The WORST Pilot Tries To Land!

Is this the worst pilot in the world or is there more to the story? Why is he having such a hard time landing his Citation? The truth might surprise you.
When I first listened to the audio of this incident, I knew there had to be more to the story. After some investigating I discovered the most likely reason why this pilot is not able to land his aircraft. The problem is one that a lot of pilots might have experienced in the past and it's definitely something new pilots should be aware of. I hope this video debrief helps other pilots and aspiring pilots!
I'm still working on improving the quality of the graphics in my videos. Thanks for your patience!
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#pilot #aviation #pilotdebrief
Thanks to @mmmx_photography for allowing me to use the awesome photo of XB-GTT. He also has an aviation channel @SMNAviation that you can check out!
Citations
National Lampoon's European Vacation, Directed by Amy Heckerling, Warner Brothers, 1985.
• National Lampoon's Eur...
Airplane! Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Larry Zucker, Paramount Pictures, 1980.
• Airplane!
This channel is for entertainment purposes only and represents solely my opinion and not the opinion, views, or position of anyone else.

[@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

[@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!!!!!!!!

[@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?"

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@rocroc]

So, what the hell is the reason. I spent 18 minutes watching the video and am left to my own conjecture to come up with an answer. That's why I watch a debriefing!

[@goodtoGoNow1956]

yeah. This sucks because there is no answer.

[@phj223]

It was dark outside and the runway doesn't have an approach lighting system. Hoover mentioned this towards the end, but kinda glosses over it. The pilot kept losing sight of the runway.

[@mebeasensei]

KZbin strikes again - 1) Misleading, spammy shocking baiting title, 2) "Wait until the end" bait message, 3) "let me know in the comments", (as if your opinion means anything) elicitation, 4) mixing tones of social conscience and responsibility, 5) Good graphics...and ultimately, no answer.

[@RobinMohr-be2dk]

Have to agree. Hoover, you have tendency to play the mystery game with some of these debriefs. That is not why I watch your vids. I don’t want any more suspense worked into the event being described than the event itself. You do a good job, but please keep it real

[@medicchester]

Drug test!

[@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

[@androgeny]

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

[@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.

[@DanielFCutter]

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

[@user-uj4er1xp3f]

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.

[@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!😳

[@nick39]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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…!!!

[@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

[@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

[@AndySalinger33]

Hey Pilot D., I just wanted to say thanks for your hard work. Your presentations are so professional, and your incredible expertise is really appreciated; as well as your consistent respect to the families of the victims, when applicable. I’m not a pilot, nor did I think I had that much interest in the confusing (to a fool such as I) terminology. But after just a couple weeks of watching intently, I’ve gotta say, I’m hooked. Really great content you give us. Much obliged. I’ve already gotten most of my extended family to sub. Happy flying

[@chrisw4562]

Thanks for sharing. I am surprised that the pilot did not get a number to call, unless this happens all the time at that airport.

[@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...!

[@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?

[@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.

[@zebra2346]

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

[@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…

[@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?

[@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?

[@user-cy7gi8lv1g]

I feel so bad for this poor guy. I think he deserves props for not getting himself worked up with stress and frustration.

[@justposi]

Yeah the last "Are we clear to land" seemed like he was almost crying

[@self-preservationsociety7057]

@@justposi Maybe he was trying to find a space he didn’t have to back into

[@TheAvenstar]

PROPS for this guy?! with an ILS available, and he's all over the sky in a jet! ? C'mon man. He should have been written up for incompetency.

[@wattage2007]

@@TheAvenstar Totally! He should never be allowed to fly again. Is the world that desperate for pilots that imbeciles are now being accepted?

[@pepperypeppers2755]

That's like commending Mr. Magoo for not dying. Dude had nothing to do with the success of this. ATC saved his ass. Think of it this way, if he was the only plane in the sky, and ATC wasn't there, could he have made this landing? No!

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@garypudup2109]

I was doing a VFR night landing recently and lost the runway in the city lights. On downwind I told the tower I no longer had the airport and asked for vectors. He gave me vectors lining me up to final and that was all I needed. Kind of like a VFR instrument approach (?)

