The WORST Pilot Tries To Land!

[@johnszakach5582]

This is a fantastic controller. Talking slow knowing it’s a foreign registration and English is a second language. Never raising her volume of expressing frustration. Unbelievably great job. What saved everyone was not having any other traffic in the pattern.

[@pilot-debrief]

Ya, can you imagine this happening on a busy Sunday afternoon??? 😳

[@sherw7635]

She deserves a medal.

[@flutebasket4294]

She sure sounds condescending and frustrated to me. I mean, not the worst I've ever heard, but her tone is clearly unpleasant

[@neilmackay3986]

@@flutebasket4294 She is the epitome of cool, calm and collected.

[@flutebasket4294]

@@neilmackay3986 If you can't hear the impatience in her tone, you and I don't live in the same universe

[@charlesmoore1762]

She sounds like a mother patiently telling her child how to steer a bike. She never raised her voice; she never yelled “WTF are you DOING up there?” She should get the “Patience of Job” award! Great job! (as @johnsz… said.)

[@N8570E]

To me (the father of 6), if she was a mother she would have been at least a little nervous. There would have been emotion in her voice. This controller was rock solid in her voice. She expressed concern, but did not sound nervous. To me there is a big difference.

[@thenelsonbruhs722]

Yeah that’s a really good controller

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

you mean a "Patience on the Job" award?😂

[@mattnnz]

She just wants him out of her life so that he crashes his plane on someone else's shift.

[@johnlillyblad5188]

She sounds amused near the end

[@80cardcolumn]

The legends say he's up there still, circling forever, turning left and missing the runway.

[@rrnonya5472]

Yeah, I saw him a few weeks ago, nice guy but just stuck in a loop

[@Sooos-em4mj]

Gulf, Taco, Taco.... priceless.

[@nsmccoy2345]

😂😂😂

[@antoniotula262]

This is scary. Educational, but scary as hell!!!!

[@drl5002]

Probably a glitch on the matrix.

[@terrywoodfield4081]

I have a single landing at LAS at night in a Cessna 172. It happened many years ago. Las Vegas was a sea of lights. I knew the airport was east of the Luxor Pyramid, but I could not distinguish the airport lights from all of the casino and street lights. When ATC asked me if I had the runway in sight, I replied, "Negative," and the controller said, "Then we'll flash the runway lights for you." This action clearly delineated the runway, and I landed without incident. The friendly and helpful action of the controller prevented me from having the same experience as the Citation pilot in this video. I assume VGT has a similar problem with city lights at night, so this may have been a factor that contributed to the pilot's confusion.

[@spiller212]

…and you did the right thing by admitting you couldn’t see the runway. Consequently, the controllers provided help and you landed safely. I don’t understand why the Citation pilot didn’t do the same.

[@baileyhumphreys8078]

This makes sense but I still can’t figure out why he couldn’t even hold a heading

[@nemo227]

Too many lights can have a psychedelic effect but this "landing" leaves us with a LOT of questions.

[@mdhsabh]

Been there-done that; landing Huntsville at night; airport's a big black hole with indistinguishable runway lights when they're off or on lowest setting--all surrounded by the lights of the city. I was coming in for touch-and-gos, and told tower I couldn't tell where the airport was. I asked for the whole light show, and it was stunning! Only thing missing was the Star Wars music! But, yeah, you can ask for the lights anytime, or vectors...or turn the lights on yourself (usually on CTAF freq) if the tower's closed.

[@shartov]

to me, it's unreal that a citation pilot can't follow the basics of flying and communication.

[@jasonconrad7664]

What do you need to land? A pilot. He needs a pilot.

[@samiam7525]

Baahahaha 😂😂😂😂

[@AVKingJamesBible]

😂😂😂

[@Lord_Volkner]

If I was her, my thoughts would be to tell him something like, "Just find an empty spot in the desert and crash. I'll send search and rescue."

[@kaleoride]

hahahaha

[@jamesoncross7494]

LMAO!!!!!!!!

[@jamesbauer5782]

As a jet pilot he should have an instrument approach loaded into the navigation which would draw a straight line out from the runway...There is absolutely no reason for this kind of negligence

[@winfriedwilcke1705]

@@SD_AV Why?

[@danieljones8587]

Ditto... was thinking the same thing.

[@neerajnongmaithem392]

Maybe he does not have IFR rating 😂

[@kevinperry6009]

Obviously struggling, why didn't she give vectors for an extended downwind for a longer final, with more time to become clearly established??

[@danielch6662]

@@kevinperry6009 there is a bigger airport there? With heavy traffic.

[@JeffPerry-m3s]

9:35 I almost expected her to say just continue heading northbound and keep going...great professionalism and patience displayed here. As a student, I had some less understanding controllers from time to time.

[@kenzeier2943]

Lol

[@christopherborum6551]

Maintain the heading and contact Elko Approach. Have a nice day.

[@sunnyscott4876]

I'm not a pilot, but I fly in and out of Las Vegas all the time. Someone, please give this precious ATC lady a raise. She's keeping us all safe. ❤

[@markcavandish1295]

Absolutely!

[@runem5429]

I know you mean as a passenger, but I have to ask for humor: "Broom or you just whatever on the whole licence thing?"

[@SndyOr]

@@runem5429 OMG because I was a gate agent it went over my head and I filled in the words for him/her as I am used to that assumption. When I went back and read it again, I giggled picturing the Broom and that person realized it did sound funny because they didn't bother to come back at you.

[@hallowedbethymelancholy8299]

This controller was incredibly patient. Firm, concise & yet gives instructions in a way that isn't condescending or aggressively escalative to the situation.

[@sarahmacintosh6449]

As frustrating as this is to watch, I'm happier to be watching this than watching the accident video because he tried to force one of his many unstable approaches. So good on him for having the patience (and fuel) to keep trying until he gets it right. And the controller is legendary 😍

[@pilot-debrief]

I think he had the patience because he didn’t think anything was wrong. This was all normal for him it seemed.

