Aircrew Not Wearing Headsets
 

Forget the fact that I've got a crap headset - it does still function.

Does anybody else find it irritating, especially when the sector is busy, to have to make twice or three times the number of RT calls to US crews because they either haven't heard the first call or have confused their callsign?

How many times have you called a US registered flight only to get the reply "Are you calling *****?" or "Was that for ****?" More wasted RT time when you don't need it.

Having sat on the flight deck of a few US flights the reason for this has been seen at first hand - crews don't wear headsets above FL160. Using handmikes, they have to listen out for RT calls from ATC via the cockpit speaker and over all the flight deck noise.

Does US ATC have the same problem???

I believe there are airlines closer to home who also use handmikes, which one can often detect from the sound of the mic switch being moved. Another giveaway is the dreadful squeal of feedback we sometimes hear, which I believe results from using cockpit loudspeakers with handmikes. I might be wrong..

Crappy - You should ditch High Level too!

Problem solved:D

It's not just US pilots. Anyone noticed how often the airline that rhymes with a big river near LPL need "words twice" ?

Never mind, heard the rumour that NATS is going to start charging double if you have to repeat a clearance cos' of the extra workload. That should help prop up the pension fund.:rolleyes:

Re: Aircrew Not Wearing Headsets
 

Crappy,

It isn't just US carriers, it's anyone who doesn't use a headset or ear piece, or anyone that is shooting the bull and not paying attention, or anyone that has their CD player cranking out music (yes I've heard music playing in the background), or loud passengers in the back, or better yet, the pilot that turned down the volume control because air traffic was interfering with the conversation in the cockpit.

Yes we experience the same problem!

Mike
FWA

Like Mike said, we have that problem over here too. It seems especially a big problem when the crews feel that they are enroute and can now RELAX! I have been fighting the problem in one of our procedures meeting in Washington DC. It is indeed becoming a LARGE problem that needs to be fixed.

regards

Regulations...
 

Here in the UAE, the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) mandate the use of headsets below a certain level... this is only a start however.

EGLL DIR, yes, the squeal is called feedback, it's the re-transmission of the voice (from the cockpit speaker) through the microphone. This can be resolved by turning the volume of the cockpit speaker down, but that seems to replace one problem with another...

FWA NATCA - sorry, not picking on US crews for the sake of it but the majority of missed calls that I experience ARE from the US carriers.

It almost gets to the stage sometimes that you have to get their attention with an initial call before you relay the instruction with a second call. When you're busy, multiply that by the number of US carriers on the frequency and it's far too much wasted RT time.

As for Pheasant, your day on high level will come, sunshine. :D

A variation on this theme - working Oceanic control - why do pilots call up on HF with a request for something and then immediately go back on SELCAL watch for the one to two minutes it takes to compose and return a reply to them? They must have terribly tender aural orifices if they can't stand a little static for a couple of minutes!!:mad:

Pilots miss calls for the same reason controllers miss calls.
And yes, everybody should use a headset.

Crappy Headset, Yes American pilots do at times have problems understanding controllers in Europe. Most have spent most of their flying careers flying domestic. I would also guess they probably have less problem understanding controllers from France or Germany than they do from Scotland.:(

Delta Whiskey, I usually maintain a listining watch, but 99% of the time I get a SELCAL anyway.

Bigmouth;

Well actually I expect that there are different reasons that we as controllers don't answer on the first call... Most of them have to do with other duties such as talking with other controllers about clearances, pilot requests, deviations and in the US something called handoffs... All this while working one person on the sector. We hear you calling and get to you when we can...

That´s right, Scott, we´re busy doing something else at the moment and will respond when we can. Aviate, navigate, communicate. I´m sure controllers have similar priorities.
And after several thousand hours of listening to US controllers, most guys will have trouble understanding british accents (not to mention french, swedish, german, italian...).