An air traffic controller has been harshly criticized for telling a veteran pilot that she knew better than he did about how to land the plane because she “googled it.”
Brenda Mooney, an air traffic controller at Denton Enterprise Airport in Texas, was reportedly caught on a recording advising the pilot, who said he had been flying for 15 years, with her Google-derived information. Here’s the exchange:
Mooney: Cherokee 65C, there’s traffic on the parallel. The traffic you’re following is inside Highway 380, a Cherokee on final for 18L.
Pilot: All right, we’re looking for that traffic to follow for 65 Charlie, and if we could plan on the next one, if possible we could get a short approach. We’d appreciate it.
Mooney: Cherokee 65 Charlie, I have your request. Your traffic is about a half mile final now.
Pilot: We’ve got ‘em in sight, 65 Charlie.
Mooney: Cherokee 65 Charlie, give him room, he’s a full stop.
Pilot: Runway 18L, cleared the option. We’ll give him room. 65 Charlie.
Mooney: 7 Papa Echo, turn your base. Cessna 2 Bravo Tango, 65 Charlie, you should have turned your base before you hit the approach end of the runway. You’re outside the airport traffic area.
Pilot: We’re on about a 1/4 mile final, ma’am. I mean, sorry, base.
Mooney: Yeah, I know. You should be inside the airport. You should have turned your base abeam the numbers.
Pilot: We can’t do that and land on the 1,000 footers.
Mooney: Well, that’s what a short approach is.
Pilot: I’m sorry, I guess I should —‚ we need to come up with something different because in order to complete a commercial checkride we gotta do what’s called a power-off 180°. We pull the power abeam where you want to touch down and have to land on that point and no more than 200 feet beyond it.
Mooney: That’s fine, but don’t ask for a short approach if you’re gonna do a power-off 180°. That’s my point.
Pilot: Well, okay. I will remember that from now on. No problem.
Mooney: When you ask for a short approach, I expect you to turn your base abeam the numbers.
Pilot: This is gonna be a full stop for 65 Charlie, and maybe we need to talk about that some more because you’re the first controller in 15 years that’s ever said that.
Mooney:, I’m just, you know, if you ask for a short approach, a short approach is when you turn your base abeam the numbers. If I know you’re a student asking for a short approach, I know you’re out there practicing and you probably will extend. But if you’re doing something other than a short approach, don’t ask for a short approach.
Pilot: Well, I will definitely look up the definition of short approach because I’ve never seen where it says you turn base abeam the numbers, cause I don’t see how you could possibly do that.
Mooney: Well, I googled it, actually. I googled short approach and it said to turn your base abeam or before the numbers and you will land, probably, touch down around midfield.
Pilot: Okay, well, then I apologize for requesting the wrong thing, because everywhere else short approach means power-off 180°, but that’s definitely not what it means here.
Mooney: Yeah, well, I mean, you know, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve worked at different airports, I don’t know. But just ask for what you need so I know what you wanna do so I can accommodate.
A petition was launched to get Mooney removed from her position; it stated, “Her actions are not only jeopardizing pilot safety but also damaging the reputation of our city, Denton. It has reached a point where her conduct is attracting national attention – an unfortunate circumstance that does not reflect well on our community.”
One commenter on the YouTube video of the incident stated, “Been flying for 25 years, 3000 hrs. Never had a controller expect a short approach to mean ‘turn base at the numbers.’ That’s absurd.”