[@sarahmacintosh6449]

@@pilot-debrief That's a horrifying thought 😳🤔

[@RealRickCox]

I can't, for the life of me, understand why a fast jet like this wasn't flying a stabilized, straight-in approach. This would never happen in a commercial airline and it seems like this pilot needs to go back for more training... he's clearly not capable of doing the basics. I sure as hell don't ever want this guy piloting a plane I'm on.

[@EmmaDaisy]

@@pilot-debrief Possible hypoxia? His other landings were perfectly fine.

[@ligandil]

@@EmmaDaisy Maybe but unlilkely. This is in traffic pattern, so at low altitude. Even if he was in hypoxia when he started to descend for the approach, his condition should improve over time while he's doing those patterns at 800ft

[@Robodebt1010]

Congratulations to ATC. The controller is again the hero of this story. Understanding the pilot was having problems and not knowing exactly why… she remains calm… offers constant assistance.. with endless patience. She deserves a medal for her outstanding professionalism and focus on getting the aircraft down safely. Her only concern is the safety of the pilot and aircraft and does all she can to assist. This tower controller represents the very best in ATC. Bravo! The entire flying community.. including passengers.. owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who works in ATC.

[@capacitacionatcenlinea2.104]

I work as an atc, and the lady is not doing a good job. That not the way to control, i don't know what she is doing.

[@Peter_Vidgeon]

@@capacitacionatcenlinea2.104 We're all still waiting for your own pearls of wisdom. You cannot just say she was doing a bad job without saying why you think that.

[@Frayme11]

​@@capacitacionatcenlinea2.104tf you do

[@DavidR-f6z]

That flight path line looks like something a hyperactive kid with an Etch-A-Sketch would draw.

[@danieljones8587]

😂

[@MomIrregardless]

i was gonna say a toddler with his first crayon!!

[@michaeltorbay6608]

Controller deserves a medal. Despite this person appearing to be tremendously incompetent (not sure if actually the case, but that's what it looks like) she kept calm. Without her guidance and patience, this could easily have become a dangerous situation for the souls on-board that aircraft.

[@n1vg]

Sometimes you get rattled and one mistake leads to another. Aside from not calling out the second missed approach this guy seemed to be keeping up with the radio and not having a stroke or anything. The controller really does deserve credit for doing everything she could to get him sorted out without piling on the stress. That one controller in Hawaii we see occasionally would have torn this guy to pieces.

[@zakelwe]

At least the pilot did not feel pressured to get it down and kept working at it. Probably better than getting impatient. I would not want to be a passenger on that plane having said that.

[@jameswikstrom4174]

If I was a passenger in the Citation jet, I would have been a little nervous that the pilot was not going to be able to land the aircraft safely after all the missed approaches. The tower controller has the patience of a SAINT! She deserves all the credit in averting a potentially disastrous situation!

[@Hygelac1000]

Yeah I'd be lighting it if I had it

[@Politicallynot]

Or throwing up!!!

[@NetCerpher]

True 4 Shur. NLV has a distraction as big as the LV strip! 1.lights are a major one. 2. Then there are the passengers! I suggest PIC is half hearing the tower and half hearing excited party peeps on the other side. Recipe for loss of awareness and more. I was here trying to will the plane to land east>west and to order shades down until on the ground

[@JiveDadson]

Maybe that was the passenger.

[@57Jimmy]

I’ld be tempted to bail out even without a chute and take my chances!😳

[@mikefreauf6192]

Good Lord, this ATC needs a huge raise. What a lesson of patience with a pilot that is clearly not as experienced with night instrument landings. Thanks for keeping us safe miss! :)

[@dshack4689]

I liked that the controller didn't overload this pilot and was extremely supportive. I really liked that she volunteered that 30R was much shorter instead of assuming the pilot should know (as the pilot is not knowing a number of things at present). I like the theory of him thinking 30R but actually sighting 25. And while lighting can be a problem, I think its the speed and proximity to the airport that amplifies the volume of visual information you're trying to process. Thank goodness no crash...!

[@nathanleon2895]

I hate to admit this, but I did something similar at an unfamiliar airport. I had a 172 at max weight landing on a warm day at a runway elevation of 3000 feet and every approach was so fast I could not get it on the ground soon enough to stop in time. About the 4th time around my friend and fellow pilot looked at my flaps and asked, what are the flaps set at? I said 30. He said look at them. They were not down. I wiggled the switch and they went down. That made the difference. Lesson learned.

[@cuprum166]

I don't think anyone should fly alone, maybe it doesn't sound practical, but we need a competent 1st officer for when that emergency arrives.

[@tomikun8057]

@@cuprum166 All airplanes have 2 pilots wdym

[@kaptainkaos1202]

@@tomikun8057 they might have seats for 2 but not always 2 pilots. I know because a do research flights and often it’s just the pilot, myself and equipment operator in the back seat.

[@mdhsabh]

@@tomikun8057 Not so.

[@tomikun8057]

@@kaptainkaos1202 Huh. I thought it was a safety thing that every plane fly with two pilots always

[@tcthedream]

Watching that gave me ANXIETY. Cudos to that controller for staying calm!

[@barrygunning4424]

As a retired USAF air traffic controller I have to commend the controller working the aircraft. She did an excellent job trying to aid this pilot. MY guess is the pilot was having great difficulty keeping the runways/airport in sight due to the light pollution from the surrounding urban area. I"m not sure of his altitude during this, I would expect maybe 1000' AGL for the VFR pattern which would make it even more difficult to keep the airport/runways in sight.

[@TormodSteinsholt]

Sounds reasonable except even when not on approach he fails to follow headings, he calls back turns that he doesn't make etc.

[@davidt8087]

I'm still a ppl but don't those small citations travel like at 120+ knots and land at around 120-130knots? How do you keep a tight traffic pattern in a jet? And why did he fly visual anyway if he could have just done IFR ils or gps? It's so weird

[@Shardith]

Yep I would buy that controller a drink for keeping her cool and being extremely professional and helpful

[@a10pilot69]

Light pollution my behind. He doesn't know how to fly a kite, let alone a corp jet

[@scrimmo]

Why couldn’t he see the runway? 🥃 🥃 🥃 Lol

[@DanielFCutter]

Oh. It’s dark. Thats some useful information right there for us viewers. But you got us to watch the whole vid!

