121.5 - Where Am I...
Last Sunday I was eavsdropping on 121.5 and I heard a developing scenario that I believe would be useful and interesting to most Ppruners:
I came on frequency maybe a few transmissions after the start but the general thrust was apparent throughout. (I wrote notes for future reference!). A light aircraft was clearly lost and was receiving a service from the D&D cell to rectify the situation. It became clear that the pilot had not prepared for navigation very well (most obvious was that he was on 121.5 but many other comments made it clear that this was not a well planned flight). The Controller established a few basic parameters initially - her demeanour was very reassuring and professional (we really do have the best controllers in the world - they even sound good). She started with simple questions; from my vantage point it was very clear that maximum effort was being made to ensure a low additional workload for the pilot. A basic position plot - expressed as a compass point from a major town - was the first piece of information. Response from the pilot was still rather confused and monosyllabic he appeared to be trying to downplay the severity of his predicament.
She immediately picked up on the subtle nuances in his voice and quickly swung into a more in-depth phase of assistance: She asked the pilot to "...transmit for DF...". The pilot responded with only a short burst of transmission - first learning point: Transmit for DF is standard (but rarely used) phraseology that you might have forgotten from your RT exam but it has a very specific response (for longer transmission time). Can you remember it?
The controller asked for a longer transmission and suggested counting to five and back again (I believe she used this task to gauge further capacity of the pilot too but he didn't manage too well - amazing how even simple tasks become full of errors when 'loaded up'). She then gave a much more accurate position and quizzed the pilot on some more details. Was he on a NAVEX? Final destination? Last known position? Surprisingly the pilot was unable to provide a last known position AT ALL. Again I would surmise that this was due to an ever deepening desire to be on the ground, in the bar with a pint.
Gently the controller teased out a few more details (I suspect that causing a loss of aircaft control was a real concern thus her transmissions remained perfectly measured for the situation). She asked if the pilot could see a very large prominent road she was aware of a rough heading thanks to the longer DF trace. I was incredibly surprised at the amount of topographic detail the controller was able to provide. Not only that but it was provided in an incredibly relevant manner - a logical sequence Large road>>direction>>service station. The impression given was one of the controller sitting right next to the pilot pointing out features. I was very impressed.
Once the controller had positively identified the position of the aircraft she started to ask what the pilot had marked up on his map (answer: nothing). She asked what major features he might know (answer: none). To be honest a less charitable person (i.e. Me) might have just mentioned that they deserved to get lost with that sort of flight planning. Again I was amazed by the amount of detail fed back to the pilot including track monitoring and morsels such as 'you will see a big country house with a large garden' (remember, none of this is using radar - only DF).
In the end she put the pilot in a position where his confidence seemed to return a little and (more importantly) he could identify the airfield. Having been furnished with the frequency he was sent on his way (it appeared that the destination had been informed by D&D). He left without any thanks but I like to think that he dropped D&D a line to thank them for a stunning job.
A few things jumped out at me:
1. The controller had a 'feel' for navigating a light aircraft and could empathise with the pilot;
2. The controller was very attuned to the possible ramifications of overloading the pilot;
3. The service extended well beyond just talking on the radio;
4. The data available to the controller was excellent;
5. A nice long DF transmission makes the job much easier for the controller;
6. I could well have missed it but I didn't hear the controller ask about endurance;
7. It's a thankless task being on the D&D cell (or it seemed it).
Fair play to the pilot - at least he had the good sense to ask for help.
I'd love to hear other pilots' experiences and maybe some feedback from controllers. Also I'd like to thank the controller and watch staff that day for a job well done (just in case the pilot never called!)