Real Air Traffic Control

A glimpse of a real air traffic control facility. Whenever you fly, folks like those shown in here are watching over you, making sure you arrive safely. It's a vital profession and, as you will see, requires a lot of concentration, skill, and judgement. I shot the video at Miami Tower on a class tour and edited it together, dropping in explanations for what is shown on screen. It starts off with their training simulator, then moves on to the "real deal".

[@lovelylashana]

I'm an Air Traffic Controller and this video was very educational for those wanting to get in this agency. I appreciate how it was put together, very tasteful. Good job.

[@xanh01]

I like to be an air traffic controller but I am over 31. You guys ATC doing a fine job. Thank you for your hardwork and dedication.

[@woodthink]

One of the best videos ever on KZbin. Excellent work all around.

[@irsrus]

One of the best ATC videos around. Great job.

[@wadesta1986]

Great Video, Thanks for the upload! These controllers are amazing and I say this as not only a frequent air commuter, but also as a private pilot.

[@brem02]

Awsome video! We need a new holiday to celebrate those men and women who keep us safe and "organised" in the sky above. :)

[@kinsley2108]

lol, it's amazing that the pilots are able to capture all those instructions that ATC rattles off.

[@N365PA]

A precision instrument approach system which normally consists of the following electronic components and visual aids: 1. Localizer 2. Glideslope 3. Outer marker 4. Middle Marker 5. Approach Lights Taken from the Pilot/Controller Glossary, Airman Information Manual, FAA. Anywho have fun all, keep the blue side up and green between

[@Demongornot]

They stay on the ground and they are the king of the sky ! Nice video of one of the hardest job in the world !

[@BrewtownFlyer]

Informative video...well done...and the music gives a great local flavor!

[@2004JETTA]

Thanks for the video, I really learned alot, i'm planning on becoming a controller, and this really helps

[@pdutube]

I'm glad you're doing this and not me because it'd be raining metal out there every day.

[@EscapeTheCloudsOfficial]

Dan, computers can't do everything we do. Too many unprogrammable variables that don't fit "if/then" statements. We controllers and pilots talk fast but with clarity. Over time your ear attunes to it. And 3D goggles? No need. One look at a 2D radar scope and I can tell within 2 seconds what a dozen aircraft are doing because I'm familiar with the symbology. I and the rest of my coworkers can construct a mental 3D image of the traffic thanks to our training and constant situational awareness.

[@darkcrimson23]

Starting out is about 38k a year, paid bi-weekly, no sick days, some weeks they work 60-70 hours. My cousin is ATC at O'hare. This was his information. He was given the job after 14 years in the Navy...started out as flight deck ATC onboard the USS Enterprise.

[@chocolatcats]

HOW DO YOU GUYS/GIRLS DO THIS.....MY GOD...BLESS YOUR HEARTS and handsome souls

[@EscapeTheCloudsOfficial]

Lots of practice and lots of training!

[@L33tP1ckL]

Very enjoyable video; well done... thank you!

[@joako33]

amazing, i always wondered how it looks like inside the tower

[@dingorex]

Wickedpenguin thanks for spelling judgement with an 'e',I've always defended this alternate spelling.

[@tranceaddict704]

I agree. Excellent vid.

[@yasene]

am join the civil aviation nxt year but dun kno if i want to be an ATC ,Great job guys

[@uploadJ]

Awsesome; appreciate the inside look!

[@ohjayy]

Good video, thanks for sharing! Maybe the FAA will start to treat these controllers with some respect.

[@icecreamman93]

Nice video! And I thought my flight sim cotroller talked fast!

[@markbart]

Thank you very much for the info. Yeah, I'd believe that it's the most stressful job one could have. But you know what, considering the fact that they carry the responsibility of making sure thousands of lives are not at risk in the air, I think they deserve that much money. They sure as hell deserve it more than some professional athletes who make millions playing sports or actors entertaining people by just memorizing some lines.

[@markbart]

I stumbled upon this video and I must say that I have a newfound respect for these guys. Can somebody tell me the average salary an ATC makes?

[@Yami02blue]

They all seemed to be speaking so fast and in a monotone voice. They say like 20 words in about 3 seconds. Reminds me of the Fed Ex commercials with that fast talking guy from years ago.

[@2113hms]

Must be enormous pressure being responsible for all those drugs coming into Miami.

[@RenoDoctor]

Fun video. Though a bit surprised about the verbose ATC instruction at what is a pretty busy time for the pilots. I can't see the need for issuing dual speed restriction when one would do. The pilots would know they're 8nm from GRITT, what published speed to maintain till established, and to maintain 3000. None of that seems necessary to relay. Should be just "(AC) you're number 4, cleared runway 9 ILS approach." The INESS speed restriction comes later.

