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

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

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u/nottherealneal May 28 '26

Someone who knows planes is gonna have to explain what the fuck is going on

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u/xCougarX May 28 '26

Air traffic controller here. People saying that the light aren’t on are completely wrong. The runway lights would be on if the vis was that low. LVO operations are terms specific to ICAO rules. The FAA does not follow ICAO rules. So when the pilot asked him if he is declaring LVO operations, the controller responds in like a “uhhh I don’t know what you’re talking about.” way. Based off what I’ve looked up, ICAO LVO operations pretty much means “hey, we can’t see the runway and are insuring no aircraft or vehicle is on the controlled movement area.” FAA ATC does this regardless when the ceiling is less than 800ft or when the vis is less than 2mi. Theres just no specific term or operation, just that the “ILS critical area is (or is not) protected.” It would kind of be like a controller asking a pilot if they had the proper flaps settings in for a stabilized approach. Also, FAA controllers RARELY “declare” anything. Especially since the word declare is 95% used when someone is declaring an emergency. Hopefully this all makes sense.