Child's Play at JFK Airport

wcbstv.com...

I know there are going to be a lot of differing opinions on this article. Personally, I don't think the kid or the parent was putting anyone in danger. His dad was there the entire time to supervise him, and the kid was repeating everything the dad was saying. This, to me, is just a ridiculous over reaction. Again, that's just my opinion. Hopefully some people out there agree with me. The ATC was there saying the more complicated stuff and he had his child say the less complicated stuff. I think the FAA is overreacting to this incident. I think the passenger they interviewed for this article was probably the only one they could find who had a problem with it.

I am interested to see what others think about this. I have seen other stories in the past and I have had the same opinion about what was, in my opinion, an over reaction.

reply to post by dbloch7986


Rules are rules.

You break the rules no matter if its a big rule or not and you get fired. ATC is not a place for children to play.

I saw this on the news yesterday, I was surprised all the pilots played along with it. If I was responsible for the lives of people on an aircraft I would not have been happy with a child issuing out the instructions from the control tower. Not very proffesional from the fathers point of view. Air traffic control is a very stressful job for a reason.

[edit on 4-3-2010 by woodwardjnr]

Becoming a more child-hating culture by the moment. And PROUD of it!

I'm definitely on the side of "oh, gimme a break" on this one. The kid was supervised, and did a pretty good job. The pilots seemed to be into it, and none questioned his credentials at all. They must have welcomed the respite from the broom up the arse rigidity that is their work day. It seemed harmless, and the FAA are - according to a 40 year veteran pilot who was interviewed by the BBC - knee-jerk overreacting "as usual."

Lighten up, people. Yes there are rules, but nobodies safety was threatened and nobody was upset other than the paper pushers.

Kid FTW.

The only reason you guys are saying its ok is because nobody was hurt.

If something tragic did happen then you guys would do a 180 and say how wrong the dad was for letting his son do that.

I guess you guys are okay with someone throwing a knife at you as long as it doesn't hurt you.

reply to post by Berserker01


The controller was RIGHT THERE.

We should also not allow teens to drive. Even if the teacher has a brake and a wheel. Which is WAY more dangerous and is happening everyday ALL OVER THE PLACE.

(cue the scary music)

reply to post by Aeons


Him being " RIGHT THERE" or not isn't the point.

You guys are only ok with this because him breaking the rules didn't get anyone hurt.

If someone did get hurt then you guys would be saying the complete opposite.

reply to post by Berserker01


Dude you need to relax a little bit, like you say no one was hurt and all that happened was some kid read out something that would have been wrote down for them right in front of professionals trainde to do it and he did it actually pretty well.

oK SO No one was hurt or injured.

Nothing went wrong.

He just read what he was supposed to read.

Also here is a snippet from anews story

When you listen to any of the recordings, the situation in the tower is very controlled," Dave Pascoe told CNN. "There is no hint ... that anyone was too busy or anyone was interrupting the planes. The kid clears two airplanes. It was very controlled and I don't think safety was compromised, nor should anyone be disciplined for this."

www.vancouversun.com...

So just chill ouit and realize that this has ben blown waayyyy out of proportion.

In fact i saw Well done to the kid! He did a great job and this is actually a good story that people are so desperate to turn bad so thumbs down to those people.

[edit on 4-3-2010 by Rising Against]

reply to post by Rising Against


Do I need to write in caryon for you guys.

THE POINT ISN'T THAT NO ONE WAS HURT.

IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN HURT THEN YOU GUYS WOULD BE UP IN ARMS ABOUT IT.

MY POINT IS THAT EVERYONE WHO IS OK WITH IT ARE HYPOCRITES.

The dad broke the rules and should be fired.

Child speaks out of turn

International News Slow Week Award!

reply to post by Berserker01


And do I have to tell you again....Relax

Yes you are right if something did go wrong then my and other opinions would probably be different but nothing did go wrong did it??

He had trained professional all around him and even if he did get something wrong they could have intervened within seconds.

So yes I guess I am a hypocrite then but I’m sticking to my opinion that this is a good story and well done to the kid for a great job.

When I saw the News report I have to admit muttering the words "only in America"

reply to post by Berserker01


I like it when people spend a little less time telling me what I think and a little more telling me what they think.

And I agree that if the father was right there, it was no different if he had been speaking into a voice changer. I also feel that the pilots would be expereienced enough to not proceed if there was anything 'off' with what the kid was saying. people need to lighten up.

reply to post by dbloch7986


I thought this thread was going to be about Chucky running amok J.F.K airport for a second
I dont see alot wrong with letting there children assist in giving directions to the air traffic, i'm sure if the child got out of control or started to muck about then the problem would of been easily fixed by the parent otherwise they wouldn't of them do it. I can see why the incident is being investigated though surely this act goes against the code of conduct for airport staff.

This has been discussed already in other threads, but for the record:

As an airline pilot myself, this was not unusual in the past thirty years...it is the environment today, though of more 'thin-skinned' monitoring and knee-jerk reactions, as opposed to the slap on the wrist attitude of old.

The general public has a distorted view/impression of just what exactly ATC does, and does NOT do. Did you know that the Captain can refuse to comply with an ATC instruction? (and it is an 'instruction, technically a 'clearance' to do something, rather than an order to do something)

It's called 'Captain's Emergency Authority' --- and, yes, there'd be alot of paperwork, and he/she had better have had a good reason, too.

Still, these two incidents are a rules violation. Like I said in the past, used to be 'no harm, no foul'. Unfortunately, this time he (and his supervisor) got caught in the spotlight of puplic scrutiny, and the FAA will have recourse, politically, but to stmp down hard on them.

Oh, and his little boy and girl didn't have an FCC Radiotelephone Permit, either, I'm guessing....so there's ANOTHER potential federal agency that may weigh in....

I'm glad some people agree with me. It is definitely and overreaction. I'm glad a pilot came in and clarified.

I like seeing all these opinions. Its almost a 50/50 split down the middle! That's pretty cool.

And the point is that no one got hurt. Regardless, when was the last time you heard "Plane Crash at Airport Because Parent Let Child Repeat ATC Instructions".

I agree this article fits in nicely with the child hating, privelege denying, over protective, child drugging society we have become. Protect kids for their own good and protect the rest of society from the children. God forbid they're able to participate in anything before their 21.

And FYI, ATC is stressful not because its difficult but because it requires a lot of juggling and multi-tasking. Having a kid in your lap talking to a microphone (granted the article didn't say that but I figure this was the case) isn't sufficient distraction to kill anyone unless you were dumb enough to do it in the first place, at least IMO. Maybe an ATC can stop by and prove otherwise.

I know a veritable boat-load of pilots and I met with a several this morning, one being an airline pilot. They all agreed that the incident was a safety hazard.

They also agree that the media is making too much of it.

The outcome of this incident should be borne in mind.

www.airdisaster.com...

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


Grady, all due respect.....VERY diffferent circumstances, the Aeroflot accident.

The adult, on the radio, had full control, and ability to override at ALL times. Unlike letting your child at the controls of an airplane, with no other pilot ready on the other controls.

reply to post by weedwhacker


I agree that the circumstances were different, but the Aeroflot incident has influenced policy and the ATC breached policy when he allowed the child access to the microphone.

According to the FAA, the salient issue is the fact that the ATC was distracted and not attentive to his duties, besides having committing a policy infraction.