[@ultrafiel9]

So you graduated on or before 2007? Did u had to take the at-sat or it wasnt a requirement when you went to school? I just graduated from MDC a CTI student. Im playing the waiting game now. Im a little worried dur to the fact that i am 27 going on 28. I know there is enough time but anxiety just kills me. My prog coordinator told me to wait for an email for an interview for the academy @ OKC. Anyways, GREAT video and good luck on your career! Cheers! Any pointers or advice is much appreciated!

[@choppy777]

Do you have any videos for Miami Center? I just got picked up this last hiring panel and found out I am going to ZMA, so exciting!

[@TheAirmanYouTube]

I really appreciate with what they do... And I play online as a controller at IVAO =)

[@Weefles]

@deathleader52 If when first making contact you can declare you are a student pilot and they will speak much slower. You can also ask them to repeat, and slow down.

[@RobertGary1]

I've flown all over central American with almost no ATC. Most of the airports in the US have no tower.

[@musicvideo291]

it seems the background ATC is come from flight simulator, but still a good video.

[@GeneralSweet217]

Awesome video!! im thinking of begin an ATC btw im still in high school lol

[@jeremyroxursox]

lol at 5:45 "for your patience and answering all of our MAN questions" :P

[@c172kid]

Great video man. Are you aiming to become a controller?

[@ewmegoolies]

So, what happens if a controller has to pee? is there a one minute hand-off to another controller, then after the break another one minute hand-back? And wow, diarrhea could really put your britches in jeopardy.

[@GoLfErgio92]

17 people just had a near miss.

[@brokenpk]

Finally now all the myths about traffic control can be put to rest

[@hatv7]

jjajja star is a procedure indicated in a charts to standar arrival

[@hatv7]

for example, one SATR in KMIA is FOWEE FIVE ARRIVAL, there say that you have to cross the FIX JUNUR with FL060 level, or Fowee FIX with FL100, and aftr this the KMIA_APP star to sened vectors

[@elbnderi]

sounds interesting to know the thousands of tasks behind, done for a single flight!!! Can anyone tell me why it is dim in TRACON?? does lighted areas affect the tracking ability of controllers?

[@hatv7]

of course, i know that, but in a airport with a hard traffic, this kind of procedures are not used, for example when you arrive to KMIA, you must wait to vectors form KMIA_APP for you arrival, for departure is used SID (Standard Instrument Departure) charts, but ist the same for Miami, the departure is with vectors,

[@sentient02970]

heck, I wish I could HEAR that fast.

[@RobertGary1]

Nope, that's the way it works. Most airports in the US have no control tower, you just take off. Most airspace in the US is class G or class E which means that you don't need to talk to any ATC. ATC can be helpful but its not our primary means of aircraft separation -Robert, FAA Certified Flight Instructor

[@Ritslou]

those are high speed controllers i wish i could say my phraseology that fast O__O

[@saxomojarf]

More towers are not the issue. The airlines are the issue. Besides, the FAA doesn't even have the staff for the towers and centers they do have.

[@nickgoering]

radar service terminated, squawk VFR, frequency changed approved.

[@1Dukes25]

I'm in school to become an air traffic controller and I'm aiming to network as much as possible. I don't graduate until December 2013, but I was wondering are you a controller in NC and what type of controller are you?

[@helobelow]

The Airlines are not the problem. The NTSB has recommended for years implementing a newer ATC system to the FAA and they have finally begun to respond with GPS,WAAS and NAVAIDS to prevent delays and incursions. A big deal is getting away from Victor airways and allowing pilots to deviate courses to save time safely and efficiently.

[@_CTV_]

How do you know when there's a pilot in the room?... He'll tell you.

[@LiquidFrost]

@MountainQueen Your pay is affected by the level of the "facility" be it a tower or a tracon it doesnt matter.

[@rfcdgaf]

HAHAH. At 02:25 you can see that the display is running what looks to be off a linux desktop. I see the terminal icon at least.

[@Pilotstu]

ohh.. sorry.. I had a brain fart for a sec.. I realized what you mean by STARS (Standard Terminal Arrival Route) after thinking about it for 2 minutes! and yes you are correct.. disregard my last comment.. I must have been drunk or something! :P

[@Godscountry2732]

are these systems slated to be updated in the near future?

