Audio: ATC Joke Causes Boeing 777 to Abort Landing

Bethany Whitfield

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 08:40 PM ET

Verified

** Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's
ATC Tower (Photo credit: J. Glover)**

Key Takeaways:

An air traffic controller's joke, telling a Delta flight on final approach to "go around," caused the flight crew to initiate the maneuver.
The controller quickly clarified it was a joke after the pilot mentioned not having a gate, but the crew had already begun the go-around procedure.
The Delta flight subsequently landed safely, and the incident is currently under investigation by the FAA.

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An air traffic controller’s attempt at humor has caught the attention of the national media as well as the FAA after his joke forced a Delta 777 on approach to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to go around.

Delta Flight 630, en route from Detroit, was flying at just over 1,000 feet in Atlanta airspace after receiving clearance from the tower to land on Runway 27L. In addition to repeating the clearance back to the controller, the pilot said, “We do not have a gate yet so you might wanna figure out some place to park while we sort it out.”