Thread: Pilot Phraseology and Radio Usage
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Old 02-19-2007, 05:35 PM
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Seeburg220
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Default Pilot Phraseology and Radio Usage

Cockpit jump-seat trips for controllers (officially known as Flight Familiarizaton Trips) were abruptly halted on September 12, 2001. Almost six years have gone by since any air traffic controller has gotten to see what you do - and more importantly - talk to you about mutual concerns in aviation. There are many younger controllers who have no clue how busy you can be in the cockpit at times. I was lucky to have flown in the jump seat of several different airlines over the years, and talk to pilots about what concerns we both had.

Having been a controller for nearly two decades, I am quickly approaching old age in controller-years. With that experience comes a lot of time spent listening and talking to pilots on the frequency. One thing that is occurring more and more is the use of poor phraseology and improper radio usage. Correct phraseology is essential in minimizing transmissions on both ends of the microphone and more importantly, getting the intended clearance across, without misinterpretation. Not to say that controllers have perfect radio usage, however, we are regularly monitored and evaluated on our phraseology.

Every second wasted repeating a clearance, or correcting a bad read-back, reduces the amount of time a controller has to look ahead at what the next half-dozen moves should be. It is not uncommon for a controller to be simultaneously handling 10 to 20 aircraft or more. That’s upwards of 2000 lives that are relying on us to do our job safely and correctly. We don’t dwell on that, but that is the reality.

Which brings me to five specific areas of concern I have on pilot’s phraseology and radio use:
  • Who are you?

Probably a dozen or more times in one shift, I notice pilots who, when told to contact the next sector, never say who they are! They just read the frequency back, as if I’m supposed to know they took the frequency and not somebody else, by mistake. It happens more often than you might think. Always use your call sign when responding to a control instruction.
  • I think he said…

It’s very obvious when a pilot hopes he heard the right numbers, and repeats back something totally wrong. You were hoping you were right, and worse – you were banking that I caught any error you might have just said. I’m human, too. I get paid to catch mistakes. But I’m not perfect and you shouldn’t assume that I am. When in doubt, ask me to repeat it.




  • Ease off of the caffeine!

Many times, my transmission, or another aircraft reading back a clearance, is blocked by an initial check-on. Take a few seconds and gauge how quickly I am talking to other aircraft. If I make 3 or more consecutive transmissions without allowing anyone else to talk, that means I am probably busy. When you are given a frequency change, take a few seconds and monitor the new frequency before checking on. (This is one of the controller’s biggest pet- peeves.)
  • Time’s not on MY side, or Part two of the last tip:

There is nothing more important for a controller than time! When it’s obvious a sector is busy, pay special attention and vigilance. If you hear me call you the first time to turn 30 degrees left for traffic, for example, then that’s awesome! If you don’t hear me until the second time, then I’ve lost 5 or more seconds. A third time, and I could be well behind my game now.
  • All’s quiet and all’s wrong:

Sectors beginning with the first fix of a STAR for airports like ORD, LAX, DFW, JFK, etc, (for example) are very busy and very congested – even though they may be hundreds of miles from the airport. If you don’t hear your name called within 10-12 minutes, then something is most probably wrong! Assume you checked on 10 miles outside of a sector you are entering. That’s about 90 seconds worth of flying time at cruise. So after checking on frequency and flying say, another 11 minutes, having now flown in excess of 87 miles – if you haven’t been called in that time to change altitude, course, or frequency – then you are most likely not on the correct frequency anymore. I know there are sectors in other parts of the country that are upwards of 200 miles long, but you won’t find those East of the Mississippi, or near the LAX or ORD area.

…But it’s only one mistake…

Some of this may seem trivial or nit-picky, but if you took just one of the above items – “guessing at a clearance” for example - and assume that it’s only a problem five percent of the time for one day in one busy center, that still adds up to four hundred times a day that we are having to “right a wrong.” With four hundred sub-par transmissions, the odds of something unfavorable happening are obvious.

There is no study that I am aware of highlighting these problem-areas, but I can attest from experience that these issues are on the rise. Ask any center controller who’s been around 10 or more years, and they will most likely tell you the same thing: that the quality of pilot transmissions is declining.

Thanks for reading this…


I hope this didn’t come across as a scolding or a venting. Rather, just one opinion from the ground. - Seeburg 220
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