[@DanFrederiksen]

Between you and me, who is the brilliant computer scientist? :) That would be me. ATC is rather trivial to computerize and even if there was any aspect of it that wouldn't be then the computers could handle it while a single human calmly sits and waits for an alert to handle something. Fully computerized ATC could have been done in 1980. with ease. It's way way overdue. Pushing tin is easy as pie for a computer, including weather and deranged pilots who go rogue. Computer just parts the seas.

[@chrismaster7]

Nice, does anyone know the name of the song in the begining? :P

[@USAFHawk1]

Hey im leaving for ATC in the USAF too! I leave Aug 5th. I guess our tech school is at keesler AFB mississipi. by the way where you from? Im from kansas

[@nathan42100]

Just ask. Call the tower and set up a time. The FAA actually encourages this for student pilots.

[@Betamatiz]

Call me a geek, but are they running some flavor of Unix or Linux? At 2:25 and 2:30m looks like a Gnome interface with Mozilla Star Icon :P Cool to see the inside of the ATC (Where the magic takes place), really nice.

[@EscapeTheCloudsOfficial]

Computers still can't do it all. They've been trying to replace human controllers for decades and found that the computer still can't serve in this environment as well as a human being. One thing is a fixed system like a city street grid or chess board, where you have fixed parameters and human life is not at stake. We have to contend with a rapidly changing environment--be it weather systems, equipment failures, maintenance, emergencies, and varying levels of pilot competence.

[@SimDeck]

Will a tracon controller typically control arrivals and departures from his or her sector or is that exclusive at busy facilities like this?

[@EscapeTheCloudsOfficial]

+Sim Deck It depends on time of day and traffic volume. ATC staffing ebbs and flows. The more aircraft in the airspace, the more the airspace and workload gets divided up between more controllers; i.e. separate departure and arrival controllers. When it slows down, the sectors get combined back up onto fewer people. The trick is to make sure those sectors get reopened before the next traffic wave hits.

[@SimDeck]

Mark Rossmore Many thanks for the reply. That makes a lot of sense. Cheers.

[@LadySniperbrazil]

I also wanted to know if there is any university we should attend to become air traffic controller! How is the process at US!? Here in Brazil it´s all provided by the government!!!

[@LiquidFrost]

@DanFrederiksen Umm they have 2 types of radar....If you dont have a transponder they'll get a primary target hit

[@DanFrederiksen]

IBM's expertise is writing large bills. Then and now. Program failure is only conducive to larger bills. Compound that with nitwit bureaucrats and voila, you have the history of ATC. It's just not difficult to design a standard for a transponder autopilot and computer autonomous ATC. Computer orders the plane to take a course, if it follows the order all is peachy, if not it's an alarm and it can order the others away. you can do handover etc etc easy

[@CHECK6-963]

What area?

[@spencerklein6921]

I believe he's saying maintain 3000 until GRITT, an intersection on the approach. "3000 or greater" is not approved (ICAO) terminology. It would have to be, "maintain at or above 3000," to say that correctly. But cool anyway.

[@EscapeTheCloudsOfficial]

Talking about flying cars as if they're coming "soon" is ludicrous. So far there are only a couple roadable aircraft available like the Terrafugia and the occasional LSA para-dune buggy. Still, what's stopping anyone from buying a Robinson R22 helicopter and flying everywhere VFR? No runways or flying corridors. Go where you please. No need to talk to ATC outside of certain airspace or below 18,000 feet. Just look out the window and use ADS-B/TIS traffic feeds to avoid collisions.

[@Pilotstu]

STARS is just the new rendition of the ARTS-IIIa scope.. I dont know what you mean by "STARS is aproach control. It's way faster than enroute." If you mean that STARS is just being used by approach control (TRACON controllers), then no, that isn't correct... and "Its way faster enroute".. I dont know what you mean by that.. sorry, I may be dense by please explain what you mean! :D thanks

[@viruk]

I love being a controller! I'm an Air Force controller, but it's the exact same thing except I get paid a lot less and deal with quite a few more military aircraft/pilots. It's weather, retarded pilots and random phenomena that usually throw a wrench in your routine that creates stress in this career field. The TMU was pretty neat though, you could see planes all the way up at HEVVN intersection coming down the DARBS1 arrival! Damn gulf flights...!

[@Yami02blue]

I know it's necessary info, but at that speed, most listeners cannot understand what's being side. Add that to being over a radio system, noise of the plane, or any other sounds which happen to be in the cockpit, and most you can pick up is a few numbers at best. If anything, it seems to me in this video example, they're spewing information which is necessary for internal and reporting purposes, and not for human consumption. Right? Wrong? Kind close, but not really? Let me know.

