question on identification
 

Dear all
I am writing here to ask you a question about identification.
I am not a controller (nor a pilot). I am just a student with a real curiosity (and some passion) for ATC.
I would like to know if it is pertinent to use the term "identification" of an aircraft in tower environment.
I have been told that, at least for the tower, this term is not adequate, as there are no standardized procedures for identification (as for example the squawk ident).
Do you agree with this?
If so, what is the correct definition?
Something like “knowing who is who”, or something else?
Thank you in advance
(and forgive my ignorance!!)
Cheers
Elisa

Just like identification using radar, one can use a pilot position report for identification.

For example, a pilot says "ABC123 on stand 1".
When the controller looks and sees an aircraft on stand 1, he can rightly identify that aircraft as ABC123.

Hello!
Thanks a lot for replying !!!!
:)
Can I ask you something more?
What happens then if the stand is not visible from the tower?
Or if there are several aircraft looking exactly the same?

At Heathrow we have a ground radar that, through use of aircraft transponders, enable us to display the callsigns as labels (exactly as a 'normal', air radar display). I forget the exact words in our manual now, but we can use this ground radar to identify aircraft providing the label appears in the same place the aircraft reports it is.

In NZ, (which is probably fairly typical) tower controllers are permitted to identify an aircraft on radar by correlating it to a pilot report reference a position displayed on the radar, by assigning a transponder code and seeing that code appear, by observing the "ident" feature, by observing a full datablock (flight details, or "correlated" to a flight plan), by reference to a distance/bearing of a navaid displayed on the radar map, and by visually correlating an aircrafts position with that displayed on radar.
The method we do not use that centre radar controllers can is visual observation of a turn on radar. That one isn't used much, these days, anyway.Almost everyone has a transponder.
There are other conditions with the use of these methods, but thats the basics.

Many different "Towers" out there! Is it mostly "big/fast aircraft" handed from Approach (and a radar display to help)? Or a flying school environment with lots of similar Cessnas, Pipers etc.? If in doubt you could ask one to "rock your wings". Never tried it - not even for fun. ("Rock the Tower etc....). Again with many similar aircraft at the end of the runway, you sometimes ask "number in sequence" (or similar). But you wouldn't use the word "identified". Just work your clever departure plan from that.

According to PANS-ATM, Chapter 12, Section 12.3 the recommended phrase is "show landing lights". Aircraft can then acknowledge by

a) moving ailerons (or rudder);
b) rocking wings;
c) flashing landing lights.

"Move ailerons" or "rock wings" are not mentioned as phrases. I wonder why?

Thank you all
 

Thank you, indeed!

It is so nice to see that many of you found some time the time to give me all this info
:)

I've found asking an aircraft to rock it's wings for radar identification doesn't work real good.........http://209.85.48.8/1889/52/emo/lam.gif






Sorry