On The Air: April 2018

On the way out of Florida for Hurricane Irma, it was very, very busy on frequency with everyone trying to get out of the state. ATC was doing a great job of handling very heavy traffic loads, and still managing to provide flight following to the greatest extent possible, when I happened to overhear the following exchange:

Editorial Staff

Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aviation radio communications often feature humorous and witty exchanges between pilots and air traffic controllers, even in busy or unusual situations like reporting a turtle on the runway.
Pilots sometimes demonstrate quick thinking and resourcefulness, such as a student pilot humorously negotiating challenging instructions by asking ATC to "pick two out of three."
The effectiveness of communication with Air Traffic Control varies, with clear, concise reports being crucial, as illustrated by an ATC controller's frustration with a pilot providing a "completely useless" position update.

See a mistake? Contact us.

I was doing traffic pattern work in a Citabria on a Friday afternoon at a busy, towered, Class D airport. Meanwhile, the business jet traffic was picking up, and the tower controller was doing an admirable job working our touch and goes in between the jet arrivals and departures.

Lear123 (just departed): “KXYZ Tower, be advised there is a large turtle on Runway 17, about two-thirds of the way down from the numbers.”