[@ScruffyMisguidedAndBlue]

Yeah, that crucial bit of information shouldn't have been left until the end, it changes the narrative a lot.

[@zebra2346]

Holy cow! I'm exhausted just watching this debacle!

[@russell-di8js]

Annoying AF agreed!!

[@robertdavis6708]

I was worrying the pilot was going to run out of fuel. Man that is a complex machine to be making those mistakes. Kudos to the ATC. She should get a raise for putting up with that pilot.

[@THELIFEOFPRICE]

Man that controller is a saint for sure. I flew out of that airport the other day with combat ace in an extra 300 and the traffic was bananas. If he would have came in during that time it could have been disastrous for sure. It makes me worry that hes even able to fly that complex of a plane and be so .... what seems like OUT OF CONTROL ... like out of touch with everything. But glad he finally landed safely for sure. I can only imagine what his passengers were thinking (if there were any)

[@pauledwards1157]

That’s a fun experience with Combat Ace! How many people can say they’ve flown loops and rolls in a plane…without a pilot’s license?

[@grantheflin9962]

I completely lost it when the Griswold clip played 😂😂

[@ReneFolse]

The fact that he actually proceeded down final, with the gear down, touched down, and brought the citation to a full stop means he can fly the airplane. The only explanation for what you showed was complete pilot disorientation when he arrived. And I am amazed than anyone in a jet, unfamiliar with the area, would arrive in Las Vegas on anything but an IFR approach. But he did! And at night. With a sea of lights, and two airports near each other, and no indication he actually knew where he was in relation to whatever airport he was looking for. He was flying too fast, as in his point of view he has no clue that he is near a runway and a final approach. BUT with GPS and the Nav aids we have now, how he got that disoriented is hard to understand. If he had adequate fuel, all he needed to do is fly out of the city, get an IFR plan approved to fly back and land, put that into his autopilot, and sit back and let the airplane do the work. Then sell his Citation, and stick to a car.

[@jguenther3049]

Stick to a car? I'd prefer he walk.

[@billeldon]

Nope. Sell the car too and buy a lifetime Greyhound pass. I don’t want this guy on the highway with me.

[@larryroyovitz7829]

Golf cart only.

[@larryslone65]

Yes, spatially disoriented. Under those conditions very easy for normal procedures to fly out the window.

[@oohkumar]

Walking sticks

[@kevins5011]

This is actually scary, i'm sure this was creating a lot of stress for the controller as she's probably be side herself with frustration, bewilderment, perplexed, consternation and fear of who she is dealing with here

[@andiscott2002]

I'm not a pilot but I've watched quite a few of Pilot Debrief videos. This is one of the most frustrating. I cannot understand what the pilot was thinking.

[@Jet-Pack]

I am pretty sure the pilot mistook runway 25 for 31L That is why he turned onto "base" whilst crossing the approach path of 31L and overshot it. And it also explains the desire to do a right turn on base for 25 to extend the final approach. If you follow his actions with this in mind it makes a lot more sense.

[@embie5119]

I think you're absolutely right. I rewatched it and his call to "turn right to line up" only makes sense if he were trying to turn right to a downwind for 25. Great observation

[@lourocha]

I thought the same

[@Wolfenkuni]

Maybe his heading indicator drifted and he didn't notice. That's why he doesn't fly parallel to the runway and then mistook runways.....

[@Jet-Pack]

@@WolfenkuniThat is a good explanation, could have been the reason, yes.

[@eriklarson9137]

I am pretty sure if you could understand what he was thinking you should never pilot an aircraft.

[@charlesmoore1762]

Dangerous transmission by GTT: “We’re cleared for 30 Left, right?” The ever-patient ATC properly responds 30 Left -affirmative. She’ll be so glad to get this guy on the ground! Thank goodness there was no other traffic in the pattern!

[@MidAgeRulz]

That was painful. Pilot owes that controller a beer.

[@hardware1197]

I heard this occur live. What is not in the audio is prior to this approach this pilot descended directly over Nellis AFB without permission from Nellis control at 5500 while the Israeli Air Force was launching for Red Flag familiarization flights for the exercise the week after. It was wild. All I could say after is that this is what it sounds like when a guy flys with a Cartel member pointing a gun at his head......

[@randybaumery5090]

That's chilling to ponder.

[@zealousideal]

Scary and sad. Can’t believe this.

[@timblack33]

That’s what I was thinking. Cartel activity or too much tequila.

[@Yosetime]

@@zealousideal Surely just because it's written here as a theory you wouldn't just jump on board that explanation and believe it? It's a theory. An unproven one.

[@jakecostello8400]

That’s what I said. 100 percent true. Flight path activity definitely implies cartel activity to me

[@smakfu1375]

The very first thing I was thinking is if you’re in a fancy citation, you probably (I’d hope) have an instrument rating, so just request vectors for the ILS approach, set the localizer frequency, and have yourself an easy, low-stress approach. Even if you’re flying VFR, don’t just wing it, especially in a plane like that. Before you head to an unfamiliar airport, setup nav guidance, have the charts on hand (it’s really easy with today’s fancy Garmin’s and software on a tablet) and have ability to setup a CANPA, knowing where the important things are (FAF, for example). Sure, you might be able to eyeball it, but if things get challenging, a little prep significantly reduces workload and anxiety. And that controller demonstrated unmatched patience and professionalism.

[@criqdekuyper9259]

Vectors would not likely have helped. He did not once maintain a heading issued…

[@mattym8]

The ILS is on the reciprocal runway but yes GPS should’ve made this easy unless it’s a 30 yr old citation without gps!

[@StefunnyStrange]

Was anybody else getting anxiety the more red lines that were added to the map as the “pilot” kept overshooting it? Christ. That ATC woman is a saint because this would’ve driven me mad.

[@dingmanracing]

I was waiting for “we’re out of fuel “

[@barbaraanneneale3674]

This is a great channel. I know nothing about flying, But you humanize these stories so effectively that it's captivating. You really bring These people to life.

