Snafu @ Vqq

[witchdoctor]

What a goat rope at VQQ last night! The controllers did a good job, but it was obvious that they had no plan whatsoever. I think they should have consulted with TEB controllers on how to deal with high volumes of traffic.
We called for clearance at 2345 (after thirty minutes of trying to get a word in edge wise) and finally got off at 0230 and we had at least 75 planes in the queue behind us!
I hope they have an after action review to learn from this mess.

 

[flyguy75000]

Is the Super Bowl always like that? Thats the first one I flew....and the last one I fly dammed it. They did a good job, but why the he11 couldnt they use both of those 18 rwys and turn them off 20 degrees rwy hdg or something....they could have halved the time on the ground. We got our pax at 12:45, bombarded ground for 20 minutes with our tail #, then taxied and waited until almost 2:30 to go. I hope the city learns from this.......this country revolves around rich fokkers and there were over 300+ rich fokkers in their jets at VQQ, and everyone had massive delays and p.o.'d wealthy, half-in-the-bag biatches in back. JAX will never get the Super Bowl back if it happens again, if they even get it back at all. I never thought it could be as bad as Nassau here in the states........I guess they're right about always learning

 

[Capthuff]

yeh we called for Clnc @2300, taxi @ 2330, finally started taxi @ 0100 and wheels up @ 0257. The controller was just over-whelmed. It seems like TEB does this operation regularly (granted not as many planes) and they understand flow really well. Clnc, Eng start, Taxi, Tower. And everyone gets put on a list. Oh well 20/20 hindsight. I do hope as you mentioned that they learn from this.
Imagine next year in Detroit. Hopefully the weather is nice cause if we all have to get de-iced it will be a nightmare. Imagine the holdover time issues.

But because I got home @ 0500 I didn't have rest for a trip I was supposed to be on today. So I'm off (woo hoo).

Cappy

I know there are some controllers on this board, and if one replies to this I will have a question for them.

 

[Capthuff]

Rwy 18R - No Lights

 

[minitour]

Just Speculatin'

How were the conditions (wind, etc)? Was 9R/27L an option to help expedite?

Perhaps center could only take one at a time off of the field?

Conflicting traffic from other area airports?

-mini

 

[User546]

Did it make any difference whether the traffic was departing IFR or VFR?

That much IFR traffic can easily get stacked up when having to use set departure release times.

That's still A LOT of traffic. But was wondering if somebody would've been able to take off sooner departing VFR, then just pick up your clearance in the air?

 

[Capthuff]

I saw VFR departures from A3, but no picking up clnc in the air.
It seemed to me that the departures were going about every 1 1/2 - 2 minutes or so, but with 300+ A/C that is about 10hrs of departing A/C.

The 9s were used for parking.

I think an added problem was the number of airports. There were basically 4 airports to use and most of the traffic was going north. At least last year there were more airports more runways and people were going every direction. Also there were SIDs in Houston. Not so in Jax.

 

[User546]

I saw Travolta at the Super Bowl last night.

Did he fly in on his Gulfstream or 707 by chance? Or is where he live in Florida close enough he probably drove?

 

[minitour]

It seemed to me that the departures were going about every 1 1/2 - 2 minutes or so, but with 300+ A/C that is about 10hrs of departing A/C.

Ouch! Sounds like the whole thing was a big "Charlie Foxtrot"...

 

[Vector4fun]

Airport Operational Statistics
Aircraft based on the field: 107
Single engine airplanes: 11
Jet airplanes: 17
Helicopters: 10
Military aircraft: 69

Aircraft operations: avg 176/day
73% military
14% local general aviation
13% transient general aviation


I'm guessing, (since I've never been there), this is a contract tower, probably only two-three controllers working, and they had to call JAX Dep for each and every IFR clearance and release. And I'm also guessing there were Aircraft waiting to depart a half dozen airports in the area, (since they had a reservation program going to about 8 of them.) I'm also guessing that Jax Dep probably had an in-trail restriction from the Center. Airport averages 176 ops per day, and one day in a decade gets almost that many per hour trying to go...

The difference between those conditions, and an FAA tower that has some automation, and automatic releases with it's own associated approach control are the differences between a ragged out Queen Air and a Gulfstream. BTW, this is no slam on the Cecil Controllers, I'm sure they did the best they could, but you can only move so many IFR aircraft in that situation. The rules just won't allow it. Best thing to do would have been plan to depart this morning after hangover and breakfast.

 

[FracCapt]

Sounds like the last Super Bowl I flew into....a few years ago in TPA. It was a serious clusterf#%&.. Well over 3 hours from the time we were ready to go until we actually got airborne. We sat there with the APU and an engine running that whole time. The way they stacked the airplanes on the taxiways and closed crosswind runway, you couldn't get out until all the planes in front of you had taxiied. A real mess. I'm glad I haven't had to fly into a SB since then, and hopefully never will again.