Cessna Pilot Causes CHAOS at North Texas Airport!

[@kmoore02809]

The main problem I see was when the controller told PRITB to enter left downwind, and the pilot read back 'cleared to land'. He wasn't cleared to land. The controller should have corrected him then, but she didn't. That started the whole cluster.

[@charlesmoore1762]

Exactly! "PRITB, you are NOT -- Repeat NOT cleared to land. You are cleared to enter left downwind for 17L. Report mid-field. Please read back instruction." It would seem she did not have radar contact because when he said he was seven miles out, she asked him seven miles in what direction. So he was a ghost as far as she was aware.

[@alienb1212]

She may not have heard it. I don't think it should be ATC's responsbility to decode the English language for pilots.

[@dsexton1055]

@@alienb1212 "Understand " is a way of asking for confirmation of an instruction. My understanding is its more a non-US method, but ATC should be confirming the readbacks when wrong. Technically should have made him repeat the cleared to land segment on one of his short readbacks too. His readback saves him a corrective for sure.

[@kmoore02809]

@@alienb1212 She said: 'Enter left downwind'. He responded: Clear to land That was very clear and should have generated an immediate response from the controller. The aircraft WASN'T cleared to land. There was another aircraft coming in on final, and that pilot turning base and final when he did cut off the aircraft that WAS cleared to land. If I'm on a downwind leg and the controller tells me I'm cleared to land, I take that as I can turn my base leg and final leg at my discretion and land. If I'm not cleared to land (which this guy wasn't), I can't turn base and final like that, because I might run into another aircraft (which this guy almost did). The pilot certainly made his share of mistakes, but it was the controller's responsibility to correct that pilot when he read back the wrong instruction.

[@cpy]

I mean sure, but when was the last time I was flying with several planes in the pattern and got a landing clearance that early. Never.

[@aircampilot8025]

she missed TBravo reading back cleared to land when she said left downwind report mid field

[@smark1180]

@RetreadPhoto She also used CB gibberish, "stepped on."

[@Ricky40369]

Not the best controller.

[@charlesmoore1762]

Absolutely! She should have said, You are NOT cleared to land; repeat NEGATIVE clearance."

[@prussiaaero1802]

What a complete shit show.

[@taytayflyfly7291]

@@smark1180 How is that gibberish..

[@HsquaredH2]

One simple thing immediately stands out, The Controller ISN’T controlling anything! She is talking like a Tower but acting like a Unicom controlled airfield. Chaos is what happens when you do that…

[@smark1180]

*"The [c]ontroller* ISN’T controlling anything! " I was thinking the same.

[@thatguy7085]

He said he thought he was cleared to land… controller didn’t catch his screw up.

[@MrJoestudent]

I noticed that too, right away. She is "behind the traffic scene"

[@garybono]

Yes, I noticed that. It was the controlled that screwed up but the pilot should have been listening and the he would have realized what was going on.

[@georgewaldrop]

​@@garybononot entirely...BOTH were in error and BOTH were responsible. Yes, the controller should have caught it and corrected it, but the pilot was grossly in error as well, and failed numerous times to follow fars in not responding / not responding correctly to control instructions...I'd have brashered him and had a chat once on the ground...

[@morrij01]

As a tower controller you have to develop a sixth sense for pilots who will cause you trouble. This gut had that written all over. Clues are the bad English, stepping on transmissions, not making mandatory reporting calls and so on. This is exactly why tower control can much more stressful than IFR.

[@final3119]

Everyone here had bad english

[@David-ql1hd]

Careful... that "sixth sense" is often bias.

[@jimfeeney6748]

I worked ANC Center. Much less stress working with IFR-capable pro pilots than the many rookies the towers have to deal with.

[@TheWidebody747]

I started my flight training at Flight Safety at Long Beach Ca. in 1972. They were training pilots for Garuda Indonesian Airlines that were starting with 0 flight time. My instructor reminded me that when I hear them in the pattern to be aware because the only thing they understood was "cleared to land".

[@DragonPhlyy]

Pilot literally never reads back any instructions or clearances.

