As an aviation freak, I spend far too much of my free time tracking flights on Flightradar24 and listening to air traffic control audio recordings. With that in mind, here is an interesting exchange between a United Airlines pilot and an air traffic controller. Sometimes we hear audio recordings of air traffic controllers losing patience with pilots, but in this case it’s the other way around…
United’s Boeing 737 has two passes at SFO due to traffic
VASAviation does an excellent job providing videos on YouTube with interesting audio on air traffic control and a visualization of what is happening. One interaction I find particularly interesting was just uploaded, with one pilot furious after having to do two (probably unnecessary) sightseeing flights.
This incident occurred on May 12, 2023 and affects United Airlines flight UA1390 from Seattle (SEA) to San Francisco (SFO). The flight was operated by an approximately 14-year-old Boeing 737-900, registration number N75428.
The aircraft received clearance to land on runway 28L. Shortly after, while the 737 was in the four-mile final, the controller gave another United plane permission to line up on the runway and wait. That plane had to wait for another plane to clear the runway before it could take off, and by that time the 737 was on a final run of less than two miles.
Unfortunately, the distance was not enough, so the 737 had to give way. Okay, fair enough, sometimes that happens. Air traffic controllers have tough jobs and there’s a lot of variability, so spacing isn’t always accurate.
The United 737 then made its second approach to runway 28L and essentially the same thing happened. The jet was cleared to land, then another plane was told to line up on the runway and wait, and then another plane was forced to vacate the runway. Since the distance was not sufficient, the 737 had to bypass again.
United Pilot leaves it to the air traffic controllers
After having to circumnavigate a second time for the same reason, the United pilot called the air traffic controller and said, “You guys have to do better, that’s twice.” The tower controller replies, “Okay, talk to NorCal about it.” In other words, the air traffic controller blames the approach frequency, even though the air traffic controller gives the departing aircraft clearance to taxi onto the runway.
When the pilot then talks to NorCal Departures, it goes like this:
Pilot: “What’s up, that’s twice?”
Controller: “I’m not sure.”
Pilot: “This is unacceptable, so let’s not do this again.”
Controller: “We don’t work in the tower, sir.”
Pilot: They told me to talk to you.”
When the pilot then switches to the NorCal approach, the following happens:
Pilot: “Can we make sure we don’t put anyone else on the runway?”
Controller: “We’re wondering the same thing, we’ve got a few here and we’ll make sure you land this time.”
Pilot: “Yes, by all means file a complaint, this is simply unacceptable.”
Controller: “We agree 100%, sorry.”
Pilot: “Thank you. I know it’s not your fault, but unfortunately you’re the only one I can vent to. He told me to talk to you guys, that’s the funny part.”
Controller: “That’s great. Apparently, planes on the ground have priority over planes in the air. Again, just FYI we’ve had issues with the tower here for a while in terms of some of it, things like that, but I think it’s more appropriate for an official report now that we’re hearing that it is “I’m trying to blame us for our speed, but I don’t know what’s wrong with what we’ve done.”
Pilot: “Yes, I will definitely fill one out. I mean, solving the same problem twice is just unacceptable, something has to happen.”
Controller: “I agree with you 100%.”
Finally, on the third attempt, the United 737 landed after a delay of about 30 minutes compared to the two runs.
bottom line
There are some interesting air traffic control audio recordings from a United 737 undergoing two sightseeing flights at San Francisco Airport. Both passes were due to insufficient clearance, and in both cases the reason was that an aircraft was cleared to taxi onto the runway for takeoff, but the clearance was insufficient.
I understand, of course, that air traffic controllers are overworked and under a lot of pressure to avoid delays, nor can they accurately predict how long it will take planes to clear the runway, start their take-off roll, etc.
At the same time, from the pilot’s point of view, I can understand the frustration that arises when you have two unnecessary circuits in a row for exactly the same reason. It’s interesting that the tower controller then blames NorCal, but the NorCal controller agrees 100% with the pilot.
What do you think of this interaction between the United pilot and the air traffic controllers?