3 Common Misconceptions About Air Traffic Controllers
There are roughly 21,000 air traffic controllers in the United States. In a country with a population of over 300 MILLION people, that means that less than 0.00007% of it actually works this job. Knowing that, it’s easy to understand why so many people are confused about what air traffic controllers actually do. In my almost 8 years of experience inside the industry, here are the top 3 misconceptions people normally have about the job.
1. Aren’t you that person with the fancy wand lights?
The short answer is, of course, no. I have to lead with this one because every air traffic controller out there has been asked this question at least once in their career.
The one you’re thinking of (with those fancy lights) is commonly referred to as a “Ramp Agent”. While both professions do work at airports and perform critical functions necessary to flying the community, they serve entirely different functions. The majority of the time, these individuals are responsible for helping the planes park and reverse out of their spots. They also help with sorting, loading, and unloading baggage on and off the aircraft. Other times they help with general maintenance of the planes, too.
The recognition of this particular airport job stems from viral videos of people dancing eccentrically while performing their role with the light wands. You can truly tell that those people love what they do. No matter how hard you look though, you won’t be able to find me on one of those viral Tik Tok or Youtube videos dancing out on a tarmac like this. For anyone that’s seen me dance, just trust me…that’s a good thing.
2. Oh that’s right, so you’re up there in the tower?
Photo Copyright: Monty Rakusen
Depicts night time air traffic control tower.
This one is a little more complicated to answer because sometimes the answer is yes, and other times, it’s no. It’s important to understand first that there are two different types of air traffic facilities. One is the tower, and the other is the radar.
Yes, tower controllers do sit up there in those high perches overlooking the airport. In the simplest of terms, they are responsible for aircraft and vehicle movement on the ground, and also for clearing them for landing and takeoff. The process and logistics of which are obviously more complicated than just that. There’s dozens of ubiquitous federal documents we have to adhere to, and each unique facility has its own local rules and requirements to follow in addition to the federal ones.
Radar controllers share the same lengthy rules and regulations, just not the view that tower controllers get. These controllers are responsible for everything that happens in between your destinations. In the name of simplicity again, a lot of the time radar is a micro-management heavy game of “don’t let the blips on the screen touch”. Radar facilities are like those darkened rooms you see in the movies with complicated looking radar displays. Fortunately, technology has evolved enough that you don’t really see those old systems with the giant, rotating sweep anymore. Rest assured, this makes the “blip watching” more intuitive, and also safer.
3. “Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.”
This misconception is by far my favorite and why I saved it for last. I am a huge fan of the Top Gun franchise and all of Maverick’s on screen antics. I regularly quote both of the movies and am no stranger to using “negative ghost rider” when talking plainly around the house. Despite all of these things and my love for the movies, this just isn’t something that is actually used or said in the air traffic world.
There is such a thing as “phraseology” in air traffic control. It’s a term we use to describe very specific sets of verbiage that we are required to say, i.e. using “cleared for takeoff/cleared to land”. The quote from the movie, unfortunately, doesn’t exist in our regulations or list of things we get to say. While some people may still find some of the things we do get to say over the frequency to be pretty cool, for me, it doesn’t quite live up to the hype as much as a Top Gun movie production.