[@Flight_Follower]

Yeah.

[@BobbyBattista]

He did readback 17L cleared to land at 4:15, if that counts, but mostly didn't read back any instructions.

[@tjfSIM]

@@BobbyBattistaIt doesn’t count because he wasn’t reading back the instruction.

[@BobbyBattista]

@@tjfSIM fair :) also I’m glad to see someone use literally, without meaning “not literally” 😂

[@tjfSIM]

@@BobbyBattista Ha ha! Yes I think it's fair to say 'literally' does apply here 😂

[@smudent2010]

This is what happens when you have an absolutely horrendous pilot being controlled by an absolutely horrendous controller

[@BonanzaPilot]

"English Proficiency" doesn't belong on whatever certificate he has

[@gotbordercollies]

holy cow, what a mess that could have been - even bigger than it was

[@raymondedge8889]

Every time I hear that accent on frq, I immediately go on high alert.

[@CountryFenderBass]

Why she didn’t give him the “I need you to call me” line. At my home airport KLNS a pilot with a thick Arabic accent flew his Pilatus PC-12 under the pattern and just landed without permission. I was on down wind and had to extend. The guy on final, my friend, told me later that he could actually see the rivets on the PC 12. The guy landed and acted as if he did nothing wrong….The tower gave him the phone number

[@Taylexwow]

Well it was her screw up. He read back that he was cleared to land and she never cleared him to land nor corrected that readback.

[@roguishpaladin]

Just gonna point out that it's weird that you mentioned the accent since nothing you wrote mentions difficulty speaking or understanding English.

[@CountryFenderBass]

@ no it just color for the story. Don’t think too hard on it.

[@smaze1782]

The controller was completely disorganized but the pilot was grossly unaware of his surroundings. What a menace.

[@crphilipp]

English as a second language pilot who has poor radio discipline. ATC definitely needs to coordinate traffic flow better.

[@OldGregg00]

It is disturbing to see that ESL pilots are seemingly the majority in US now.

[@markadams7328]

It's sad, but controllers MUST be prepared to deal with idiots, cheaters, and dishonest people.

[@AceMon2005]

00:01 "This is PAPA, HODAEO, IDIOT, and BRAVO" is what I heard.

[@taliocorpus8529]

I want to be a pilot but it's terrifying that I can't understand anything without the subtitles. Please tell me these recordings are lesser quality than actually hearing the radio live. It all sounds like muddy static chatter.

[@marklupus]

Local controller doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Failed to hear pilot confirm landing clearance when one was not given. Froze up like a deer in the headlights when same aircraft turned base in front of another who was on about a mile final. Improperly sequenced arrival from the east behind the other aircraft turning crosswind when what she should have done was extend the departing aircraft's upwind to accommodate the downwind entry for the other aircraft coming from the east. Way too many position report requests for aircraft in the pattern. If she was properly scanning the pattern, these callouts would not have been necessary. Yeah, I know. She was only doing as she was taught.

[@Thekid-e5y]

Never a fan of opposing circuits for a single runway. Especially a busy airport. Just a thought.

[@ianshere8899]

We have it all the time at KGYR. It's no big deal if pilots actually listen and act on the instructions given. And North TX is actually parallel runways - 17L & R.

[@AnonyMous-jf4lc]

Well then you better stay away from controlled fields

[@leechjim8023]

TOOOOOO many foreigners in our airspace😮😮😮

[@MikeDCWeld]

​@@ianshere8899sure, but it doesn't make any difference since they were clearly only using one of them.

[@thadd1116]

This is completely normal its a towered field

[@da40flyer]

Fault on both sides here. Pilot not following instructions for sure. Tower controller missed a chance to stop the whole mess when he read back a clearance he never received and she didn't call him on it.

[@gagewarner6502]

Because they didn't use the callsign. She probably should have said "what is your callsign" after that call, but, pilot not using the callsign was a huge issue there.

[@MemphisBBQ640]

I was waiting for the tower controller to give PT-IRB a phone number.