[@nick39]

That controller deserves an award for “Patience of The Year”! I’ve been yelled at for much less’😂😂😂

[@DrummerJacob]

really...i can hear the annoyance in her every word. shes just being subtle about it, but its definitely apparent in every word she says.

[@crowgang6678]

​@DrummerJacob if you're this stupid, you're gonna have to get used to people taking a tone with you because you deserve it.

[@grumman38]

33 years on the air, thanks for your professionalism mam! The only thing important is getting the aircraft safely on the ground.

[@sherw7635]

The controller should be flying the plane... She's so polite and patient.. I'd be losing it.

[@virginiaviola5097]

It’s a good thing that you aren’t a controller then. Because she is just doing her job. There’s no place for people who lose it or use non-standard comms in ATC. To lose it is unprofessional and entirely unhelpful. Some air traffic controllers I’ve heard in the US would have crashed that plane, like the crash at Hobby that killed three people…there’d have been endless strings of words and directions and other useless comms or being sworn at.. this controller got it right. That pilot is working his ass off up there, you can hear the stress in his voice and the short read back.. and she just gave him directions and speed calls, and staying calm, her calm voice helped a very stressed pilot stay focussed too… and unlike far too many other instances, this story has a happy ending and that controller has earned her raise! ❤

[@kimberlywentworth9160]

@@virginiaviola5097 I agree, there is no reason to get upset. This is aviation and it takes a professional. We do not need any more drama up in the air. She is a fantastic controller. The idea is to help get the aircraft to land safely. Then worry about it after landing.

[@Garth_T]

Imagine the controller had been Kennedy Steve.

[@sludge8506]

@@Garth_T Steve worked at jfk. I think he would have realized the situation. Or maybe not. 🤪

[@terryhill4100]

yea when that plane was heading north,the should have told him to continue that heading, and wished a ,good day

[@HoltAircraft]

If I was the controller I would have had the police meet him on the ramp to breathalyse him

[@zealousideal]

Exactly my thoughts. Something ain’t right.

[@kevinmoffatt]

If I was the ATC I wouldn't have been anywhere near the field when he landed.

[@thedarkestkinghtstar]

How about medical first? If he has a history of landing perfectly fine and suddenly has issues, I'd be worried about a medical emergency. Two birds with one stone; they's still be able to tell if it was alcohol but if it was a medical emergency time is precious.

[@jguenther3049]

@@kevinmoffatt From the looks of this, there was a good chance that the plane wouldn't have been anywhere near the field when he landed.

[@debbieellett9093]

I thought the same thing.

[@nowayout73]

Somebody in ATC at this airport pissed this guy off in the past and he decided to mess with them today. It’s so obvious. His short responses and ignoring what she’s trying to convey to him is purposeful it’s not cultural.

[@GDViperWorks]

A few years ago, one of my companies check airman told this story. He used to instruct Mexican pilots for Mexicana Airlines. After seeing too many pilots who didn't have even basic knowledge one would expect for their stated level of experience; further research into their certificates indicated many of them were counterfeit and logbooks were pencil whipped.

[@fahadfaisal7855]

Same with Brazilian, rest of South American, and Caribbean pilots...also, Eastern Europe...Africa, and Caribbean pilots: How about an Indian female pilot showing B747 Type on her application in four years before her IFR endorsement? I can go on...and on...and on. So many of those Brazilian pilots are now flying for jetBlue and Breeze...connect the dots!

[@jesse00pno]

@@fahadfaisal7855Wow. Just… Wow. Why I always fly Legacy.

[@dextermorgan1]

No! Not in Mexico! 😂

[@philgray1023]

​@@fahadfaisal7855Very similar experience hiring in the IT industry. I specifically did the analysis of the years of experience. People with 7 years experience in one technology would have 3 years of another technology, and 2 years of system design, all fitted in from the age of 15! No single nationality was immune from this. The best guys just simply knew their stuff and how to add up. Unfortunately some managers knew so little about the work that they would be sucked in.

[@nicholaskamanja9417]

Africa? The whole continent?

[@kathleenmckenna8578]

The pilot is lucky this isn’t a busy airport otherwise; outcome could of been different. That would be frustrating with a pilot confused and having to circle ten times. Hopefully the airport discusses with the pilot what happened and discuss for future landings.

[@MarieJesne]

The controller deserves the praise. I don't know what was going on with this pilot but I'm glad he listened to ATC, didnt rush or do anything reckless (bare minimum for a pilot, but so many accidents we see it lacking). Always good when everyone lands safely even if it took extra effort to get there. Hopefully the pilot learned a valuable lesson from this and has worked to improve since.

[@Airships]

Does it tell us anything that the pilot thought landing on 30R would somehow be different from landing on 30L? If you can line up for one, you can line up for the other (and you might as well take the longer one). Does his otherwise inexplicable request to try 30R indicate something that might shed light on the pilot's problem?

[@ethanlewis1453]

He was probably lying about being able to see the runway well enough because of the vegas lights and was hoping to see 30R better than 30L.

[@eriklarson9137]

@@ethanlewis1453 Probably not.

[@bongcrosby5598]

The controller was the one who suggested 30R because he kept overshooting.

[@RWBHere]

Pilot fatigue? Lack of night jaunting experience at an unfamiliar airfield? I'd love to hear what happened after that incident.

[@deeffourjay5632]

Pilot was not communicating the problem or his (mis)actions. Pull his license.

[@MIchaelArlowe]

Helmet fire, it seems like.

[@PuddingXXL]

11:30 I love the little mix of a sigh and laugh when she allows herself a little joke. Gold ATC!

[@frankbyte]

The base turn seems quite short for me. As you said I think it may be better to have sent him to a longer downwind before turning for final. It could have been some kind of disorientation in his head perhaps due to workload/stress…but at the same time he should have a map with his GPS position onboard. So it‘s quite surprising. I can imagine that during the night it can be more difficult to evaluate the distance to the RWY. I was also a bit surprised that he didn‘t say anything to the tower about which difficulties he had during all these attempts…he almost was reading back the instructions again and again like everything was fine for him.

