ATC orders go-around as a joke

"Putting hundreds of passengers at risk!" ~bimbo fox reporter

The short clip is out of context and I'd like to hear the 30 sec before and after...but, it looks pretty bad for the controller. I'm having a hard time thinking when the phrase, "I'm kidding" would be an appropriate transmission.
 
OK, I can see some light-hearted transmissions on the ATC frequency...my favourite that I've heard was a controller reporting the altimeter as "Connery, Moore, Brosnan" (30.07)

But "Go Around" has a very specific meaning that generally results in an immediate response from the pilot. And in the case of heavy-iron, a very expensive response from the pilot.
 
That sucks.. I'd hate to be in that controllers shoes right now, but my take is I actually like how some controllers are being more personable and more like normal people at times. I like when they play nice and say fun things. I guess he just picked a bad time and phrase to be funny. I don't think this guy needs to lose his job over this. I don't want to be talking with robots on the radio. Maybe some sort of fine or something would be more appropriate.
 
I agree. The controllers at the airports I've been to are efficient and mostly very nice and helpful and occasionally fun when traffic is low.

Luckily, there is a wide gulf between "humorless robot" and "GoAround as a joke." :)
 
JasonM said:
That sucks.. I'd hate to be in that controllers shoes right now, but my take is I actually like how some controllers are being more personable and more like normal people at times. I like when they play nice and say fun things. I guess he just picked a bad time and phrase to be funny. I don't think this guy needs to lose his job over this. I don't want to be talking with robots on the radio. Maybe some sort of fine or something would be more appropriate.
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I've had ATC joke around with me before, and I enjoyed it, but this completely crosses the line. I think an unpaid suspension is in order.
 
Hobobiker said:
That was my thought when I saw the video as well. Huge delta between what I get hit with on the Hobbs of my PA-28 rental to do a go-round vs. the big iron like that. Ouch...
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Heck, in the PA-28, once he says he was kidding, chop the throttle, put the flaps back in and slip it to a landing a couple hundred feet further down the runway without flying another pattern!
 
Captain said:
The short clip is out of context and I'd like to hear the 30 sec before and after...but, it looks pretty bad for the controller. I'm having a hard time thinking when the phrase, "I'm kidding" would be an appropriate transmission.
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I heard a little more of the earlier part of the transmissions. It's available in the "Interesting" archive on LiveATC.

The flight was saying there was no gate currently available, hence the comment about needing a place to park. Sounds like the go around was the "joking" alternative to not having a place to park.

The controller probably felt like an idiot a second after he said it.
 
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midlifeflyer said:
I heard a little more of the earlier part of the transmissions. The flight was saying there was no gate currently available, hence the comment about needing a place to park. Sounds like the go around was the "joking" alternative to not having a place to park.

The controller probably felt like an idiot a second after he said it.
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I heard that too and had the same thought.

I can't tell if they chopped the audio together or if the transmission was that quick. In all the clips it is about a second apart between the "go around" and "I'm kidding"

Pilot may have been being an ass and kinda pulling an "I'll show you, buddy" by going around.

In the audio, the pilot doesn't even have time to read back the instructions.
In context I think this is just a controller bantering with a pilot and the pilot turned it into a news story.
 
Reading the comments section on the article reaffirms my notion that this country needs a cleansing.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Pilot may have been being an ass and kinda pulling an "I'll show you, buddy" by going around.

In the audio, the pilot doesn't even have time to read back the instructions.
In context I think this is just a controller bantering with a pilot and the pilot turned it into a news story.
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I dunno man - if I'm the pilot flying and at 1000' the controller tells us to go around, I'm hitting the TOGA button and taking it around, no questions asked. And once that button is pressed, it's pretty tough to put the genie back in the bottle while maintaining the stabilization criteria. If this happened outside the marker or something that'd be one thing, but at or inside a thousand feet, a go-around tends to be an 'execute and ask questions later' kind of thing. Of course I wasn't there, but I doubt this was a punitive action on the part of the crew.
 
Captain said:
"Putting hundreds of passengers at risk!" ~bimbo fox reporter

The short clip is out of context and I'd like to hear the 30 sec before and after...but, it looks pretty bad for the controller. I'm having a hard time thinking when the phrase, "I'm kidding" would be an appropriate transmission.
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This is what you take from the story?