[@markbart]

Wow, are you serious? What about after training? How much will you make then?

[@jeanetteaw]

Lol...that sounds a little more like it.

[@osotegreat]

@wickedpenguin you must be/have been a Riddle student.

[@LiquidFrost]

@EsotericDesi01 Yes it is federal.

[@BeechSundowner]

.Nicely composed video! Sure is a priviledge to be on the "other side" of the microphone :-)

[@ATCSapperDaddy87]

Cutepilot08 and CLOUD9VIZION, your comments here are giving the impression that neither of you are the professional this business demands for you to be. It doesn't matter which is harder between military and civilian. What matters is getting the birds under your control where they need to go without hitting anything or anyone in between. Cutepilot08, he mentioned CAATC which hints STRONGLY at Navy service. There are no PVTs in the Navy. Just wanted to correct that one for you. You 2 CUT IT OUT!!

[@DAYDRUMMER]

You have no idea. Wait until you start trying to talk to real A/C. Its fun it really is.

[@finder85]

@hsxtcqm Yeah, I've read it. There is also a movie about this book, but it's not as good as the book :)

[@rev4life03]

The guy at 3:50 talks WAY TOO FAST. Must have had 1 too many redbulls.

[@nethacker91]

and when they have to go to pee ?

[@Dinko007]

the FAA IS THE ISSUE. This govt is EXTREMELY SLOW in hiring ATC's and putting them into Oklahoma City for Specialized traning. I am an ATC and this GOVT IS WAY TOO SLOW BECAUSE OF BUSH. They have cut down pay scale because they are putting the money into IRAQ!!!! Controllers are eligible for retirement at every airport, nearly 1500 this year.

[@spikesonthebrain]

ok #1 Give me an example of how when a faa controller abbreviated phraseology further than necessary on multiple situations and was not disciplined for it. #2 If you admit that when they do cut it short it is because they are swamped, how does that make them lazy? #3 ATC isn't the only reason there is more accidents in civil aviation. There is much much much more civil flights than military flights, and Military pilots have much more training and better technology than civil pilots do.

[@JustAnOrdinarySimmer]

US controllers talk way too fast, especially the guy at 03:58!

[@RunningIsAParty]

You might like a little FAA comedy web series. Take a look at my channel. I made a movie, "Budget Justified," about what it was like to work in FAA offices in Washington

[@BiZ505]

If we followed your "rules" we'd have to reduce capacity by half. What good is "standard phraseology" when your going down the crapper and delays are through the roof? I'd rather have someone who talked normal and got the job done, then someone who sounded pretty but created massive delays.

[@EscapeTheCloudsOfficial]

Alas, your statement is inaccurate. Beginning in 1985, the FAA hired IBM to modernize the national airspace system via the Advanced Automation Program, which would have cut the controller workforce by half via automation. $2.5 billion later, their programmers failed to accomplish what you say could've been done "with ease". You're talking to someone who "pushes tin" for a living and has programmed and worked with computers his entire life. I would not trust a computer with our responsibilities.

[@spikesonthebrain]

what? I'm not a controller but I know my shit, how is civilian atc lazy and undeciplined?

[@DanFrederiksen]

And London cabbies grow a larger hippocampus to remember 25000 streets but a cheap GPS makes it a lot easier. Garry Kasparov could defeat a computer at chess in 1996 but today a cheap android phone makes mince meat of him. Just because you can learn to manage with the crap you have, doesn't mean it's smart. Soon enough everyone will be flying their own craft without runways or fixed flying corridors. There will be millions of collision managements per second. Will you do that with your 2D.

[@DanFrederiksen]

Those interfaces look really poor. You have to think something a lot clearer is possible. Maybe using 3D goggles like Oculus Rift. And I don't think they are doing anyone any favors by speaking that fast and unintelligible. And on top of it all, of course computers should be doing the routing. Very foolish to leave this in human hands. And there should be bird cameras, and thermal cameras and radar cameras to see through fog.

[@spikesonthebrain]

Again... You are making general biased statements that US military controllers are perfect and civilian controllers never follow the rules and cause accidents all the time. Vectoring is a skill, whether or not you are good at it is totally independent of whether or not you are in the military, several civilian controllers actually did it in the military before their civil career. Where did you work in the navy by the way?

[@jeanetteaw]

Air traffic school....boringgggggg

[@DanFrederiksen]

terrible user interface. just incredibly incompetent design for something that important. and it doesn't look like they see any actual radar data. are they really blind to radar? if a plane has no transponder they don't see it at all?