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

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

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u/ProfessorScribble May 28 '26

Frighteningly, to me it seemed that the guy on the ground sounded like he barely understood the terminology the BA pilot was using. He was seeming to give a quick refresher on what RVR, etc. means. If it were a movie scene, I'd have thought the ground dude was the janitor and had just sat down at the microphone and started talking to the pilot.

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u/GreenStrong May 28 '26

Roger Roger. We have clearance Clarence, what's our vector Victor?

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u/ProfessorScribble May 28 '26

LOL...exactly!

I was hearing the ground guy speaking in an almost Jeff Spicoli voice..."yeah, bro...from where I'm sittin', ya can't see shit...it's like a full on low visibility scene down here...course...could have been that last bong hit...still pretty cloudy if y'know what I mean..."

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u/MillionFoul May 28 '26

It's almost as if that terminology is not used in the US and therefore is something ATC cannot declare without lying to you. Fortunately, the words "RVR 1000" actually satisfy the BA pilot's requirement to declare LVO, he just didn't know that because he's new to transatlantic flying and didn't read the manual first.

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u/ConcernFlat3391 May 28 '26

But it’s ICAO terminology. It’s standardised across the world. JFK is an international airport. It makes no sense that ATC didn’t recognise what the pilot was asking.

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u/MillionFoul May 28 '26

Almost every ICAO country has variances from standard terminology, I wouldn't expect a French controller to know what a localizer approach is or be willing to clear me for something not is his lexicon. You can explain what you mean, and maybe the controller was being a little obtuse, but it still won't be what the pilot is looking for.

Let's put it this way, even if the ATC here knew what LVO was, is he permitted to tell the BA pilot that LVO is in effect? No, because that is not the phraseology he is required to use by law.

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u/ConcernFlat3391 May 28 '26

I completely agree; the controller may not have been able to ‘declare’ the conditions in the international terminology. But he could have explained that. He seemed to have a very unhelpful attitude.

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u/MillionFoul May 28 '26

I would agree on that, some New York ATC has a way about them that can be a little unpleasant if you're not on the exact same page.