[@gk1771]

A longer downwind could interfere with 19 L/R on KLAS if they were active. This pilot does have issues. Probably undertrained and less-experienced in other than VFR landings, add piss-poor planning and lack of situational awareness.

[@howardhall5191]

WOW, Tower should have called the FAA and gotten this pilot ramp checked. That tower operator was being beyond reasonable in assisting this guy. Maybe a follow up conversation with the authorities for where the aircraft was registered. I really don't know what a typical approach speed for a Citation would be, but I'm gassing not much faster than 130 or so. That controller deserves a pay raise!

[@redbaron6805]

As noted at the end, the flight was at night, for a poorly lit runway, in a sea of Las Vegas lights, at an unfamiliar airport. Which is why the controller was so patient. I bet she has seen this many times before....

[@eriklarson9137]

@@redbaron6805 "for a poorly lit runway, in a sea of Las Vegas lights" So, just like EVERY OTHER BIG CITY - look for the black spot. That's the airport.

[@redbaron6805]

@@eriklarson9137 Except, if you flew actual airplanes, at night, you would know that simply isn't the case. Not all airports are the same, and airports that are surrounded by large brightly lit buildings are going to be harder to see at night than airports that have a regular city scape around it. Some are much harder to fly into than others, especially one's with tall buildings around them.

[@bobsemple9341]

​@@redbaron6805don't make excuses for these people. You're part of the problem

[@Stereo3DProductions]

This is like watching Mahaveer Raghunathan try to do a three point turn! 🤣

[@cantzonfoster1067]

I also appreciate the controller’s calm demeanor. When stress is high, it gets so much worse when the controller is audibly irate. She did a great job helping this guy get it together! Pilot must have been situationally disoriented and and overwhelmed with work load. I’m guessing he was new to plane. Definitely not ready to be PIC. Hopefully they had an additional conversation once he was safely on the ground.

[@donelson52]

Wow. What patience. She deserves a medal!

[@repost9581]

This should be investigated similar as a near-miss collision. What the heck happened up there?

[@markm.9252]

He really needed a 10 mile final or an instrument approach-and-landing. But that controller was phenomenal, she really does have the patience of a saint.

[@machone1672]

I have never seen anything like this before. This is really incredibly scary stuff!

[@MegaSnow121]

I am exhausted just following that flight. Hopefully, he realizes what made it so difficult for him to land. Sounds like he is a good pilot who was unfamiliar with the smaller airport in the early night time, especially if that airport had no lights on the runways. Is that normal for smaller airports?

[@jeremyhill2243]

That makes sense, he was not used to landing there at night and he was confused by the sea of lights that is Las Vegas. I’m surprise he didn’t do an instrument approach into that airport.

[@joedicello7001]

KVGT is in the NW part of town and I fly out of this airport. The lights in that part of town are no different than any other city. The strip has zero to do with this airport.

[@a10pilot69]

guy was an idiot. Needs to lose his ticket

[@keitasalmon6485]

No, VGT is pretty much by the desert and the runway is obvious day or night. LAS at night is a VERY noticeable dark spot in the sea of lights and even more obvious at night, his hypothesis is completely misguided.

[@prosfilaes]

Basically everything you see on screen there is residential or normal stores and shops; there's a Lowe's just north of the airport, and used to be a K-Mart just to the northwest. To the northeast there's warehouses and other stuff that's less well lit than residential. This is not the Strip.

[@Redridge07]

@jeremy You are exactly correct kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5_ZaaCfr51ph9Usi=J0Sq-VecVWxx6rsw

[@spiller212]

Did this incident get reported? I mean this guy is an accident waiting to happen. I wouldn’t wanna share the same airspace with him, imagine being a passenger…

[@pilot-debrief]

It's odd that all of the other flights in this aircraft appear normal without incident. However, he flew back to Monterrey after this and the plane hasn't flown since then.

[@DannyReed]

@@pilot-debrief sus

[@brianmanthey562]

Did he get line checked. Sounds like he got licensed in banana Republic flying coke on dirt runways and no controlled airspace

[@Boss_Tanaka]

Good thing he had plenty of gas left

[@vadermike7772]

In fairness to him, he didn't really do anything dangerous, he was definitely lost and unsure of his position relative to the airport. So he is not an accident waiting to happen. You may have gotten lost at some point while driving your car. It does not necessarily mean you are a bad driver. Mind you there are a million things the pilot could have done better, but he did not fly the aircraft in a dangerous manner,

[@css0076]

Jeez....I felt like I was watching Nascar!!

[@janvaneck4088]

My intuitive reaction is that the pilot is tired. Possibly had an early start, been "up and awake" all day, other flight segments, now coming into an unfamiliar airport without approach lights, at night, tired, and not a fluent English speaker. Also apparently operating single-pilot. He got "behind the airplane" because he was tired, had trouble trying to think ahead of the plane. Hey, it happens.

[@Msunuwakho]

I think it was a approach at night, and knowing how many lights there are in Lasvegas I wouldnt be surprised if that confused him even more

[@shanelodge391]

Not acceptable. People’s lives are at risk from this incompetent pilot.

[@grayrabbit2211]

How tired do you have to be to not be able to hold a heading? At the very least use the damn autopilot for headings if you're not doing it yourself.

[@747-pilot]

He is not tired. He is *DOWNRIGHT INCOMPETENT!* Please tell it like it is! 🙄 If he's "tired" to do some of the most basic maneuvers of flying, he should not be flying an airplane! Some of the mistakes he made, like being able to hold a heading, and fly at an appropriate airspeed, are frankly, shocking! Even a student pilot should be able to perform these within a reasonable tolerance!

[@olivierb9716]

@@747-pilot do you know was is tired???

[@jordanepstein1499]

I have flown a plane for a Mexican National and for a time I had a Mexican copilot. From my experience there is a lot of pencil whipping of Log Books going on down south. The scary part is there are two pilots in that plane and that is the best they can do.