[@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

[@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,

[@johnframe6393]

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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@chelseataylor5244]

I’ve only flown once, as a child, and am terrified to ever do it again but I am strangely addicted to this channel. Love it!

[@pepperypeppers2755]

This channel mostly covers non-commercial pilots making preventable mistakes. It's like dashcam footage, you only see the times things go wrong. I suggest checking out 74 Gear, he's a commercial pilot and teaches a lot about flying. If you watch enough of those videos you'll understand what every bump on landing is. Makes it much less scary.

[@markbrenner7804]

What a terrific job by the controller. The patience and the calmness displayed was amazingly professional and something to behold. If she’s not given a pay rise after this there’s something wrong with the world❤️

[@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......

[@JimAllen-Persona]

I was going to suggest sending him up to Nellis and letting the military send up an F16 he could follow in and once he’s on the deck chew his ass out.

[@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.

[@donelson52]

Wow. What patience. She deserves a medal!

[@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.

[@chickstar69duplicity35]

The most frustrating thing I have ever watched! 😢 Imagine being a passenger & being aware of this!

[@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!

[@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.

[@HoosierDaddy_]

The "actual footage" was a nice touch, lol. I'd imagine landing in Las Vegas at night would be a nightmare.

[@themarcba]

Oh wow, this is hard to watch. I just a student pilot on a PA, so not sure about the equipment on board. But I kept suspecting that he tried to get aligned with his heading indicator, and it wasn't aligned with the compass. That was before you mentioned that it was a night flight. Now I am just thinking that maybe he isn't used to night flight or may not even hold a NVFR rating

[@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.

[@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???

[@PuddingXXL]

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

[@redhelmet8]

Loved the controller's patience. I like the idea of sending him on the ILS but I was also hoping that she would put him on an extended final. Maybe limitations with Las Vegas being to the South but an extended final with a wide base would have given plenty of time for corrections.

[@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.

[@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!

[@RasAnnunaki]

He was flying VFR at night in Vegas which is a sea of lights. You can tell he was completely disoriented for some time but still managed to land safely. The only thing I don't understand is why did he not ask for an ILS or GPS approach on runway 12 considering he had instrument rating. Maybe he didn't have the info, or had instrumentation issues. We shouldn't judge that quick if we don't have all the info.

[@davidbaldwin1591]

Congratulations on a channel that is rocketing up in subs. Sometimes that takes years.

[@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.

[@mrluckyuncle]

The controller didn’t give the pilot a phone number to call?

[@chrisloibner2786]

That's awesome that you have "actual footage" of this guy.

[@peterdiotte3327]

Love your analysis - helps me learn. Thank you. BTW - I don't think adding movie clips is a plus.

[@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.

[@davidbeckenbaugh9598]

I am not a pilot but I can easily understand why he had such a hard time. The biggest problem was that he kept his lack of ability a secret. When I took ground school (in high school) 45 years ago (medical problem ended all of that), we were told to "Just say it' as crashing is a worse problem than having other people see you are an idiot.

[@nicolebancov7492]

Many many years ago my son started after university when he received his commercial pilot license at the ground crew for a company. When another young pilot wanted to start the a plane and didn’t know many functions he asked my son if he could help him out 😂. Of course, my son showed him every detail and left concerned the cockpit to do his job on the tarmac. Two months later he finally got his first job as a copilot. Now his is a successful captain in this company. It’s for me crazy that sometimes pilots flying around with no knowledge and even having passengers on board!

[@JJ-ew9lq]

Something I think adds to mistakes is when English is not a pilot's native language or when a pilot is in the right hand seat and having to use his left hand to move the controls. When people are under stress and having to do something just a little out of the way they operate instinctively, this causes more stress and don't function at the highest level.

[@machone1672]

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

[@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

[@anwarsadat6825]

At night visually it is difficult to gauge your height above the ground. If his depth perception is faulty he was going to be too high every time unless the runway is very well lighted. Perhaps his landing light was not powerful enough?

