Purely illustrative image Source: JeanPhilippe Boulet / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An audio recording of air traffic control’s communications frequency has attracted internet attention by showing the moment an aircraft’s radio was accidentally left open, allowing anyone on the frequency to hear what was being said in the cockpit during a stampede.
In addition, the situation was heavily criticized for the commander’s handling of the moment.
The following player provides the recording. Understand what happened and why the criticism.
As seen above, the Amerijet 880 flight landed at Newark Airport in the United States, however the pilots decided to “go around” when they were about to land.
According to the pilot’s response to the air traffic controller’s query, it is stated that the reason for the goaround was that the aircraft was not stabilized. The instability was possibly due to wake turbulence from a Boeing 777, as previously reported by the controller.
All of this would be just another standard and common aviation procedure, but since the plane’s radio was left open on the air traffic frequency, it revealed the situation, which was worrying and drew much criticism.
The commander can be heard giving three orders, but not softly, but practically yelling, “Gear Up! (retract the landing gear), watch your speed! (watch your speed), bring the power back! (reduce power)”.
The main reason for the criticism is that aviation places a very strong focus on CRM (Team Resource Management), i.e. maintaining good coordination and communication on board. And yelling is definitely not part of good team management, even in a company on the ground, let alone on a commercial airliner.
Several people, including pilots, spoke out against this stance, commenting:
“It will only make the situation worse. History has proven it. He needs a CRM update”
“The commander shouts at the flying pilot to keep an eye on his speed and power, but throws a warning to raise the train. Did he just sit and eat Twinkies and leave it all to the poor guy who couldn’t steady his approach?”
“Should communicate respectfully or take controls and discuss details later.”
No matter how critical the situation, staying calm is often far more effective for good communication, problem solving and flight safety.