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AIRVENTURE TODAY
‘You Don’t Have To Be Lonely’ BY RICHARD KENNINGTON
A 2018 SURVEY CONDUCTED by the National Air Traffic
Controllers Association asked pilots, “Do you avoid using ATC services, and if so, why?” NATCA was surprised at the number of pilots in the general aviation community who preferred to go it alone rather than use the services of air traffic controllers. Others participated only when they had no other option. In other words, these pilots had no relationship with air traffic controllers. The FAA is certainly no matchmaking entity! The agency doesn’t need to know whether you prefer the farm life or long walks on the beach. Pilots will benefit from, at the very least, an acquaintance with ATC. All pilots should have a basic understanding of how the ATC system works, have the knowledge and skills to operate in it efficiently, and gain the trust in controllers that one day could be their link to life. I first heard the term “link to life” from Brian Shul, a U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He survived and went on to have a 20-year career in the Air Force, culminating in the honor of piloting the SR-71 Blackbird. Brian spoke of his view of controllers when he said, “Some days you go, ‘Uh oh, I didn’t plan that very well,’ and they become your link to life. When you’re in pilot training you didn’t understand that too much. You would say, ‘Who are those people talking at me? What do they want?’ But then later you became, at least in your mind, best friends. They were the voice of God, and it was like they were your best hope of getting through whatever situation you were in.”
Those pilots who took the aforementioned survey indicated that they avoid ATC for similar reasons. The most common were that controllers talk too fast and that flying in busy airspace is intimidating. Others said they felt they don’t need ATC services or that controllers were mean.
We understand where pilots are coming from and their reasons for avoiding us. It’s nothing personal. However, the incidents that we controllers handle often in the system indicate that perhaps in making the decision not to talk to ATC, pilots are missing these key factors.
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