posted on Dec, 27 2008 @ 10:22 PM
Thanks for posting this. I listened to a couple of channels for a while, but it was getting late so there wasn't much going on. I love to listen to
the radio traffic on planes when it's available on commercial flights. Don't fly anymore if I can help it, but I think it was American that usually
had a feed available on the audio at the seats. I was always impressed that the communication was relaxed, courteous, professional and precise all at
the same time.
I recall flying into O'Hare one time in the middle of the day, and marveling at the efficiency as the controllers stacked the planes up for approach
with very clear, clipped instructions interspersed with quick acknowledgments from the pilots. Very little room for error in that operation. Probably
the most likely result of somebody screwing up and not paying attention would be a bad traffic snarl that would ripple out across North America and
maybe beyond, with missed connections and diversions for fuel and that sort of logistical nightmare, but the controllers were very much in control.
One other time, we were about halfway through a two hour flight when I heard a controller request my flight's altitude or something, and there was no
response. A bit later, the request was repeated, with the same result. I sat there wondering what was going on, not worried but wondering why I could
hear the controller but apparently the crew could not. It must not have been anything unheard of, because a few minutes later, the same controller
again asked the question, and there was an immediate reply from our crew. That was all there was to it.