[@R2Bl3nd]

That was the exact reason for the 2008 Learjet crash in Mexico City. Both pilots had fabricated paperwork and didn't actually have the right credentials or experience. Such practices are rampant in some countries that have less oversight and more corruption apparently. So that could be a factor for sure if this pilot comes from that kind of culture.

[@mytech6779]

@@R2Bl3nd And now with the problems created by the ATP SIC legislation["1500h rule"], US airlines are code shareing more and more of their international legs to airlines from these questionable countries where they not oly don't require an SIC to have an ATP but the basic training is not up to standard. (ie Lionair was caught falsifying maintenance logs of their max crash.)

[@747-pilot]

You hit the nail on its head! This goes on in many 3rd world countries actually! That is why I have no respect for those pilots at all. I'm of *_INDIAN ORIGIN_* myself. So I know a thing or two, about how things work in those places! There was a recent fatal Pakistan Airlines A320 crash (belly up landing because they forgot to put the gear down, scraped the engines on the runway, then tried to do an unsuccessful go around). After that it was found that over 50% of the pilots working for the airline had fake licenses and other fake credentials, among other things!

[@Yosetime]

He sounded Asian to me.

[@Yosetime]

@@747-pilotI believe you are right there. And it's not just aviation where this happens. I live in Canada. A couple years ago a whole busload of teenage hockey players were t-boned by a semi-truck in Saskatchewan. The whole country mourned. Turns out that the driver of that semi-truck was licensed and trained by a company who falsified records. There were a whole lot of poorly trained heavy haulers of Indian nationality who were on the roads with thousands of pounds of death behind the wheel. It uncovered a great deal of this going on across the country. They'd shut some down and they'd regroup and open up another company under a new name. It's freaking scary. But it's a culture born of desperation from their home country. I'm just angry that they brought that attitude and stuck it right in the middle of a country who does not put up with that crap. We expect more and it's up to our own authorities to monitor these industries that operate at sub-standard levels. The trucking industry is such a vital part of every countries' infrastructure. Not something to slag on.

[@DatahawkAviation]

I was thinking he had been high and had some type of pressurization issue/error and lack of oxygen and went hypoxic. I truly hope there is something that actually happened that had him that disoriented... on a busier night it could have easily been a deadly midair collision... He obviously has to have a decent amount of training to be flying a Citation...not exactly a beginner aircraft. (EDIT: Added "issue/error" after pressurization, hadn't noticed I'd omitted in original comment.)

[@Ridingthewaves305]

This is terrifying, I really hope this was deeply investigated

[@antonsmith7235]

Yes and this guys pilot license revoked and him sent to learn the english language, might as well pull his auto license as well because he obviously can't see anyway

[@MsJubjubbird]

I wonder if he guy some bad news and was hugely distracted.

[@greggismyname]

I'm not sure what he was smokin' but I'm 3 miles directly west of KVGT (NLV) in the flight path... had I been aware of this I would have been running quite fast to get out of here. My gosh!

[@charlesbaker4508]

That Controller is a total pro! I’m a VFR helicopter guy and flying into busy airspace and unfamiliar airports is still sometimes intimidating. I feel for the guy at the controls; it seemed he became task saturated and started to mentally lock-up…but at the same time he appears to have been inadequately prepared. Glad it wasn’t busy and it ended well!

[@QBziZ]

If there is an ILS, it’s always a good idea to tune the radios and set the runway heading on one of your instruments, HSI, OBS,… iPad/Foreflight, heading bug,… whatever you have, even if visual. If you fly a good pattern the instruments will confirm that and in case of go-around, you can very easily fly your crosswind. Anything to increase your situational awareness. It does seem like he has problems identifying the runway. Vegas in darkness or dusk/dawn is a sea of light I imagine.

[@shanelodge391]

Absolutely

[@stevedaniels3064]

It's a requirement under 121 rules...the operator is required to use all available nav aids. So even while doing a visual app...we have to tune in the ILS or VOR/GPS and get an Ident and use it.

[@GusHeck]

@@stevedaniels3064 According to the presenter there were aids for 12 but apparently not for 30. Not all aids are available in all directions at all airports. I'm training at one that has papi's in only 3 out of 4 possible directions (35, 17 and 10 but not 28)

[@paulwblair]

This was quite the ride. I'm glad the pilot was able to land and nobody was hurt. After watching this, for fun I flew the Citation X into North Las Vegas last night in X-Plane 12. The ATC routed me into 30R, and I did have a little trouble spotting the runway amidst all the other lights in the city, but I was able to find it in time and make a stable approach. I will need to file a bug report on the airport as the ATC shouldn't have routed me to such a short runway. As suggested in this video, I should have and could have requested a ILS landing on 12R after initially being vectored to 30R.

[@alext8828]

I wanna know how this person acquired permission to go near this plane.

[@stephenembrey883]

I taught SAPT students in the USAF. This is totally not surprising.

[@bbbb98765]

This was soooo hard to watch. Like when you see someone hammering a nail with a wrench

[@pilot-debrief]

😝 I should have included a warning that this would require extreme patience to watch.

[@SKYGUY1]

OR LIKE HAMMERING A WRENCH W/ A NAIL!

[@jeremey2072]

Or unscrewing a screw with a butter knife 😂

[@WPRJersey]

I also thought she was going to say keep heading to the north until you see Canada. Outstanding job by that controller. Never could i keep that calm that long. Maybe the first two go arounds. But after that.... nah he would meet the JFK controller in me.

[@bills48321]

He needs the eighty year old woman non-pilot who landed a twin with one engine out in another amazing Pilot Debrief video.

[@shaymiah]

Where can I see this video?

[@bills48321]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYLMl6R4lNt8g68@@shaymiah

[@eriklarson9137]

@@shaymiah First connect to the Internet. Then use this search engine called Google. The rest is magic.

[@billeldon]

@@shaymiah kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYLMl6R4lNt8g68si=YBm3383fiR4CNfb5

[@caseywinehouse777]

Let’s go Helen! Rest easy, queen

[@colinreece3452]

I was waiting for her to say, "Would you be happier landing on the freeway, we can halt the traffic till you land?" Seriously he didn't sound drunk but I was wondering if he had taken something, was there a co-pliot flying and the captain was just using the radio?

