Here are some conversations that airline passengers normally will never hear. The following
are accounts of actual exchanges between airline pilots and control towers from around the world:
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While taxiing at London Gatwick, the crew of a US Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and
came nose to nose with a United 727.
An irate female ground controller lashed out at the US Air crew, screaming:
"US Air 2771, where the hell are you going?! I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta!
Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C' and D', but get it right!"
Continuing
her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take
forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive taxi
instructions in about half an hour and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell
you! You got that, US Air 2771?"
"Yes ma'am," the humbled crew responded.
Naturally, the ground control
communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging
the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit out in Gatwick was definitely running
high.
Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking:
"Wasn't I married
to you once?"
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A DC-10 had come in a little hot and thus had an exceedingly long roll out after
touching down.
San Jose Tower Noted: "American 751, make a hard right turn at the end of the runway, if you are
able... If not able, take the Guadalupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at the lights and return to the airport."
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Unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground
Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was
f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!"
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Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure
on frequency 124.7"
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the way, after we lifted off
we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind
Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy that report from Eastern 702?"
Continental
635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes, we copied Eastern... we've already notified our caterers"
===========
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They
not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So
it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control
and a British Airways 747, call sign "Speedbird 206":
Speedbird 206: "Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven."
The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed
to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know vhere you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm
looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not been
to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944 to drop something off, but I didn't stop."
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O'Hare Approach Control to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock,
three miles, eastbound."
United 239: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got the little Fokker in
sight."
===========
A Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer
you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany.
Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost
the bloody war!"
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