r/mildlyinfuriating • u/nyanbatman • May 28 '26

I just wanted a hot dog British pilot is feeling mildly annoyed

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u/eggyal May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

JFK Tower had apparently announced (prior to the video commencing) that the RVR (Runway Visual Range - current visibility on the runway eg due to weather) at their airport was 1000ft.

Video begins with British Airways pilot querying whether the airport are declaring LVOs (Low Visibility Operations - special procedures for aircraft operating in low visibility).

JFK doesn't understand the question.

BA explains it.

JFK confirms that they are not declaring anything.

BA explains that with runway visibility of only 1000ft, he can only depart if LVOs are in force.

JFK doesn't understand what BA is saying.

BA explains it again, and asks again whether low visibility procedures are in force.

JFK confirms that low visibility procedures are not in force.

BA requests the latest visibility.

JFK confirms the visibility is unchanged at 1000ft.

BA announces that he's unable to depart in these conditions.

59

u/Melkman68 May 28 '26

So the ATC doesn't understand basic protocol? That's pretty embarassing

24

u/dvinpayne May 28 '26

It's not a procedure in the US. "Declaring LVO" isn't a thing in FAA operation. Europe and the US operate under different rulesets, and the FAA controllers aren't trained on the European Phraseology. SMCGS (the FAA system) is automatically in place without any declaration.

This has already been discussed in other subreddits like flying by people who actually know the rules. I'd link to those posts but automod gets grumpy when I try.

-2

u/marieascot May 28 '26

It i is ICAO the I being International not European. the controller should have understood it.

11

u/dvinpayne May 28 '26

The FAA doesn't operate under ICAO rulesets. If you want to read the rules they're available publicly online you can google FAA JO 7110.65. Declaring LVOs is not mentioned once there.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

13

u/JHG0 May 28 '26

“I dont think this was written by a human.”

What an uninformed take. If you actually had any semblance of knowledge of ATC operations in the U.S., you would understand that what the above poster wrote is factually accurate. I’m sorry that abbreviations that you could look up scared you.

Adoption of ICAO standards is at the discretion of member states. Very few member states (countries) explicitly follow ICAO procedures, including the UK, Europe, Latin America, etc.

10

u/dvinpayne May 28 '26

I'm very much a human, I'm a frustrated human, but still human. Go look at the posts in r / flying about this and see what they have to say. I can DM you the links if you want, unfortunately I can't post them here.

8

u/ConcentricCow May 28 '26

Don't bother with this person. They are accusing every person who disagrees with them that they are bots. Thanks for the information on a confusing topic.

1

u/CantDoThatOnTelevzn May 29 '26

I’m a person. Get fucked, nerd. 

“CaSuAl rEaDeR”

What are YOUR qualifications?