller’s and pilot’s mind is who you are, where you are, and where you’re going. Oh yeah, and that ATIS thing. Sometimes, that falls by the wayside.

Many pilots groan at “Turbo ATIS,” the one that’s read so fast you have to listen to it three times to copy it all down. Not all airports have digital ATIS and not all airplanes have printers, so yes, controllers, please keep it slow enough that we can get it copied in one listen. Along the same lines, there are some fast-talking controllers out there. Airline pilot Eric Neiste says, “It kills their purpose if I have to say ‘Say again.’”

AOPA Editor at Large Dave Hirschman ponders the ATC statement, “maintain visual separation.” Seems obvious, doesn’t it?

A controller who wished to remain anonymous responded: “First, we’re required to say those exact words. At that point we are no longer using our set of rules and the responsibility separation lies solely with the pilot. At that point, we don’t care if you get within one-tenth of a mile of the traffic as long as you don’t hit him. It’s a very useful tool to keep traffic moving, but it requires active participation by the pilot(s). Telling us ‘looking’ doesn’t help us keep you climbing. It’s really helpful below FL180 if pilots respond with ‘traffic in sight and we can maintain visual,’” said the controller.

Several pilots rightfully complain about ATC calls at inopportune times. Airline pilot Cleveland Brown laments, “They always call us on the radio at 1,000 feet on climbout or at 60 knots on landing. They do know that there are callouts we are supposed to make right at those moments, right?” Airline pilot Chip Wright adds, “Controllers have no idea how busy a jet crew is on landing and can’t understand why we don’t always get the immediate taxi instructions correct, or why we sometimes just ignore them. They should be required to wait until the plane is off the runway before talking.”

“We hate having to read all those just as much or more than you all hate hearing them,” says one controller.While Wright’s proposal may be somewhat extreme, he brings up a good point. A pilot’s first priority is to fly the airplane. If there’s a radio call at the wrong time, simply ignore it. While some pilots can process the taxi instructions at critical times (at their home field, perhaps), others can’t. For those who can’t, simply ignoring the call is completely acceptable. To avoid departure distractions, Wright suggests the United States adopt the policy of many foreign countries to contact departure as part of the takeoff clearance, i.e. “Airline 123, cleared for takeoff Runway One Two, contact departure airborne one two four point three.”

Airline pilot Mark Zurick wants to go one further with regard to departure clearances: “Why can’t they assign a departure runway when we call for our clearance?” While this is an admirable idea to avoid inefficiencies and distractions, a busy airport is a dynamic place that’s subject to changes at short notice. But an “expect-departure-runway” clearance could eliminate delays and distractions at critical times and keep taxiways unclogged as pilots plug in new data.

Pilots who utilize flight management system departures and arrivals may raise an eyebrow at this clearance, “Frac 123, turn right heading zero two zero, when able direct HIROY.” In this world of RNAV departures and arrivals, why not just say “cleared direct HIROY”? For airplanes equipped with an FMS and already established on the RNAV departure, going direct is likely two button pushes away from happening. No need to go to heading mode and spin in the initial heading. Corporate pilot Kurt Selbert says, “This always bugged me too, until I flew with Garmin 430/530s! Just give me a heading to start, and 15 seconds later I’ll have it in the box.”

“As Kurt said, sometimes that 15 seconds means a whole lot to us,” said the controller source. Because of that, expect controllers to continue to use the courtesy headings.

Another beef for Hirschman, “Hazardous weather advisories available on HIWAS blah, blah, blah....”

“We hate having to read all those just as much or more than you all hate hearing them,” says one controller. “Same with calling precipitation. However, due to accidents and resulting lawsuits, the suits downtown require us to broadcast all of the above. And yes, we are recorded, monitored, and disciplined for not doing so. Even with pireps showing the weather is 30,000 feet below you, they require us to call it,” she added.

Fractional pilot Brian Mathers prefers handoffs from approach control to the tower instead of the contact-tower-at-the-marker clearance. “On a busy approach, this could result in a failure to obtain clearance to land,” said Mathers. “At the FAF, I contact tower if I have not already done so. But it’s best to have approach change over most of the time.” Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is famous for this clearance and, since it’s in a minority of airports that utilize it, can sometimes catch pilots off guard. Whenever I get this clearance I hack a timer as a reminder that I have to switch to tower and make the call at the marker.

My personal favorite is being vectored off course for spacing rather than simply reducing speed and, in turn, reducing fuel burn. Who likes going fast the wrong way? “Sometimes speed control isn’t enough,” said one of our controller sources. “We don’t have enough time or space in the sector for speed control to be effective,” said another controller. “I love using speeds only, it’s a lot easier.” Of course, winds (especially in the winter) and true airspeeds that vary greatly with altitude create spacing problems in the sector that only vectoring can fix.

Corporate pilot Selbert ponders that awkward silence when reaching the end of the runway on taxi out for departure. He refers to the Aeronautical Information Manual, which states that turbine aircraft are assumed to be ready upon reaching the end of the runway. “If the controller isn’t ready, just tell us,” he says. “It will eliminate guesswork on both sides.”

Airline pilot Brian Ford doesn’t appreciate the preemptive calls by ground control with taxi instructions. “It hasn’t happened often—twice—but both times were at the exact wrong time,” he said. “If you just happen to be in your after-start flow (which for me ends in setting flaps) and you interrupt that to respond, you may end up taxiing before you are ready.” Controllers and pilots alike are guilty of trying to speed up operations by making preemptive calls. In this instance, ignorance of required pilot procedures and the distraction factor are a real threat, despite the good intentions.

On the lighter side of ATC/pilot interactions, Senior Editor Jill W. Tallman’s eyes roll, “When I get called ‘sir.’” This happens a lot, on both sides of the mic, I’m afraid.

When ATC asks Wright, “Say type of approach requested?” he’s quick to say, “A successful one!” He expects a laugh “or at least a chuckle.”