#Atc communications aircraft accidents how to#
#Atc communications aircraft accidents code#

The position is extremely helpful to know if we are the right person to provide service.

With this scenario, just a call sign and stating they have a VFR request with their position and destination is preferred. By the time the pilot has finished talking, another plane is calling.

#Atc communications aircraft accidents code#

We are trying to find that aircraft on our scope, and then realize we aren't currently working the aircraft, so then we'll start typing in the callsign to get a code to start the process. Most controllers can't remember all of that, especially on an initial call. For VFR flight following, most pilots call up in their first call with everything: call sign, type plane, destination and route of flight along with their position. We get calls from pilots in many different environments. And if I'm not able to get your information into the computer right away, I may not remember it. At Phoenix at least, we don't have paper and a pen to write things down, so that means I'm limited to what I can type into the computer. The biggest difference between approach and tower is paper. If you give me all that on initial call and block my frequency, chances are I'm just waiting for you to stop talking so I can make my transmission to the higher priority aircraft, and not actually listening to what you're saying. This is especially important in satellite sectors where you're running multiple approaches to multiple airports. I prefer this because if you make a call and give me all the info initially, I may not be ready to type it in, or more importantly, I have a higher level priority coming up that I need to make sure the radio is clear of. Some people want them to say it all, but I personally want someone to just say 'Phoenix approach, N12345 VFR request'.

#Atc communications aircraft accidents how to#

How To Call An Approach Controller (TRACON) When we are busy, that puts us behind very quickly.

That means we have to issue traffic for those 40 miles. If you tune in to 118.6 and we are dead silent, go ahead and give us all the information at once.Īs a side note related to this question, most of us (tower controllers) have our radar zoomed out to only about 12 miles, so a good distance to call us would be about 8-12 miles out from the airport, and I wouldn't call any earlier than 15 miles out.Ĭalling us from 40 miles out is too early. How can you tell if we're busy? If you're trying to call the tower and you can't get a word in edgewise, we are busy. When we address you, then you can give us your location, ATIS, and request. This tells us someone wants something so we can at least write down your callsign. When we are busy, simply say 'Metro Tower, Cessna 833PB'. That way we can avoid asking a lot of follow-up questions. As long as we aren't busy, it's preferred to call up with everything all at once 'Metro Tower, Cessna 833PB, 10 miles north with Delta inbound for (request)'.