Worst radio call. Ever.

E

embarrassed

Guest
The situation: IFR student, doing a practice non-aligned VOR approach to an uncontrolled field in turbulence with CFII, getting a bit behind the airplane while attempting to determine if the GPS overlay showed all the waypoints needed for the DME minimums (it did).

CFII reminds me I forgot to make my call to the field.

And out comes the worst set of absolute garbage ever heard on the radio. I'm normally quite good with communications, but apparently was just at task saturation and that was one item too many past the FAF. Since we didn't plan to land or touch and go, I didn't look up the runway numbers, then still tried to translate what the VOR approach was into VFR-speak. Wrong direction numbers for the one strip at the field probably not in use and opposite to the FAC, garbled words, long pauses. I'm still beet red in the face.:(

Lesson learned: brief the approach well outside the FAF in terms of what your maneuver will look like to the VFR folks in the pattern, along with everything else normally briefed. Barring that, just say you're on the VOR practice approach... :rolleyes:

At least I didn't bust minimums etc. (kept flying the plane).

What's the worst call you've ever made outside of being a lowly PPL student pilot?
 
Been there. Only time in my flying career a cfi has had to broadcast a corrected radio call for me was in the exact situation you describe. I had a fair bit of experience talking on radios as a volunteer firefighter, so clear, concise, correct radio usage has always been a point of pride for me. Task saturation is real, and it's amazing how stupid you get when your brain gets overloaded. Thankfully it gets better and in the real world you have lots of time to brief and think about the approach.
 
What a timely post. All I can say is we all have those moments.

I take pride in my radio work having been a ham radio operator since high school(yikes 45 years) but on a recent flight I had a total brain freeze. Flying along with another pilot and we were chatting, I decided to ask for flight following. When my call was acknowledged I locked up, total brain fart.....a few ah's while trying to remember my direction and distance to the local VOR, aircraft type would not come out....it was just ugly. My fellow pilot looked at me in disbelief...I regrouped, corrected my lack of knowledge and preparedness, and spit all the info out. After the exchange my right seater asked if I was alright...he said he never heard that or in this case lack of that out of me before. I laugh now, but was so embarrassed. So at just 1400 hours and travels across the country IT happens.

Hang in there and brief the approach plate early.
 
And then there’s the times you don’t realize you had the mic key pressed...

In navy planes it’s on the throttle grip, toggle up to talk out, toggle down for intercom.

First carrier landing in the fleet, skipper is my NFO in the right seat.

Grab a wire, Ive forgotten to lock my harness. Gotta go to full power anyway, which is nice because I’m pushing like hell on the stick and throttle trying to keep my face off the instrument panel, “hoooooly fuuuuudge”, only I didn’t say fudge. I said THE word...

Skipper giggles at me, boss comes up in the radio and says “703, I agree”. About then I realize I musta keyed the radio with my death grip on the throttle! Wups.

Don’t know how I didn’t get a callsign out of that one!

Tools
 
Doug Reid said:
It is also embarrassing when you use the wrong n number, wrong airplane and find out you are on the wrong frequency !
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Ha...i broadcast my "10 miles out intentions" call going into an uncontrolled field the other day..... only to hear about 15 airline pilots shout "you're on guard!"

I would've felt bad, but I'm pretty sure they live for that.
 
On the ground, ask for an IFR clearance on Guard (forgot to flip flop). The usual cacophony of "GUAARRRD". Check the radio, com 1 is on ground, not sure what the problem is, ask again, GUARRD! again. Realize I'm transmitting on Com 2 where I usually monitor guard. Duh..
 
I have done this from time to time. When I forget the runway number I just use direction and distance. Oldpilot flight 63 is 5 South low approach only.
 
On a very gusty day in the midwest I heard someone making inbound calls to an untowered field, no other airplanes in the area. After several changes in landing direction they called "Heck, anyone over Hermann get outta my way, I'm comin' in!"