[@johnframe6393]

Great controller keeping patient and talking him down. Scary, that last big northbound loop went over my house. Lol

[@mattanderson3067]

Hoover, the real world educational value of your video’s are priceless. I think every flight school/ Academy should be using your videos as educational tools. Pilots and future pilots are a lot less likely to allow complacency to creep in after training on your videos. Outstanding stuff, Sir and thank you!

[@TheAirplaneDriver]

Airports at night can be really tough to find…but this guy really took that to a whole new level. Probably would have been best to give him vectors to line up on an 3+ mile extended final or vectors for the ILS. Her attempt to help was great, but I don’t think she should have been giving him pattern instructions. He repeatedly was too close in to make a base and final turn all while trying to find the runway and get established. But, it was all on him. He should have asked for vectors to the IAF for the ILS approach.

[@a10pilot69]

Guy was an idiot. No help in the world would've help this guy land.

[@a10pilot69]

I'm sure he was but most likely a foreign pilot so has to go to that country FAA.

[@ticenits1926]

Not to mention all of his ridiculous missed approaches and wandering off miles into empty airspace for no reason. This pilot was either completely sloshed or dyslexic

[@redbaron6805]

@@ticenits1926 Or just flying night VFR into a poorly lit and unfamiliar airport, at night, in a sea of lights in Las Vegas. I always find it comical how quickly people judge, as I somehow doubt strapping you into the left seat of this Citation at night, your efforts would have been any more impressive...

[@ticenits1926]

@@redbaron6805 you might get sympathy as a PPL in your Cessna who had to refuel prematurely and lost track of time, but there is no excuse for "unfamiliar VFR" for a corporate jet pilot. Either know your shit or retire and go fly a barnstormer on the weekends.

[@anthony7859]

Thank you for sharing. I suspect the pilot was very nervous because he was not in his country of origin and had never been to world renowned Las Vegas and English wasn't his first language. ATC was wonderful, showing grace and patients beyond well normal. God bless.

[@jordanrobinson4845]

I had a really hard time finding this airport at night. Extremely hard to spot in a sea of lights.

[@willissutherland8516]

Absolutely Jordan

[@davidwhite8633]

Needs REIL lights at a minimum .

[@eriklarson9137]

How is that even a little related? If the pilot was having trouble finding the airport, I wonder what they should have done? Imagine making any excuses for this goof. Yikes. Also, never be a pilot please. Thanks.

[@KCLIBURN-mj9qx]

It would've been nice for somebody to include a little video of vfr approach at night to highlight just how hard the runway was to see in the sea of lights. Surprised the pilot didn't set up the instruments to at least give approach guidance as a helping hand......

[@XRP747E]

It was interesting to me that both controller and pilot remained calm. I think a longer final would have helped by using 12R. I would have suggested that earlier. The Vegas Airport appeared to prevent a longer final on 30's. His constant high speed puzzled me - perhaps he was tired and confused or sick. I'm glad that everything worked out.

[@pilot-debrief]

Definitely a 5-6 mile final for 12R would have helped.

[@willissutherland8516]

XRP..Probably all 3...Plus ALL THOSE Lights

[@michaeltorbay6608]

I was wishing she'd give him a longer final too. But LAS is directly south of this one. Extending the downwind could put him in conflict with class B airspace around LAS. There's also helicopter traffic around the strip to consider. An extended left-hand downwind for 30L could put you in conflict. And those helicopters are right around the same altitude as a VFR aircraft about to turn base.

[@gk1771]

A longer final could potentially cross the path of Runways 19 L/R on KLAS if they were active. Not to mention, Nellis as well. Maybe the winds were not favorable for 12R - which of course has a lot more clearance for a longer approach - and an ILS as well.

[@gunrunnerjohn]

@@gk1771 The weather was mentioned, the winds were calm and the sky was clear. Why in the world he was not just flying the instrument approach on 12R instead of bumbling around like that visually will forever be a mystery! I've done quite a bit of night flying, including into similar situations. I can honestly say I've never had that kind of problem finding the runway! I do have to say that controller needs to be sainted. :)

[@jacquesparadis6756]

Jack here CFI. On night landings in unfamiliar airports, runway and airport lighting may blend in with city lighting making the airport environment hard to decipher. The pilot could have selected runway extensions on his PFD or MFD to perform a GPS assisted oncourse interception and select VFR approach to help for the letdown. This would have provided a straight in approach to the proper runway. Goes to say that planning and knowing your aircraft systems is paramount. Thanks for your great posts.

[@pbr2805]

He was too close to the runway on the downwind leg and he did not extend the downwind leg long enough before he turned to base. The problem is that he most likely could not see the R/W at different times and he lost view of it.

[@ivankorth4458]

Shouldn’t a pilot with this much confusion lose his license or be reported and if so , who would the tower report too ?

[@joevignolor4u949]

To the FAA probably.

[@zealousideal]

They report similar things anyway. So they may have but being she was so cool maybe not. I would have For sure. Or have someone meet him and debrief him or cops meet him for breathalyzer or something.

[@campushillchurch]

He wanted to tango a little longer, in order to finish his etch-a-sketch ;)

[@AsItHappensHere]

As a former Navy Air Traffic Controller, I definitely sympathize with that local controller. Thankfully, you don’t get this kind of chaos from the military fliers. Thank you for your service.

[@KCLIBURN-mj9qx]

That controller demonstrated extreme patience in that situation. At least no one was injured or worse and he eventually landed the jet without incident. Excellent handling lady controller!

[@rickpinelli1586]

Just because that plane had two successful flights the day before does not mean this pilot was flying it.

[@pilot-debrief]

True...however the plane hasn't flown since the flight after this one...maybe he got fired?!?

[@irisfields1659]

Heavens I would take a bus than fly with this duunkoff😂😢😮😅

[@jimw8615]

Tis a single pilot aircraft rite?

