What airport has the worst controllers?

[JBcrjca]

TUS is getting pretty bad. The tower guys do a good job, but the approach controllers suck balls.

They have a boatload of ANG F-16 traffic, and they have no idea how to sequence the fighters with airline traffic. On arrival a few days ago, while overhead Davis-Monthan, the guy turned us out to the west to follow an F-16 on a 13 mile final. We motored out to the west, called the guy in sight, cleared for the visual to follow him. He's going sloooooow, practice ILS I suppose. I call Flaps 8, 20, 30...still a 40 knot overtake...slight S-turns for spacing. Check in with tower, cleared to land...as the guy does a LOW APPROACH!!! We could have done a short approach and parked at the gate before the F-16 got to the runway, but no...they'd rather put an airliner on a 10 mile final behind a fighter just practicing. I was furious, and asked the tower guy about how approach does the sequencing. He had no idea but felt our pain...offered a phone # to call and ask them about it.

Well, they do have one approach guy, 'the whisperer', who does a good job. He's funny to listen to.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Mama told me if you don't have anything nice to say...don't say anything at all.... with that....

ORD controllers are the best, next to DCA. At DCA you gotta do everything the FAA tells you not to.....

At ORD you can throw out the proper terminology book, (AIM/Controllers Handboook) and it still works. Nothing like getting a complex taxi clearance and responding with Wilco or copy that. Heck, you can get away with word up, peace out or Rog.

Now, to switch gears there was this smokin girl whose voice would just make a man melt. Ran Toledo ATC at night in 90's... Yummy!

 

[501261]

TUS is getting pretty bad. The tower guys do a good job, but the approach controllers suck balls.

They have a boatload of ANG F-16 traffic, and they have no idea how to sequence the fighters with airline traffic. On arrival a few days ago, while overhead Davis-Monthan, the guy turned us out to the west to follow an F-16 on a 13 mile final. We motored out to the west, called the guy in sight, cleared for the visual to follow him. He's going sloooooow, practice ILS I suppose. I call Flaps 8, 20, 30...still a 40 knot overtake...slight S-turns for spacing. Check in with tower, cleared to land...as the guy does a LOW APPROACH!!! We could have done a short approach and parked at the gate before the F-16 got to the runway, but no...they'd rather put an airliner on a 10 mile final behind a fighter just practicing. I was furious, and asked the tower guy about how approach does the sequencing. He had no idea but felt our pain...offered a phone # to call and ask them about it.

Well, they do have one approach guy, 'the whisperer', who does a good job. He's funny to listen to.

Guess where Tucson approach is located???? That's right at D-M, and you wonder why you're shooting a 15 mile final to follow military traffic.

 

[414Flyer]

Guess where Tucson approach is located???? That's right at D-M, and you wonder why you're shooting a 15 mile final to follow military traffic.

Yeah I have had the same experience at TUS. Get vectored WAY out to the west, when could have easily gotten in there without it, if approach could competently vector.

And yes the whispering guy is pretty funny. Sometimes has been hard to keep a straight face when talking to him on the radio.

 

[Cpt. Underpants]

Story goes like this:

UAL B744 Captain says to the tower at YSSY (Sydney, Australia) as he gets handed off: "I would like to say farewell to the world's second best ATC - This is my last flight before retirement"

YSSY ATC: Well, thanks. By the way, who's the best?"

UAL B744: "Everyone else"

 

[EagleRJ]

There seems to be the greatest amount of variation at the small town CTs. Most are excellent, but there are a few that seem to operate with an 80kt mindset, and if a jet or a commuter shows up, everything falls apart. It gets especially interesting if all the Cessnas are on a runway that is perpendicular to the one you are using.

I can second being scared in Wichita Falls, Texas. That's the training facility for the Air Force, for both pilots and air traffic controllers. Most of the pilots are flying T-38s, and they're trying their best just to stay in formation and keep their heads above water. A few years ago, someone had the bright idea of painting the Talons camo grey instead of white, so now it's officially the hardest-to-spot airplane in the world. If it's a cloudy day, the plane might as well have a cloaking device! The students' hot-dogging and doing 20,000 fpm zoom-climbs doesn't help either.
Most of the controllers there are students, so there is a lot of extreme overcautiousness and gigantic vectors. Sometimes the controller will give you a clearence that is immediately countermanded by their instructor. That gets your attention!

 

[414Flyer]

I actually learned to fly in Wichita Falls. Didnt have too many problems with controllers there myself, but I can easily see it happening. Gotta love that "hong kong curve" into rwy 17 so you dont overfly the usaf ramp and taxiways.

 

[Airpiraterob]

Philly.

they suck balls.

getting in? i dont think theres a tighter virgin airport. you can talk your way in all you want, and youll get vectored around all over gods countryside. but youll only get in AFTER youve burnt off your turnaround time at the gate.

getting out on a busy day? you can request any runway you want on a light wind clear skies day. just as long as its 27 left.

cause thats the only one youll get unless you can liftoff in 1500 feet with 2 props. they must assume since youre a jet, you have to have 10,000 feet.....weve been denied 35 as its not in use....and then a bunch of dash's and what not lift off of 35 ....WTF-over?

i honestly dont think its the controllers so much as the runaway/ramp/terminal configuration was designed by a down-syndrom afflicted blind engineer. if i were a new controller there given the configuration to work with that they have, i'd have no choice but to quickly become retarded on the job.

theres no excuses for dip$hits

ever depart on 9L?....on a slow night? one takes off........wate a minute......wait 10 miutes...then another takes off........wait 10.

southwest is gonna go in there and say "well no wonder theyre loosing their ass here....philly sucks"

on another note. i hear the phillies got a 100mph fastballer this year.....dat true? if so, way cool. cant wait to see him throw.

 

[atcloser]

so what about new york approach?

btw, i agree with the post before about AA pilots deviating around weather. it gets pretty insane when every other a/c in the sky will fly through level 1 and AA needs to go 45 miles out of his way to get around a cell. good point about southwest descending too...lets throw in all the asian carriers on that one too, oh and "speed"bird!

 

[dmspilot00]

btw, i agree with the post before about AA pilots deviating around weather. it gets pretty insane when every other a/c in the sky will fly through level 1 and AA needs to go 45 miles out of his way to get around a cell.

Maybe it is because of the Little Rock crash in 1999 (AA1420)?

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0UBT/6_14/59459333/p1/article.jhtml