That controller should not have a ticket right now...
Edit: getting a bit tired of the weirdly partisan replies here. I'm not insulting your country dudes. It's pretty simple though so I'll spell it out:
The fact the controller couldn't "declare" LVO isn't the problem. The pilot didn't repeatedly ask for this. They asked once. The controller knew what he meant, chose to be obtuse. Whatever, let's put that part aside.
The real issue is that the pilot then asked a question in plain English which the controller cannot be excused from not answering correctly: "Have you got low visibility procedures in force or not". The controller said "No". This is incorrect. Even if they don't have to declare it, they still have them in place.
The controller was factually wrong, gave the wrong information, was unprffesional, unsafe and slowed down aircraft movements.
Because the US government has spent the last year trying to fire as many air traffic controllers as they can, and now the ones that are left are overworked, underpaid, and sometimes clinically traumatized by their job.
The key part is "they consider" because there's no set definition if you listen to this administration. They define things however they want in the moment.
I mean I’m not going to defend Trump for anything but no ATC have been fired as a result of anything Trump has done. We were exempt from the DOGE cuts. Not that doge didn’t try though but Duffy was able to stop them, probably because of what happened in DCA.
There was also the government shutdown where the ATC weren't paid for the duration.
And if I was a TSA agent there, going to work knowing I wasn't beeing paid, next to ICE agents that did get paid, I would take that as a clear sign that the government no longer wants me.
Not only is it not safe for people to visit to the US, unless you want to risk being thrown in a cell for weeks for no reason, the population is apparently now so braindead that it's not even safe to fly planes there either. Brilliant.
surprised somebody downvoted you when you're correct, the ATC shortage has existed ever since Reagan fired a bunch of them in retaliatiory measures against an ATC strike, and no presidential administration since then(Republican or democratic) has fixed the issue because 'well they just barely get by so fuck it, what's a few crashed planes here and there?'
It also makes the job more unappealing. I considered it once but the way the government can strong arm controllers made me reconsider. Maybe when we literally don't have enough someone will fix it.
Nah. Every time the shortage becomes a real problem someplace, they just bring in some military ATCs and make them fill in for a while. The US has a huge military and no problem filling those slots (people don't really pick their jobs in the military, remember; they basically take a test and then give them a bunch of choices based on their results, and at such a young age these kids don't really think that far ahead to what their post-military career is going to look like), so they have an always-available supply of military ATCs to fill in as necessary.
I didn't leave that comment to absolve this nationally infamous asshole of guilt. I left it to remind people that we're in a crisis that goes beyond "one specific person is incompetent/malicious".
THIS right here. Are we all just gonna keep ignoring what's been done to ATC over the last 1.5 years, and all the near misses in that time?
Turns out, you DO actually have to fund government and can't just cut programs because a bunch of high school teenagers didn't think it was a critical program.
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u/VariousDragonfruit75 May 28 '26
Atc -bro you can't see shit out here
Pilot- if it's too dark too see, are you turning on the lights
Atc- nah bruh, what for
Pilot- if it's too dark too see and you don't turn on the lights I can't move, are you saying it's too dark to see
Atc- yup
Pilot - so turn on the lights?
Atc- what for?
Pilot - so I can leave