Originally Posted by etrang
it was the fact that the controller decided that the rules didn't apply to him
Bingo.
As a kid, the old man (now retired ATC) had Plazbot and I in the tower to watch what was going on countless times (airshows were the best). We loved it.........but were told strictly not to touch a damn thing (especially that big red button with "CCC" on it that we knew if something crashed, you would press it and all them green fire trucks would come out to play).
People are asking where's the foul? Do you need an Air/Ground Radio Operators certificate in the US? Sheeet, when I moved here to Canada as a licenced controller I couldn't talk to traffic until I sat the Certificate exam.