Although rare, Feith says phantom or fake calls can originate
from someone near the airport on the same frequency as the control tower.
"It's very complex because we've had these bogus calls in the past," Feith
said.
"It sounded like somebody just (sic) on a handheld somewhere to
me," the controller said later in the recording. "Did you hear that though?"
Another controller responds, "Yeah, I did."
"That didn't sound good," the first controller said.
"I know," responded the other controller.
drive73
if the controller thought it was a fake call, why would saying
pans or maydays make him think it was real? The issue is the controller thought this was a fake call, not that he was confused by frasing.
Butyou see, in some parts of the world the word "Mayday" is magical and overcomes any predisposition towards thinking a call is coming through from a handheld transmitter , and heavens to Betsy a faker would never think to use an actual callsign and Flight number they're hearing on the freq.
Keg
You get stuck into those of us who indicate that standard
phraseology may have resulted int a much better outcome in these circumstances and accuse us of monday morning quarter backing whilst at the same time presuming that those of us who comment haven't experience emergencies of our own.
No, I'm just pointing out that most here are ignoring the controller's own words that indicate why he had a doubt about the veracity of the call he heard, and are injecting their own cause (phraseology) because in their mind not adhereing to it in the strictest terms fits the preconceived notions they already hold; 1) Americans are sloppy cowboys on the radio, and 2) since Americans are bad at it, we are good at it, and we're going agree this is the cause no matter what.
And I can pretty much guarantee that those deriding this crew haven't suddenly had their cockpit fill with smoke on final approach to the point it's in the cabin and dealt with all that entails, let alone done so whilst (see, I can use it ina sentence too) using their best James Bond movie voice with the appropriate touch of sangfroid.
The controller states to his colleague that, to him, it sounded like the transmission came through a handheld. This could point to the clarity andvolume issues associated with a mask mic the flight crew may have been using. This may have also created the impression in the controller's mind he was hearing a "new" voice on freq, not someone who had already been cleared to land, possibly even by him. The other controller's response that it didn't sound "good" evenre-inforces this incorrect notion...that it was a rogue transmission.
You can "Mayday" and phrase correctly until Henry Higgins'eyes water and every sticker in the RAAF pecks up in a snappy salute, but that isn't going to automatically trump the disbelief of a controller who's initial doubts arise due to the quality of the transmission and new-sounding voice. The M.O. of a phantom transmitter IS to sound like an aircraft or the controller as much as possible...they use the callsigns they're hearing on freq and the phraseology pilots and controllers use.....that's how they try and fool people. They would actually say Maday, so saying it when the controller is in that frame of mind doesn't cure a thing. Get it?