Hudson River Splash

[Dilligaffy]

anyone read the official transcript of the conversation between pilot & ATCO?

as i understand it, the his callsign was cactus 1549 but after the bird strike the pilot announces himself as cactus 1539 then the ATCO goes on to tell the aerodrome controller that its cactus 1529 in trouble.

makes we wonder what other inaccuracies might crop up in pilot/ATCO comms??

not criticising at all, they must have been under great stress and i've no ATCO experience at all, it just surprised me thats all. i guess they are human after all!!

link to transcript: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/05_02_09transcript.pdf

[ATCNetwork]

you can listen to the R/T (2mins) here - there was a fair bit of incorrect callsigns. But last thing on the pilots mind I guess
ATC Network (http://www.atc-network.com/)

under showcase on the right

[eyeinthesky]

Another masterpiece of incorrect sensationalism by BBC NEWS. I heard it the first time it was played (prior to editing to remove the gaps). Presenters were saying:

"This is from the black box". NO: It's a recording from the ATC system
"You can hear other planes clearing out of the way". NO: they were being given new clearances and handed off to the next controller.
"Do whatever you need, that means the cripples aircraft". NO: It was a coordination between two controllers.

It would be good if they could ensure their presenters had a little background info before playing for sensationalism.

[privatesandwiches]

The crew of the speedbird incident at heathrow last year also used the wrong callsign in the mayday call..... it happens!

[magpienja]

Would there be less confusion if commercial a/c still used the a/c reg as a callsign as in days gone by, that way it never changes.

Nick.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Agreed, but scheduled flights are all stored on computer under the flight number and the work involved in allocating a registration to every flight would be horrendous.

[Hyperborean]

The other potential problem with reg as c/s is duplication. I can remember a day when there were 4 ETs between Pole Hill and Dean Cross. OK full callsign solves the problem in normal circumstances but under pressure?

[Atcham Tower]

I was an A-Man at Preston too! Apart from confusion, the system was changed to flight number callsigns, mainly because of all the strip re-writing when Bealine (especially) had to change aircraft. The D-Men didn't like them just crossed out and altered ...

[Bern Oulli]

Yeah OK, anyone, myself included, gets it wrong sometimes when the heat is suddenly turned right up. However, I've just read through that transcript and I was left wondering whether DOC 4444 Part X (http://www.thetracon.com/docs/4444.pdf) is simply unavailable in the States. Anyway, there is the link. For those unfamiliar with it, it has to do with phraseology and er, standards.

[Gingerbread Man]

The crew of the speedbird incident at heathrow last year also used the wrong callsign in the mayday call..... it happens!

I've heard conflicting reasons for that. One is that the callsign used in all BA emergency simulations is always the same, so he said that by accident. The other is that the pilot flew a different route running up to the accident, and mixed up that callsign with the one he was flying. Both make sense really.

I'd be interested to know how obvious it was to the controller at Heathrow as to who was in trouble when the mayday was called. If I remember there was barely any delay between the mayday and the emergency call going through, so it can't really have confused him any.

[ImnotanERIC]

gingerbread man:
I'd be interested to know how obvious it was to the controller at Heathrow as to who was in trouble when the mayday was called. If I remember there was barely any delay between the mayday and the emergency call going through, so it can't really have confused him any.

A big clue would have been the 777 stuffed into the side of the runway in ba colours.:)

[Gingerbread Man]

Yeah alright :}

I suppose when you're sat there it would have been obvious from glancing at the a/c on final which one was in trouble.