You got it baaaaaaaaad. haterade like this will shorten your life. Meh - I say that like it would be a problem. I guess, go ahead and hate. Mazletov.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Pilot may have been being an ass and kinda pulling an "I'll show you, buddy" by going around.
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Absolutely not. If instructed to go around, it is pretty much a Pavlovian response to GO AROUND. Once the crew hits the TOGA button, they are committed to continuing the missed approach.

In the audio, the pilot doesn't even have time to read back the instructions.
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As it should be.

In context I think this is just a controller bantering with a pilot and the pilot turned it into a news story.
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Nope. Controller screwed up.
 
*cough* relying on automation *cough*
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Pilot may have been being an ass and kinda pulling an "I'll show you, buddy" by going around.
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I could see something like that coming from American (ie airline whose pilots who become ambivalent to the success or failure of their airline due to years of bad management ), but this was Delta.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I heard that too and had the same thought.

I can't tell if they chopped the audio together or if the transmission was that quick. In all the clips it is about a second apart between the "go around" and "I'm kidding"

Pilot may have been being an ass and kinda pulling an "I'll show you, buddy" by going around.

In the audio, the pilot doesn't even have time to read back the instructions.
In context I think this is just a controller bantering with a pilot and the pilot turned it into a news story.
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Well, "I'm kidding" is not something I can find in the P/C gloassary. The last articulated actionable transmission was "630 go around", the next one was "630 cleared to land" after some other discussion about parking.

I would have done exactly the same thing. An order to "go around" followed even seconds later with "cleared to land" equals "unable, I'm going around".

"630 go around" <> 'banter' when 630 is on short final.
 
Well, if you were hand flying rather than just pushing buttons...

:stirpot:
 
EdFred said:
Well, if you were hand flying rather than just pushing buttons...

:stirpot:
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I don't know about airliners but we do our go-arounds hand flown, but even so, we wouldn't change our minds once we had started it.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Absolutely not. If instructed to go around, it is pretty much a Pavlovian response to GO AROUND. Once the crew hits the TOGA button, they are committed to continuing the missed approach.
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A side question for you and the other "bigger aircraft" pilots. You said missed approach. For an instance like this, when I would guess it's VMC conditions on the field and your were cleared for the visual approach, do you just due a standard traffic pattern to come back around? Or do you need to switch back to approach and get vectored back to the localizer and the IAF/FAF?
 
They had the tape on CNN this morning. The controller actually said "GO AROUND." Frankly, I'm going to push the throttles forward (or punch the TOGA button) before I even think of acknowledging, especially in a something like a modern airliner that is going to take several seconds to respond to that instruction.
 
AggieMike88 said:
A side question for you and the other "bigger aircraft" pilots. You said missed approach. For an instance like this, when I would guess it's VMC conditions on the field and your were cleared for the visual approach, do you just due a standard traffic pattern to come back around? Or do you need to switch back to approach and get vectored back to the localizer and the IAF/FAF?
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I'll answer for a smaller "bigger" aircraft. In my experience they ask if you want to go back to approach or cancel IFR and do a visual pattern.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Absolutely not. If instructed to go around, it is pretty much a Pavlovian response to GO AROUND. Once the crew hits the TOGA button, they are committed to continuing the missed approach.



As it should be.



Nope. Controller screwed up.
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Agree. I don't fly them big fancy airliners, but if I hear go around I'm going to be full throttle with my pitch set and reconfiguring for go around before I get to the ptt switch. Instant muscle memory go arounds and missed approaches are something I engrain in students.
 
Timmer said:
I agree. The controllers at the airports I've been to are efficient and mostly very nice and helpful and occasionally fun when traffic is low.

Luckily, there is a wide gulf between "humorless robot" and "GoAround as a joke." :)
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I'll bet a new silver dollar coin that the FAA will issue an edict by month end stating "go by the book in all radio transmissions".
 
AggieMike88 said:
A side question for you and the other "bigger aircraft" pilots. You said missed approach. For an instance like this, when I would guess it's VMC conditions on the field and your were cleared for the visual approach, do you just due a standard traffic pattern to come back around? Or do you need to switch back to approach and get vectored back to the localizer and the IAF/FAF?
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Everskyward said:
I'll answer for a smaller "bigger" aircraft. In my experience they ask if you want to go back to approach or cancel IFR and do a visual pattern.
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In my world, 100% of the time we are operating in Class B airspace and tower will hand us back off to Approach so we can get revectored. There is usually just too much traffic to be allowed to do a VFR traffic pattern.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I heard that too and had the same thought.