[@aaronmaynard42]

Something to note here… there is actually TWO runways 17 L and R (the slanted one is not in use anymore). Unfortunately this field also doesn’t have radar so reliance on communication is heavy. The above is KGYI, North Texas Regional, used to be called Perrin Airfield.

[@robfredericks2984]

The pilot in question read back "cleared to land 17L" when she had said "enter L downwind at midfield for 17L". SHE missed his incorrect readback, thereby compounding HIS mistake. I noted that error immediately. Maybe she was too busy.

[@tallishyeti2756]

GYI does not have radar so that is a contributing factor. Definitely makes it hard to catch when people don’t follow instructions

[@lrmbvv]

so an airport in Bangladesh imported a white chik into the tower

[@tangocharlie9291]

Are 95% of new pilots foreigners, or just the ones documented screwing up?

[@gabrielvasin7880]

PRITB did not read back several instructions given by the controller which she also failed to correct. sounds like it was a mix of pilot incompetence and controller error

[@vangogh1588]

He had no clue what the ATC was saying as he barely speaks engish...

[@pyme495]

This sounds (literally) like a training airport popular with English-as-a-second-language student pilots? Is there a big training facility there, or multiple training facilities, that specialize in foreign students?

[@cj20080]

Has to be. Although there are a ton of immigrants living in Texas. I moved from Dallas 40 years ago, but go back several times a year and it's a whole 'nother world now.

[@MM-dk7gt]

​@@cj20080I can only imagine....smh

[@execatty]

A really bad training airport

[@warrenduree9417]

Yes. Tons of Chinese students call this airport home. It's actually North Texas Regional. Used to be Perrin AFB. Huge flight school there with a large Chinese student roster. I believe they also use some of the old Air Force dormitories on the former base for temporary housing for the immigrant students. It's just outside of the Sherman/Denison TX area about 65 miles north of Dallas.

[@MrSuzuki1187]

I don't see two runway 17s in this graphic. You have to have two runways to have a left and a right.

[@bryansimmons4550]

@n578md2 Tower is not calling for landings on 17R OR 17L. She is only instructing them of which traffic pattern to use and land on Rwy 17. Ideally, they should all be flying a standard left pattern for Rwy 17 (the longer left one), with traffic from the east dropping to pattern attitude and speed, then making a right 45 degree angled turn to enter the left downwind at midfield. Planes approaching from the left should cross midfield at least 1500 AGL then turn around to enter the left downwind to 17 the same way. Imagine the Indy 500 with all cars going in the same pattern except two, who want to do it backwards. This controller is making pilots look all over the place for other airplanes during one of the most dangerous phases of flight. She should be retrained, or removed to Ground. Maybe she can get them to taxi safely? After about 4 minutes of listening to that cluster, I would have announced I would be canceling landing and departing to another properly run airport at least 50 miles away. The wasted gas, time, and non-dinged-up airplane would be worth my life for sure.

[@sailingfromswitzerland]

This sounds like an ATC training session. The controller failed to maintain ... control.

[@darrinmcelroy8754]

Communication is a skill. Both sides made mistakes here. Accidents happen but this serves as a lesson that you have to stay vigilant on the radios. You have to be able truly listen and paint the picture of what’s going on for yourself. Especially in a terminal area.

[@texan2560]

I'm really familiar with this airport. Nearly had a head on collision with another plane here. Learned they have NO radar terminal environment there. Just binoculars. And combine that with a foreign student flight training company is a recipe for disaster.

[@victoriarees4540]

Middle of nowhere Texas is a really weird place for a foreign student flight school. I would think Addison would be a better location. Then again, avoiding DFW airspace is probably best.

[@Anytus2007]

Appreciate the info. I was wondering why some North Texas airfield seemed to have 5+ aircraft with ESL speakers in the pattern simultaneously.

[@brianturner9574]

I live 15 miles from this air strip. My issue.. why are there so many foreigners flying?

[@Rennyteam359]

Interesting. First. Operating opposing traffic patterns is not normal but not a problem for a real seasoned controller. Second PIRB was told to report left downwind but answered that he was cleared to land. That is where the problem started. This lady is good but she just missed the answer from PIRB. Moved iron birds for lots of years. Retired. Most fun at this size facility.