Nauga,
high and wide
 
Tools said:
And then there’s the times you don’t realize you had the mic key pressed...

In navy planes it’s on the throttle grip, toggle up to talk out, toggle down for intercom.
Click to expand...
"Up is out and down is in."

After I gooned up a call to ops leaving our line they referred to me as "One-one I mean one-three" for the remainder of the calls.

Nauga,
and his verbal stylings
 
GMascelli said:
What a timely post. All I can say is we all have those moments.
Click to expand...

^ This. :eek:

Later you'll get them when ATC throws a curveball at you, or you're not fully focused on what you are about to say and push the button anyway. :eek: Or so I've heard. ;)



Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk
 
I used to own a Super Cub and went fishing in British Columbia a lot. Then I bout a Cessna 185. I was (apparently) used to my Cubs "N" number because I used it to close a flight plan in Canada.

Long story short, I got in trouble because they had to search for the 185. Luckily it was just a radio search. They gave me hell though and didn't believe my story.
 
Don't be embarrassed, no one else gets embarrassed, or I should say most don't, if it comes out wrong, fix it and move on.
 
Doug Reid said:
It is also embarrassing when you use the wrong n number, wrong airplane and find out you are on the wrong frequency !
Click to expand...

Taking my wife for a quick ride a some years ago I wanted to appear very professional. Went well as we over flew another airport and I changed frequencies to announce we would be overflying the field at whatever altitude. But as I returned to the home field I didn't realize until I was about to turn base that I had forgotten to reset the radio and was on the wrong frequency. Trying to be be slick I simply reached over to change to the correct frequency when I heard a little voice in the headphones say, "I saw that." o_O
 
GMascelli said:
I locked up, total brain fart.....a few ah's while trying to remember....it was just ugly.
Click to expand...

Oh my gosh! This gave me the most horrible flashback to the time I went to a formal dinner at the gun club and tried to introduce my gorgeous new girlfriend to another member.... and I couldn't remember her freaking name to save my life!

At least ATC is just on the radio laughing at you instead of standing there... arms crossed... giving you the death stare......
 
There was the day I flew three aircraft in one day. I was trying to make a position announcement, then scrolled through all three planes until I figured I got the right one, then ended up giving my position “east” instead of “west”
of the field.

A couple days ago approach asked for my plane designation for flight following. I completely blanked on it. Eventually I did remember but it was no fun.
 
Once when approaching Phoenix, as I was taking in a breath to repeat what the controller just told me, I inhaled my gum down the wind pipe, followed by a minute or two of coughing and listening to several attempts by the controller calling me, then barely getting out what he needed to hear.

I never chewed gum in a plane again after that...:blush:
 
Jim K said:
Been there. Only time in my flying career a cfi has had to broadcast a corrected radio call for me was in the exact situation you describe. I had a fair bit of experience talking on radios as a volunteer firefighter, so clear, concise, correct radio usage has always been a point of pride for me. Task saturation is real, and it's amazing how stupid you get when your brain gets overloaded. Thankfully it gets better and in the real world you have lots of time to brief and think about the approach.
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It's good to know I'm not alone! :) Thanks all for the stories, lessens the embarrassment a bit.

It's not the first time I've been saturated while learning, and honestly it's amazing just how bad the sudden performance degradation can be. It is also interesting how the next time you come back to a similar task it often seems so much easier. Then you wonder what all the fuss was about back when, and why you were so thick at the time... :D
 
Getting an IFR clearance in the run up area over the phone connected to my headset via bluetooth. Later realize I was pressing the push to talk and transmitting over UNICOM my half of the conversation every time I talked back to the guy on the the other end of the phone to include reading back my clearance. I’ve done this a couple of times. Luckily both times I was the only one around to hear my goof, at least as far as I know,
 
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Not mine but was on frequency one flight and another pilot was fumbling on the radio so bad ATC just straight up asked "N456, are you a student pilot?"...pilot responded in defeated sheepish voice "no"
 
Shawn said:
Not mine but was on frequency one flight and another pilot was fumbling on the radio so bad ATC just straight up asked "N456, are you a student pilot?"...pilot responded in defeated sheepish voice "no"
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I would have answered "yes", then I probably would have gotten, why are you on an instrument plan. LOL.
 