[@user-py4lq5wu8h]

I didn't realize how much chaos and close calls there are going on in the skies since watching your reports, scary!!!

[@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.

[@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.

[@martykroenecke4273]

That controller was awesome! The pilot needs to go back for more training, i wonder if he had someone in the right seat, if so they were either passed out or scared speechless!

[@lisatowe778]

Amazing controller, I didn’t realize until I began watching your videos how helpful they really are. This lady was exactly what he needed. I’ve been really impressed with the aviation community watching your videos, they really jump in and help people in trouble. If this guy was flying at night that can be tougher, however, having worked a lot of decades with a lot of different cultures, it’s possible he didn’t want to say he wasn’t seeing the runway. A macho thing. Has he said that much earlier it would have been helpful to her. If you can’t see it then all the instructions in the world won’t help, in my opinion. But then I don’t fly and I’m thinking will never get in a plane again after watching these videos. My specialty is healthcare and so I avoid doctors, medications, and surgeries because I’m well aware how much can go wrong and how bad some doctors are.

[@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.

[@stephenembrey883]

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

[@schwarzerritter5724]

Loosing orientation over a city with lights as bright as Las Vegas is understandable. Was leaving the city and starting the approach over from the start not an option?

[@Jay.Kellett]

I was on a plane like that landing at Charlotte NC in a thunderstorm with moderate crosswinds. At about a 1/4 mile out the wings were rolling left and right so bad the pilot aborted the landing and went up at a 45 degree angle! He came over the PA system after about 2 minutes and calmly stated..."Let's try that again." The second attempt went much better with more bouncing than I like but we all gave him a round of applause, because we knew it was a tricky landing.

[@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 😂

[@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)

[@cruisingal2]

This was flat out scary to me. Yes, you are probably right about after sundowns. All those Vegas lights everywhere, ..... It's things like this that can get other people killed and not just yourself and your passengers.

[@sputzelein]

I think we are talking about sundowners, that makes at least some sense.

[@DaveDepilot-KFRG]

I don't know if he knew what a downwind was because each time the controller gave him a turn to "lineup for a left downwind for 30L", he always read back "lineup for 30L", never mentions the word "downwind".

[@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

[@mattg1847]

ive landed a 172 at night quite a few times. my first time landing at KSAT (san antonio) at night, it was quite difficult to find the airport, even with a rotating beacon and approach lighting. i cant imagine a smaller airport in vegas, in a faster plane. i will just have to try it.

[@jguenther3049]

Jeesh! This is painful to watch! Is one of the pilot's contact lenses on the floor of the craft?

[@jguenther3049]

Either that, or he put both lenses in one eye!

[@markbatarina4512]

That controller has the patience of a saint.

[@JoelSanchezz]

This controller is the definition of patience and understanding 😊

[@ibluap]

What was the weather that day and time? Thank you, you already answered me in the video. I'm gonna try a simulated landing in MSFS and I'll give you my opinion.

[@grantheflin9962]

I completely lost it when the Griswold clip played 😂😂

[@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.

[@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

[@DHBJ1981]

It’s like you’re navigation on your vehicle when it’s trying to tell you how to go, but you think you know how to go better, and it keeps repeating itself rerouting rerouting

[@HikingWithCooper]

This is a fun channel. I don't fly (up front or in the back) but it's entertaining and educational none the less.

[@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.

[@TheMcIke]

I saw this on another aviation feed. At that time, I suspected that the pilot was not use to night landings in heavily populated areas. In the few months prior to the incident, the aircraft predominantly did daylight landings with the only night landings occurring at their home base in Monterrey, MX (MTY): MTY is an airport that is away from city lights (though finding the black hole in the sea of city lights should be pretty easy...).

[@eriklarson9137]

I like how you presented an argument, then destroyed it so no one else had to. Strong work.

[@autoantics]

Assuming no substance issues, possibly the pilot may have night vision issues. Minor vision correction with anti-reflective lenses could help.

[@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.

[@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.