[@loveplanes]

Unbelievable that some people thinks that all this mess was created by the controller and not for an incompetent pilot!

[@NorthwestAeronaut]

That controller was just as incompetent as the pilot.

[@danbuck84]

always the brazilian pilots... always the brazilian pilots... but the controller didn't catch the "cleared to land" though!

[@lykinsmotorsports]

I wonder why she set one airplane up for a right downwind and another airplane up for a left downwind?

[@bobbodeker7669]

Sorry, but after watching plenty of these videos, it seems a common reoccurring theme is ESL/language problems, which also leads to a bad understanding of rules/recognition. Of course there's more going on here, but a lot of these videos start off with language issues.

[@pauldavies4870]

Dam, who would be a controller of general aviation traffic.

[@marvinbaudoin7769]

What a flying circus!

[@Flight_Follower]

Absolutely 😆😆

[@TheCaioKyleBraga]

The issue here, particularly in GA, is when you have a foreign pilot that it is not proficient in the phraseology flying into another country. Legally speaking you can pass a ICAO language test but still not be proficient in aviation lingo. This is a classic example. The aircraft has a Brazilian registration and the pilot is a Portuguese speaker. I know that for a fact since I am also a speaker. Moral of the story: don't BS and do your home work.

[@JavierBrent]

Portugeese ? Eu understando clearo to lando, obrigato.. LOL..

[@pcar5]

Controller lost control then panicked.

[@GrapeFlavoredAntifreeze]

Wow, 487BK didn’t hear her go around or misinterpreted it to, if PRITB hadn’t mistaken her transmission as for him at the same time, that could have easily been a bad incursion or collision right there. Absolute chaos

[@Wileybird03]

Yikes😮. Gettin hairy there for a bit

[@Flight_Follower]

😂😂

[@skagitway]

That controller couldn't separate 2 flies with a screen door!

[@kightremin]

As a student pilot, this happend on me many times

[@jpcii]

These guys all sound like english is their second language.

[@Hanna144]

Well PRITB is a Brazilian call sign...

[@RealDavidN]

Lots of international flight training students at this airport. The ESL factor apparently leads to excitement some days.

[@japhillips87]

This is 100% on the controller. There is a controller at an airport near me that will repeat full instructions and make you repeat the read back if something is wrong or if you didn't include your tail number in the read back transmission. She does this even if there is no one else in the area. The first time she did it, I was annoyed. But I swallowed my pride and try to make proper radio calls all the time. She made me become better on the radio and I appreciate her for it.

[@iancouper5077]

surprised there was no phone number given to talk it out for next time on both sides

[@paulguthrie4857]

Sounds like Perrin Field

[@sajanim]

Controller gets flustered to easy, and it seems she can't handle difficulties (arising out of her own mistake).

[@gordonwaite2]

I can’t be the only person here that thinks that ATC personnel talk WAY too fast, considering that the information they relay is so critical to the safety of persons in those aircraft AND on the ground.

[@geoffmaxwell4461]

Why is there right and left traffic? What am I missing?

[@awesomemike3494]

She is as much to blame she let him slip in left downwind

[@loveplanes]

I think she should pay for the fuel too…

[@victormorales8408]

Doesn’t help these controllers do not have radar. Mistakes were made on everyone’s behalf- that pilot probably should not be flying without some proficiency training

[@SummerCrowfpv]

What city or town was this field near it looks like the field by Bonham, ok it’s the one by Sherman

[@jahnkaplank8626]

utter, utter, incompetence. That pilot must NOT be in the air at all.

[@coreropememory-031]

North Texas Airport just got a new name : Monty Python's Flying Circus

[@davidjose9808]

Since when does “report downwind” mean “cleared to land”??

[@burningblue1254]

I assume it's a right hand circuit so traffic entering the circuit should be at circuit height on the downwind left of the runway. You now have 2 aircraft on downwinds on either side of the runway. What is this controller doing ? One aircraft was requested to make a left downwind and repeats back that he is cleared to land. Shvt show.

