As far as I see it, it wasn’t a case of delaying commercial traffic at all. I tend to give aircraft priority judging by where they are in the air and how their flight characteristics are, not what category of flight they are. If I’ve got a trainer in the hold wanting the procedure and I’ve got jet traffic at 12 miles vectoring for the ILS, I will give priority to the jet. If the jet is at 20 miles then it would probably get number 2 to the trainer, obviously dependent on particular circumstances at the time. The category of flight normally comes last in the controller’ decisions – if we can get them down we will do so. It’s our job to shift traffic and we are paid for using our own judgment and initiative in the circumstances.
I may have missed it but nobody has noted that ATC were concerned about the number of unidentified aircraft in the area who were not in contact with them. This was given as a significant factor in their decision not to delay the faster traffic.
Have you ever tried providing a radar service with vectoring to an aircraft released two minutes before the overhead of an airfield in the South of England in Class G using primary radar only? Doesn’t matter whether the conflicting traffic is at FL40 or FL400, the controller has to get five miles on it. As a radar controller, I can certainly see why the approach controller wanted to get the IFR down as soon as possible. And if there was a go around, nobody can guarantee whether that aircraft would accept a visual circuit. In addition the IFR was able and willing to carry out a visual approach and was given traffic information on the Cessna.
I would bet a large chunk of my salary that the controller(s) had not even considered flight priorities when they planned and executed their sequence. They did not, however, expect that the student pilot would not interpret their instructions correctly.
It is not your zone...
When I’m doing Radar it most certainly is my zone Matey. If I clear you in, it is on my licence, and, given the litigious world we live in, if you cock up my head may well be on the block. If you sound or act like a clown you ain’t getting in on my watch.
...how often are ATCOs at airports in the UK independently assessed for competence by the CA or SRG?
ATCOs are assessed every 12 months. Depending on the strength of the unit either SRG will do the renewal otherwise a Local Competency Examiner based at the unit will carry out the task on their behalf.
Last edited by perusal; 15th Jul 2007 at 22:50.