LAS Incident
- Thread starter inigo88
- Start date
thepotato232
Well-Known Member
Man. Unlike the other two incidents, there was no conflict between ground and tower here - just one serious blunder. Controller didn't even break cadence, but you can hear the startle factor in both Frontier pilots' voices as they flub numbers trying to figure out what just happened.
Given that this was in fact the first of the three recent runway incursion events, I can't help but wonder if a look back on Tower Guy's last few shifts contributed to the seemingly sudden change in duty / rest requirements for controllers...
Given that this was in fact the first of the three recent runway incursion events, I can't help but wonder if a look back on Tower Guy's last few shifts contributed to the seemingly sudden change in duty / rest requirements for controllers...
FlyingAccountant
Well-Known Member
Anyone get the feeling we’re eventually going to run out of luck with these incidents? It seems like they’re becoming an almost daily thing.
CoffeeIcePapers
Well-Hung Member
Same. Making sure not to let complacency creep in with switching to another frequency or something else.
SeanD
Well-Known Member
Yep! Likely sooner than later. LAS has been seeing a lot more of these as well as an increase in go arounds due to ground traffic.
Well, they left the fence open and me and "family" wanted to film a quick intersection takeover video. They could have stopped air traffic because I was willing to tag them on my Insta:
inigo88
Composite-lover
I’m glad to hear you guys are reflecting on this stuff and being careful. What was especially crazy to me about this incident over the others was that frontier was the only ones who noticed something was wrong, and everybody else (both controller and other pilots) carried on business as usual.
It seems like an awful lot of these incidents happened simultaneously to the point where something systemic may be going on with the NAS. I didn’t mean to be critical of the controller (we’re all one mistake away from a YouTube video being made about us) and I think it’s way too oversimplified to be like “*shrug* guess ATC sucks all the sudden”, because coordinating runways crossings is a regular thing that’s been done safely and consistently for decades. I’m more inclined to think that a lot of links in the chain happen to be lining up (coordination procedures, controller fatigue rules changes, new controller workforce with less experience and not enough trainers, chronic understaffing, etc) and I hope the FAA is doing some frantic internal root cause investigation and reflecting on what they need to change (spoiler: they’re probably not).
But barring that, you guys all be careful out there because it does feel like we’re on the precipice of luck running out. Keep monitoring the radio and trying to build the mental SA picture, and keep trusting the little voice in your head if something seems wrong or your spidey senses are tingling. You can always set the brakes.
CoffeeIcePapers
Well-Hung Member
Controllers are overworked, understaffed, and dealing with more traffic than ever before.
HJB
Well-Known Member
All the more reason to keep asking for any shortcuts
Had that "feeling" for quite some time now. It's an "every man for himself" world these days, lads... This zeitgeist applies not only to economic issues, but to every part of our "society". Act accordingly. Remain vigilant.
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
Incidentally, LAS is getting a new airport.
knpr.org
Decades in the making, the new airport south of Las Vegas is back on track
There's a new airport on the way south of the Las Vegas Valley.
knpr.org
Incidentally, LAS is getting a new airport.
Decades in the making, the new airport south of Las Vegas is back on track
There's a new airport on the way south of the Las Vegas Valley.
Should’ve instead been Groom Lake International airport.
It's hard to really know. It's only recently that people are somehow hearing these incursions and posting them same day. Any statistics I've seen do not show a drastic increase... Obviously the data for this year will be interesting to check.
"There is no authority except facts. Facts are obtained by accurate observation."
- Bill Boeing via a plaque that used to hang on his factory wall.
ASpilot2be
Qbicle seat warmer
Time for "Follow the greens".
///AMG
Well-Known Member
Maybe I'm wrong, but when tower clears us to cross and switch to ground, I don't ever do the switch until we are very obviously either clearing the runway or nothing is lined up on the active we are crossing. I'd much rather be up on primary freq if something weird happened, rather than relying on guard (which by then we probably aren't monitoring anymore).
For many years, takeoffs were “cleared for takeoff, change to departure”; so the takeoff would be on departure freq. Not sure if the USN did similar for the tac jets.
NovemberEcho
Dergs favorite member
That’s for single pilot mil jets. In the AF they still switch to departure on the runway. Think the navy did it too but that could just be because they were at an af base any time I worked them.
Was always annoying when I’m about to transmit an instruction and then you get some flight on the runway all checking in with eachother