[@aviation_nut]

The diagram was starting to look like a shell game for a bit. I lost track of who was who!

[@terence.pereira]

Poor from all involved, ITB and the controller.

[@The_Doc_Rocks]

I'm a native English speaker. It is my only language. But the speed at which these controllers gabble out rapid-fire data and instructions has my head spinning. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for non-native English speakers. I've been watching a few of these ATC videos the last couple of days, and they're all like that. Does ATC gabble REALLY that fast, or have these videos been sped up? KZbin playback speed is set to normal at my end. Apart from a multitude of details in most transmissions, they're also too quick on the pressel - they cut off last syllables (especially the pilots), they gabble the call-signs at breakneck speeds, often omitting a couple of characters, then blast out a string of instructions that a pilot could easily not quite catch, especially if he's actually concentrating on flying the plane, with only a part of his attention on his radio incoming. I am NOT a pilot, but I have served several years in the army, and I can tell you that clear, precise, and easily-understood radio comms win the day every time. Try this high-speed gabbling in the army and you will be pissed upon from a great height...!

[@oliverracz2686]

Meh, not sure I can completely side with the controller on this one. Apparently the plane was on an IFR flight plan and had been cleared for a visual approach.

[@CaptSugman]

Clear the approach is not cleared to land.

[@oliverracz2686]

ATC is not supposed to clear an aircraft for a visual approach unless the pilot reported the preceding traffic in sight and is instructed to follow it, right? I don't think they were told to follow any specific aircraft, at least not that I heard.

[@KSCPMark6742]

does a tower like that not have radar? If they do, how could the controller not notice?

[@aaronmaynard42]

No radar at this airport

[@Howard_Hunter_]

No number to copy?

[@rallyden]

Painful to listen and watch

[@Flight_Follower]

Absolutely. 🙃

[@wildgoose419]

PRITB gave a totally wrong read-back. When told to report mid-field left downwind 17L, he read back "clear to land." Now, how do you get that mixed up, even if English is your second language? I wonder if he did that on purpose hoping to have a quick landing. The controller didn't catch this and moved on to the next plane. Now, you can fault her for not catching it, but the pilot should know that he was in class-D airspace and he certainly could hear the tower talking to other planes, including one that was already on final. At the very least, even if you think you are cleared, you need to sight that traffic and get behind it. What PRITB did was simply against everything in the training. I'll entertain the possibility that he could be very clueless about class-D operations, or maybe he just didn't care, or he was too old a guy to admit he didn't hear what a girl said.

[@briansmyla8696]

He was IFR, everyone else was VFR. Does that make a difference?

[@wildgoose419]

@@briansmyla8696 He was definitely not IFR. You don't do the 45 degree entry to downwind in IFR operations. You would follow tower instructions and the established instrument approach procedures on the appropriate chart for the specific types of approach to be executed. No instrument approach procedure would make him fly the path he did. His head was just not screwed on right.

[@maartendeen8404]

That, and reading back instructions for 487BK (at 2:57) Pilot does not understand proper English.

[@shanelodge391]

Poor controller dealing with an incompetent pilot.

[@stevie3011]

No "Possible pilot deviation. Please have a pen ready for a phone number to call." ?

[@charlesmoore1762]

Would have been a waste of time. He was intent on doing WTF he wanted to and her best bet would have been to re-sequence the other guys and concentrate on getting his a$$ on the ground and out of the way! I'm glad I was a few hundred miles away from there while all that was going on!!

[@crazyralph6386]

Gee, I cannot see the common denominator for all these airport incidents? 😂

[@rubiconbaron9662]

Tower isn't doing anything to control traffic. This pilot ignored or misinterpreted everything she told him and she wasn't correcting him. I'm not sure who was worse.

[@richardgraham5047]

Does the controller not have visual contact with these planes! She doesn't have control of this airport or the aircraft using it!!!

[@TheDAVE858]

Why does the graphic show a single runway but the controller is saying 17 L as if there is a parallel runway?