I can't tell if they chopped the audio together or if the transmission was that quick. In all the clips it is about a second apart between the "go around" and "I'm kidding"

Pilot may have been being an ass and kinda pulling an "I'll show you, buddy" by going around.

In the audio, the pilot doesn't even have time to read back the instructions.
In context I think this is just a controller bantering with a pilot and the pilot turned it into a news story.
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I don't agree. We're not talking about a light GA aircraft but a large transport-category airplane that requires a re-spooling of engines. If it had been a "real" go-around instruction, failure to act immediately could have created a disaster. One doesn't "read back" a go-around instruction first. One goes around first. Right away.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I don't agree. We're not talking about a light GA aircraft but a large transport-category airplane that requires a re-spooling of engines. If it had been a "real" go-around instruction, failure to act immediately could have created a disaster. One doesn't "read back" a go-around instruction first. One goes around first. Right away.
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Good point. I am completely unfamiliar with what is required by the big planes. Our little ones are certainly more agile.
 
Captain said:
"Putting hundreds of passengers at risk!" ~bimbo fox reporter

The short clip is out of context and I'd like to hear the 30 sec before and after...but, it looks pretty bad for the controller. I'm having a hard time thinking when the phrase, "I'm kidding" would be an appropriate transmission.
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Lol, yeah, I've had controllers tell jokes and BS a bit, but the phase 'go around' nor other standard order came into play. I guess if he survives the pee test, he'll get some supplementary training and miss a promotion or two. I imagine one of our Live ATC guys will put up the full recording.
 
Yep, hearing the words "Go Around" for me means immediate full throttle, adjust for best climb, then mash the radio and "Bugsmaher 1AB, Going around", but the radio is the last step.
 
Even in light GA, I wouldn't take a Go-Around as meaning: "Look around and see if there's something that might cause an issue and if so, go around."

Instructions like go-arounds or "make immediate climbing turn!" from ATC are definite act first then communicate to see what's going on.
 
JasonM said:
That sucks.. I'd hate to be in that controllers shoes right now, but my take is I actually like how some controllers are being more personable and more like normal people at times. I like when they play nice and say fun things. I guess he just picked a bad time and phrase to be funny. I don't think this guy needs to lose his job over this. I don't want to be talking with robots on the radio. Maybe some sort of fine or something would be more appropriate.
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:confused::confused::confused: In the 25 years I have been flying and talking to ATC, I have never had them be anything but friendly and personable.

I chuckle when people talk about Long Beach Todd, because he was one of the best and friendliest controllers to me there. I'd come into the downwind on 25L in my Travelair and there would be 5-7 152s in front of me and he would clear me for 'Your option short approach at the tower land long 25L" "O4Y, executing" and I'd roll in all the flaps and make a diving, slipping, turn around the tower. Or he would clear me from the down wind 25L to land 30 'and the double left'. Of course I learned there and then worked and kept my plane there. But even 15 years after he had last heard my voice save once, when I flew in a new tail number in my 310 for AOPA Summit, he said "Clear to land 30, welcome home Henning."
 
JeffDG said:
Yep, hearing the words "Go Around" for me means immediate full throttle, adjust for best climb, then mash the radio and "Bugsmaher 1AB, Going around", but the radio is the last step.
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Reality is you should be able to manage it all simultaneously, if you can't...:(
 
There's a reason it is aviate, navigate, communicate in that order. Why should you feel you need to acknowledge right away? They can see you going around. Besides, as a crew there are things you are saying to each other as part of the process.
 
Henning said:
Reality is you should be able to manage it all simultaneously, if you can't...:(
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..what? You're a bad pilot and shouldn't be in the air?

It's probably possible in the standard bugsmasher to add power, remove carb heat, adjust flaps, and communicate all within 2 seconds. Personally, I might be concentrating on stabilizing and looking around for conflicts before I give the radio any attention. Just me. :dunno:
 
Henning said:
Reality is you should be able to manage it all simultaneously, if you can't...:(
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You must be an incredible pilot. I'm relatively new around here but have seen all your comments and your skill level must be quite significant. Are we going to see you performing at an airshow sometime? I would really love to see someone as highly skilled as you obviously are performing live.
 
"I was just kidding!"
"Oh, ok. No problem. Carry on."
"Really?"
"No, just kidding. You're fired."
 
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