[@ghost307]

@@jimw8615 Nope, so it is very concerning that the right seat didn't take over. Apparently, this loon is the more qualified one.

[@ckeilah]

I see many flights going back to 2023-05-20@@pilot-debrief

[@livnrluvsng]

Things happen very fast in a Citation. I suggest that a request for an approach to 12R would have been the best. I think he couldn't see the runway. Take a look at images of Las Vegas at night and you'll see why.

[@pilot-debrief]

I agree based on my time flying the Citation XL. But, the thing is, after you mess up the first approach you figure out what went wrong and then fix it. He should've asked for the ILK or RNAV at some point rather than essentially flying blind without telling tower what the problem was.

[@livnrluvsng]

@@pilot-debrief Yes, damn, that was pretty awful. Another thought is that something was wrong because he was way too fast in the pattern

[@davidwhite8633]

Yeah , urbanity has slowly sprawled around some airports in recent years and bathed them in a sea of of lights . Of course that is what REIL lights are for although the arpt diagram went by so fast I couldn’t see if there were any for any runways there .

[@roberthollander4522]

You think things happen fast in a citation? Try doing this is in a Lear 60 at max landing weight (152kt approach speed and 139 over the numbers 😂)

[@eriklarson9137]

@@pilot-debrief 100%. It's sad that people want to argue about things they are clueless about. See the black hole on the ground? There's the airport. Can't find it? Ummm. Ask ATC to help?

[@Ackdaddy100]

Stevie wonder was flying it.

[@stevesilsby5288]

Sure looked that way!

[@carlwilliams6977]

The thought of what might have occurred had there been other traffic is terrifying! His flight path looks like my Etcha-Scetch when I was 4 (if you're under 50, nevermind)!

[@milo9805]

Unless you're a baby most people know what an etch a sketch is

[@albertjr7928]

@@milo9805 i used to smuggle cocaine into spain hidden in etch a sketches

[@JoelSanchezz]

This controller is the definition of patience and understanding 😊

[@katherineklootwyk5462]

The Lampoon Vacation clip was genius and made me laugh out loud

[@NorwayT]

Hilarious clips added, Pilot Debrief! 🤣 👍 This was PAINFUL to watch. And give that ATC Lady some Flowers and a BIG Box of Chocolates! Talk about patience…!!!

[@markbatarina4512]

That controller has the patience of a saint.

[@JordiFrio]

A trick to land on non familiar airport flying VFR which hasn’t any instrumental approach (if you have modern nav system installed): create user waypoint on runway threshold you want to land, select this point, press direct button, select threshold altitude, select runway course, press enter to confirm, fly 3d guidance

[@transactcredit]

My theory is he thought he was LV south; he probably did not know there was an LV north. I mean, this was completely insane and definitely needed to be reported.

[@pilot-debrief]

His flight plan and arrival navigation took him to the right airport. Maybe he was reading his map or charts wrong. Who knows?!?

[@DG-kr8pt]

Yes very much needed to get reported. Scary that there are people like this flying planes. It's like they will give licenses to just anyone, thats why I will never fly.

[@zacharypiech2930]

Reported for a loss of situational awareness? My guess is the FMS was not setup properly for the landing airport and the pilot was relying on automation for headings and such whilst looking the wrong way for the airport. The best antidote here would have been to fly IFR procedures all the way in to to this unfamiliar airspace.

[@jessejames5825]

then he shouldn't have been flying then. Maybe he dropped his crack pipe. Ya I can land there if I circle it only 12 times. JESUS. Was this the idiot's 1st solo or what????

[@johnp9020]

@@DG-kr8pt please stay in your basement

[@erictaylor5462]

I think the fact he called to confirm is clearance counts a lot in his favor. Unless it was edited out, the controller never said he was clear to land on that final approach.

[@basesperanca]

Indeed, after all that mess, it's amazing he kept that clarity.

[@rharris1336]

It does seem like the ONLY thing that he did well on this cluster * of a landing. 😂

[@hotrodray6802]

12:53 she cleared him to land

[@eriklarson9137]

Right? That won me over. Because of that one move, I now think he is the safest pilot in all of recorded history.

[@dawnfollett9215]

To All, I am an amateur aviation observer, and I am also a “retired” ICU RN. The recording was a little hard to understand-but to me the pilot sounded like a foreigner. My other thought was-was the pilot in the process of having a stroke??? The ATC was a saint given her patience with this pilot. I can understand the twilight time of day and various land and vehicle lights going on making it difficult for the pilot to see-but he should be aware of this possibility and make every effort to land before this time of day. I would be curious to know what exactly the pilot’s problem was. (???)

[@karpkatcher1070]

Even the controller was getting confused towards the end, she made a good drone pilot though.

[@mike_oe]

"a good drone pilot" hahahaha 🤣🤣🤣

[@timothyknight2236]

The reason he keeps missing the approach is that the pilot is paid by the flight hour and his car note is over due.

[@willissutherland8516]

Ha! You bad man Timothy

[@irisfields1659]

Does he really have a pilots license,not very smart I think,controller great at getting him down safe and her patience,I would not fly with him🎉

[@vboytan]

I’m a student at this airport. The controllers are awesome. They’re super helpful and everyone there appreciates the hell out of them. People don’t always fly perfectly there and they are so patient.

[@rogerdunn4993]

I'm surprised this pilot wasn't written up or investigated by FAA. Also his radio response is odd considering the situation.

[@Sara-L]

Did the ATC ask him to call a number? no? Then he doesn't need to be investigated.

[@johnkeith2450]

He broke no regs

[@MyTube4Utoo]

@@johnkeith2450 Get a pilot's license and then come back and talk to us, junior.

[@johnkeith2450]

@@MyTube4Utoo ATP MEL&S Rotor, Comm/Inst. SEL&S currently flying a G-IV and Global Express

[@JiveDadson]

@@johnkeith2450 Ker💪pow! 🎆

[@TangoDelta8111]

Absolutely have no idea why he can’t figure it out! A good pilot would have used the atc , but they were as much in the dark as we are now as to what his problem was! Really am curious to hear his answer.