Somewhat recent-ish....

Me: Flying in from the West to Goodyear, AZ (KGYR)
Phx: Lance 817, Contact Goodyear Tower, good day.
Me: Thanks. Over to Goodyear. Lance 817.
Me: Fails to switch comms........
Me: Goodyear Tower, Piper Lance 20817 inbound 15 miles from the west, with information Quebec.
(spooky silence........)
(understand that Goodyear isn't the busiest airport in the area....)
Me: Goodyear Tower, Piper Lance 20817 inbound 15 miles from the west, with information Quebec.
(more spooky silence.......)
Me: Goodyear Tower. Wakey, wakey!
Phx: Lance 817, Try Goodyear on 120.1. I'm pretty sure they're already awake.
Me: Oh crud. Thanks.
 
I had a class D not respond to my calls on a sleepy Sunday morning. I switch to ground even though I was in the air, and they responded:

Tower: You’re on ground, you should be calling on tower frequency
Me: Tower you weren’t responding
Tower: Ohhh.........try it now.

Sometimes even the pros make silly mistakes.
 
Oooooh.... ATC goofs. Student controllers would often times give RECIPROCAL headings on a GCA (ground controlled approach). These headings have as little as two degrees heading change on final. Students would just start heading to these erroneous headings without thought!

You’re 300’ in the goo and wham, right to 30 deg angle of bank doing a 180!

A deeper saltier voice would come right on with the correct heading, a little puff of smoke from the students helmet, and wham, back ya go towards the right heading. These would get right colorful!

Tools
 
I’ve told this story here before. I was taking a student into a controlled field for his first time. When the big moment came, he keys the mic and.... “Um...XXX tower this is.........um..... Cessna xxxxx .......um.......we are.........um.....10 miles to west........um...I mean east.......inbound.......um..for landing.” Suddenly he looks at me and says, “I forgot to tell him I was a student pilot!”. I responded with, “Don’t worry, he knows”. He looks at me, “What, how?” and then it hits him and we both burst out laughing. I think we were still laughing when we touched down. :)
 
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Years ago when we still ran PAR approaches into Davis Monthan, we had a trainee in local. (tower for the non-controllers) In the data tag was P7X which meant an aircraft was on a PAR approach on channel 7 and was going back to Phoenix after the approach. The trainee upon giving traffic on the PAR approach aircraft to another aircraft said, "traffic is a pee seven ex, seven mile final."

I of course have never screwed up a radio transmission. :oops:
 
Rgbeard said:
Somewhat recent-ish....

Me: Flying in from the West to Goodyear, AZ (KGYR)
Phx: Lance 817, Contact Goodyear Tower, good day.
Me: Thanks. Over to Goodyear. Lance 817.
Me: Fails to switch comms........
Me: Goodyear Tower, Piper Lance 20817 inbound 15 miles from the west, with information Quebec.
(spooky silence........)
(understand that Goodyear isn't the busiest airport in the area....)
Me: Goodyear Tower, Piper Lance 20817 inbound 15 miles from the west, with information Quebec.
(more spooky silence.......)
Me: Goodyear Tower. Wakey, wakey!
Phx: Lance 817, Try Goodyear on 120.1. I'm pretty sure they're already awake.
Me: Oh crud. Thanks.
Click to expand...


I love that Goodyear is 120.1 and Glendale is 121.0 and their airspace is durn near touching. I am sure someone did that on purpose. It's awesome for student pilots like myself. :sosp:


I've called up the wrong tower more than once.
 
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