A great interaction with ATC!

ATC
#1

I’d like to take a minute to thank @Paul_G.

During a flight into EGLL, there was quite a bit of activity. Without going into detail, I was issued a violation.

I sent a message to the @Paul_G, not to whine or ask for an appeal, but to learn from it, and move on. I asked for advice on how to handle the situation differently, or how to not enter it at all. After a quick back and forth, he sent me a video. While voicing over the replay, he saw the confusion on my part and gave me some suggestions on how to avoid it in the future.

While violations suck, try to be humble and ask for some advice rather than complain. You may learn more from IFATC than any tutorial video on YouTube.

Thanks again Paul, and happy flying!

29 Likes
#3

That’s an attitude everyone loves. At the end of the day the controllers are voluntary and everyone is learning. It’s always better to reflect on the mistakes that are made than to remain stuck to them, and that’s an important part of every aspect of life.

Thanks for the topic! I hope it inspires many others who are given a violation and are looking for guidance. 😊

8 Likes
#4

Wow, this is truly awesome. Kudos to the both of you.

If I may, I will add that more often than not, someone that comes to me regarding a violation asking for help, acknowledging their mistakes, and most importantly, doing so in a manner that is kind, will have their violation removed, either by @appeals or by me contacting the group to reverse it. If you’re willing to learn from your mistakes and do so in a curious, respectful manner, it’s so much better for both the controller and yourself, and ultimately, it will end up being a better result for you.

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”

7 Likes
#5

You seam like a really good person 😃
A lifestyle like this will help you a lot!

1 Like
#6

ATC appreciation day!

Same thing happened with me, at one time KLAX was heavily congested due to one very, very big event and there was some network issue, as I was waiting in 1st sequence to depart 25R suddenly tower went offline so it seem, from my side (and to a few others too, as everyone started using unicom). Panicking because I was now at the tip of the traffic jam I decided to contact unicom for take-off and proceeded to enter run-way… I was gone so fast from that event carrying home a level 3 vio medal.

Later, @Edoardo_C (whom I contacted because I thought he was tower but apparently there was a tower change of personnel that I wasn’t aware of) helped me learnt the situation and now I’m very glad and thankful we had that talk. Thank you so much Edoardo!

So points to ponder:

  • At very busy events when you thought ATC has suddenly gone offline - WAIT! And don’t rely on your cockpit comms but check the map and click on your airport - are there still actually people in their ATC posts? I dunno if this solution of mine is correct maybe devs need to address this issue, I haven’t had the chance to test this theory out.

  • But one very crucial mistake that I did: Panicking and feeling bad for being the tip of one of the biggest traffic jam ever, I entered the runway disregarding one rule: Look Left and Right Clearance… there was one aircraft on short final and I should’ve known better and checked my TCAS screen or map, prior.

Okay pilots! I don’t mean to hijack this thread but what OP said above is so true!

So this seem to be a good time and place to share with the community your positive lesson-learned experiences that we’ve learned from ATC and has now made us better pilots in IF. Sharing positive stories like these could benefit our knowledge and we’ll all be much more well informed!

Thanks @Teabird in posting this awesome thread! May I ask, but only if you want to though, what was the issue? We (or I, lol) really need to know these things. Happy flying capt’n, cheers!

2 Likes
#7

The fact that you came to him in a mature manner is something else, this is also where some people struggle. They have made a mistake and can’t accept the consequences.

IFATC are only a group of volunteers (we don’t get paid for anything we do) it makes our job harder when we get backlash sometimes when we issue a violation. If your willing to learn from your mistake then you won’t make it again.

Well done to both you for handling the situation in such a professional manner. This is what IFATC are looking for and also encourage (from pilots and controllers).

Also, we don’t want to issue a violation. For me personally, I always make sure it’s a very last resort (unless it’s a serious offence), I will give you a chance to correct yourself and most of the time I would reach out to them and let them know what they did wrong and I’m thankful for the people I reached out to who accepted the violation and have made sure to not let it happen again.

Amazing topic, a great way to encourage others to do the same!

4 Likes