Posted on 08/20/2007 7:04:12 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Author reflects on days in tower Air-traffic controller shares 'Secrets' from his time at O'Hare
Jon Hilkevitch
August 20, 2007
At the end of a flight, usually the first thing you do is unbuckle the seat belt. But while reading a new book written by a veteran air-traffic controller at O'Hare International Airport, the more prudent advice would be to stay seated and keep the seat belt buckle secured snugly across your lap.
Then wait for the oxygen mask to drop out of the ceiling.
Bob Richards, a lifelong Chicago-area resident who grew up in Berwyn, retired in February after 22 years of directing airplanes at O'Hare. He has quickly produced a tell-all book, "Secrets from the Tower," published by Ithaca Press.............................
.........He wrote a chapter titled "Yahoo Mexicana," which loudly echoes the complaints of many O'Hare controllers about the general unpredictability and inexperience of pilots flying into Chicago for Mexicana Airlines. It's not unusual for Mexicana pilots, many speaking broken English and unable to keep up with the rat-tat-tat of radio communications, to take a wrong turn and get lost on the airfield, the controllers say.
Richards recounts in the book an incident when a Mexicana plane roamed more than even the airline's normal custom looking for the assigned parking gate. It was 2 a.m. and there was no other traffic on the airfield, so Richards and a fellow controller just watched "awestruck."...........
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
AVIATION PING
Hasta la bye-bye.
I work Ohare as a dispatcher. I could tell some stories, too. Worst airport in the country for delays...
We flew Mexicana with a group of friends. One guy didn’t even HAVE a safety belt! And that was only the beginning.
Thanks! It appears on Amazon.com for $25.00.
Never, ever book your departure flight from a northeast airport for the afternoon or evening in the summer time. Because the notheast is the most congested airspace in the world, any little bit of weather along a major JET route and we have deviations which equals delays! You see dear flying public, when an airliner starts to deviate all over the sky to avoid every little cloud, the way to handle things is stop any more departures. Want to know why you are taking a 2-3 hour delay on a taxiway or at the gate? Air traffic control cannot, and generally will not, allow departing climbing/aircraft to deviate into the path of arriving/descending aircraft.
As for the experiences the O'Hare controller had with airlines like Mexicana, we have those with flag carriers like United, American, and USAir. Not blaming everything on pilots because the controllers are culpable for many, many mistakes with few ending in tragedy. I know we strive everyday, with every transmission from both sides, to keep it safe and get it right.
MoodyBlu
We were ready to take a flight on a DC-3 from La Psz to Cabo one time and one guy on the flight got on, ran up to the cocpit and looked at the aircraft tag and came bck hollering get me off of this bird, I turned it for scrap!
we got off with him and dhe, his wife, and the 4 of us took the Aero Comander.
We stood there waiting for the Commander and the DC-3 pilot tried to fire it up, it wouldn’t fire, and some line guys unhooked the fuel line, drained about 2 gallons on the ground, did the same to the sumps on the wing tanks, sloshed 5 gallons of water over the gas.
We backed up another 100’ and the guy fired it up without torching the gas floating on the water and left.
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