I’d like report some dangerous atc operations out or Birmingham on Expert a few hrs ago. I was performing a flight out of EGBB, where i was cleared to takeoff as I’m rolling down the runway the tower literally clears the guy behind me to take off also. I was barely 2000ft in the air and the guy behind me comes screaming past. Unprofessional and unsafe by both pilot behind me and more importantly the Tower Controller .
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Hey there!
If you wish to provide ATC feedback please see the article below:
The controller may just have been trying to anticipate that by the time the aircraft behind you reached rotation speed, you would’ve been at a sufficient distance from the runway.
Unfortunately some pilots just floor the throttle to 100% and go straight to 250kts once airborne meaning they catch up to the aircraft in front pretty rapidly, and there isn’t a lot of time for us to intervene.
The manual does essentially say that as soon as Plane A is airborne, Plane B can commence their takeoff roll (there are exceptions depending on the plane type - you were both MAX’s so that’s fine) - it just didn’t work out here.
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Keep in mind BHX is a single-runway airport, and there is a need to balance both landing and departing traffic using this one runway. Thus, we use gaps in between arrivals to send out departures.
Anyway, your screenshot does not exactly show a loss in seperation. The vertical seperation minima is 1000ft.
Just as no IFATC Controller would publicly expose a misbehaving pilot on the forum, please extend the same courtesy and respect to controllers.
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Hit the nail on the head with this Caden!
From this scenario and referring to the guideline, 2000 ft was more than enough separation. I’ve had times when I had barely taken off and another plane was cleared. At a busy hub, sometimes that is expected. The pilot behind at least should’ve been more aware of the aircraft up ahead - and racing to 250 kts straight after takeoff not standard procedure I’d say.
I spawned at Birmingham an hour ago and seeing the line waiting on RWY33 I made a swift exit 😵💫
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I can guarantee this is what happened because I see it pretty much every time I fly. As stated above, it’s just inexperienced users gunning the throttle to 100% all the way to 250kts, the controller is at no fault here since all he needs to do is make sure you’re airborne before clearing the next aircraft for takeoff.
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Just left BHX a bit ago, and honestly, hats off to the IFATC pros holding it down there. For a ‘small airport’ with one runway in use, they were like air traffic control ninjas, slicing through the chaos with precision. I mean, separation must have been a juggling act with all the traffic, especially when some pilots treat the throttle like it’s a NOS button in Fast & Furious. Judging by your screenshots, it was a busy session, but the IFATC handled it like pros. As I rotated, the next guy was already rolling, and yet somehow, no mid-air bumper cars. Props to the IFATC—definitely earning their wings (and patience medals) today!
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