[@HammondGaming]

Future Expansion: The airport may plan to add a parallel runway in the future. By designating the existing runway as "left" (L), they leave room for a "right" (R) runway. Historical Reasons: The airport might have had multiple runways in the past, and the labeling has been retained for consistency or regulatory reasons. Consistency with Nearby Airports: To avoid confusion with nearby airports or to maintain consistency within an airport complex that includes multiple airports, a single runway might be labeled as "left" or "right." Operational Procedures: Some airports use these designations to align with standard operational procedures or air traffic control practices.

[@Eserchie]

as Hammondgaming says, many reasons. In this case, Historical Reason - 17R/35L technically still exists, but isn't used much, as it's half the width of 17L/35R and has had useable length decreased to about 1/3 it's original, only going from taxiway Bravo to Echo, with the South end completely ripped out, though you can still see where it was.

[@davidjose9808]

@@HammondGaming

[@HammondGaming]

@@davidjose9808 yes?

[@tomdis8637]

So many of these incidents involve “pilots with accents”

[@josegregoriogonzalez874]

I think there is a better way to describe the situation. As a foreign pilot myself that is fluent in several languages, it can be challenging to understand fast talking controllers in busy airspace. Nevertheless it is your duty to ensure your proficiency before you go flying. We all have “accents” and just depends where you are. I do remember an USAF C-130 that landed in Patagonia few years back with no clearance just because no one on-board spoke proper Spanish…so yes, it can happen to anyone.

[@theconcorden]

@@josegregoriogonzalez874 Well said. Muy bien dicho!

[@mikesingleton2997]

Aviation is self correcting...his days are as short as his flying skills....

[@jacobdanielkuiper5744]

Responding a clearance you were not given, makes you the idiot and does not reflect on the controller, it’s nice when they catch it, better if you do and even better to open your eyes and see traffic or know where it is.

[@iain8837]

Bit too relaxed by pilot and ATC.

[@loveplanes]

Is Texas…

[@jhaedtler]

I sure would not want to be that controler!

[@NicolasEsparza45]

FAA needs to be more strict with what English proficient means. Seen this too many times

[@Hokieredneck]

This com sounds like a video game. There is no way this is real.

[@buckrowe9196]

Nah, this is real. I’ve flown into KGYI (North TX Regional), I recognize the controller’s voice. I also recognize N478BK’s tail number, they’re from the US Aviation Academy location at my home field (KDTO). The snapping and popping of the radio that you’re hearing in the audio recording is really hard to fake as well.

[@georgesheffield1580]

This is very close to me and is the usual nonsense of flying here ,from both pilots and the controllers . Supprised there isn't more crashes than there are .

[@countysecession]

It's hard enough to understand Americans on the radio. It's really hard to understand guys with these accents.

[@dang6369]

I wouldn't exactly call this chaos...

[@v1rotate391]

“English proficient” What a joke

[@bengoldstraw1904]

RT discipline is horrendous.

[@kenharbin3440]

Drugs are bad.

[@Flight_Follower]

😂😂

[@prs44]

the great prophet rick james was right.....cocaine's a helluva drug

[@zonzeven]

The numbers on the planes are too small.

[@GarethWelch-cb6wv]

None of the pilots seem to have a clue. Bunch of coked up joyriders.

[@pesto12601]

ATC screwed up by not extending downwind... she is out of her element... and left and right procedures in play... a disaster ready to happen!!

[@markadams7328]

@@pesto12601 I agree! It's sad, but controllers MUST be prepared to deal with idiots, cheaters, and dishonest people.

[@pilot41186]

Another bunch of foreign pilots

[@raymondpetrovits2336]

The thick accent and lazy approach to flying is the problem. Foreigners making a mockery of American air space. Good job ATC.

[@TrampConnoisseur]

What a clusterfuck

[@kdub6593]

A swarm of foreign students.

[@rogershrubber3596]

gee....i wonder if foreigners speaking poor english is a problem

[@MichaelJolySr]

Maybe she doesn’t need to be flying anymore more

[@dennisstoesz]

Sounds of foreign student with total lack of understanding ..

[@andychatton7609]

You can't fix stupid.... on either side.

[@garythompson2517]

You need to speak and understand English. These close calls seem to be a lack of English.