Page 43 - Volume 20 No. 6

by the tower controller. When the King Air pilot finally made the tower realize he was far past the mid-field position, headed the wrong way, the conversation went something like this:
Tower: “Did Approach tell you to do that?”
King Air: “I guess we were supposed to land Runway Two. We’ll circle back for a downwind to Two.”
Tower: “Negative, negative, just continue on for Runway Two- Zero; the wind’s light and variable. Aircraft on base, give me a right 360 and report reestablished.”
Fortunately, we could see the conflict developing before the tower controller sorted it all out, and we had already stopped our descent and cleared the airspace for a 360-degree turn. By the time we were back in position the King Air was on the rollout, clearing as we turned final.
How did this miscommunication develop? First, the King Air was deep into Class D airspace before the tower knew it was there. Approach control evidently sent the airplane to the tower as a straight-in arrival, but the pilot had fixated on flying his usual downwind. The tower was occupied by one person, who was tasked with handling all duties, and the controller’s initial snapshot developed into a false image. The weakness of radio communication is that it takes about three times as long to correct a statement as it took to make it in the first place.
Where Did He Go?
It is important for us to place the words into motion, as we hear them. If a pilot reports “Two miles west of the field, northbound at two- thousand five-hundred,” we know where he was at the moment he called, but we also need to visualize where he will be a minute or two later. He will have moved down his track by some distance, and if we want to remain separated from him, we have to factor in both of
our movements. Don’t look for the airplane where it was last reported, unless it is coming straight at you.
If ATC assigns you the task of following unseen traffic, you must let the controller know you don’t have it in sight by responding “no contact” in your readback. Words like “no joy”, “looking” or “watching for the traffic” are not appropriate responses. “I have the traffic” is the correct terminology if you acquire the called-out aircraft, not “tally- ho” or “got him in sight.” If you lose sight of the traffic ahead, advise the controller immediately (“Six- Three-Niner has lost the traffic”), so spacing can be maintained with ATC help. Following the preceding airplane with TCAS can be helpful as well, of course.
Slow Down
If you want to be understood, speak a little more slowly than you would in a heated conversation, assuming the airwaves aren’t jam- packed with radio calls. Getting the information out in audible, understandable form avoids a lot of repeats and mistakes. I tend to imitate the staccato delivery of air traffic controllers, but I’m not good at it, leading to “Say again” requests. It’s better to slow down to save time.
Reading back all instructions is a necessary evil in this litigious era, when “putting it on the tape” is required to cover liability exposure. Unfortunately, this adds a lot of often pro forma verbiage to the airwaves. Do not take your responsibility to confirm receipt of instructions lightly; be sure you are indeed proceeding as cleared, and make your readbacks unambiguous enough to validate your understanding.
Communication is the tenuous thread that binds us into a family of flight. Take the time to do it right, so you’ll get your intent across and avoid surprises. Never forget to supplement the microphone with your eyeballs and brain cells.
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