 Passengers, only you be on the gate room, please. And I was smoking behind the door. It's hard to believe. You do much flying? Quite a bit. Oh, brother, so do I. I'll bet you I've got as many hours in the air as their pilot to, well, almost as many anyway. I've been flying for years. Matter of fact, yes, ma'am. May I have your ticket, please? Surely. To Los Angeles? That's right. Mr. Peacock? Yeah, like a bird. Well, hello, Mr. Craig. I didn't recognize you. It's been a long time since you've flown with us. Hope you have a nice trip. Well, thank you. Sure I will. You some kind of celebrity or something? Hardly. Well, if you don't mind my asking, what kind of work are you in? Not at all. I'm with the FAA. Oh, one of those government agencies. With the Federal Aviation Agency? That's right. Well, you must excuse me for being so stupid. With all the traveling by air that I do, you'd think I'd recognize those initials, FAA, any time I hear them. Well, there are a lot of government agencies known by their initials. It's pretty confusing sometimes, even to those of us who work for the government. Yes, but FAA, for Pete's sake, I've sure read enough about you fellows. But there's one thing I've never been able to figure out exactly what you do. Well, of course you know the FAA's basic job is to foster aviation. Yeah, I'm sure. My own particular specialty is air traffic control. Oh, you work in one of those airport control towers? Well, I've spent some time in a tower. That's true, but that's only one part of air traffic control. With all the planes we have flying today, there has to be more to it than that. What do you mean? Well, consider that this plane we're on is just one of some 100,000 aircraft in the United States today. And about 5,000 of them are in the air with us right now. Right now? You know, it always makes me a little nervous when I see another plane in the air. Then I figure that the pilot up there sees him before I do and keeps him out of the way. Well, of course, the pilot's always looking out for other aircraft, but he needs help because of the speed planes travel today and because of bad weather. Our job is to keep him separated from other aircraft under our control and to help him in avoiding aircraft not under our control. Well, you mean fellows on the ground like you control these flights I take? Well, that many of them, yes. Of course, the pilot always makes the final decisions on the operation of his aircraft like determining whether to take off or land, whether to operate on an instrument flight plan or conduct his flight in accordance with the CNBC principle. During good weather, many pilots operate visually on their own without air traffic control assistance. But there are over 18,000 specialists working around the clock and facilities throughout the system to system on his way and help bring his flight in safely. 18,000 men. What do they all do? I want to warn you, you're getting me started on my favorite subject. Well, with all the flying I do, it could easily become my favorite subject too, so go ahead. All right. Well, let me start by explaining what makes up our air traffic control system. Now, first of all, the airspace in this country is divided into a number of geographical areas. Flights through each of them are controlled by an air route traffic control center. An air route traffic control center is a complex facility, where many air traffic controllers work to control the flights of aircraft on instrument flight plans through their particular area. They keep track of all aircraft under their control, using radar wherever possible, and are in constant voice contact with them by radio. This is cargo center radar contact across the radar. Copy. ARTC centers control commercial aircraft, plus military aircraft, as well as many aircraft in the group we call general aviation. This includes all the other kinds of aircraft, flight of planes, business aircraft, and so forth. General aviation accounts for about three-fourths of all the civilian flying in the United States today, a sizable part of our workload. All aircraft are served by about 340 flight service stations. Here we provide flight briefing and weather information for pilots, both pre-flight and in-flight. These flight service stations are located at airports throughout the country, and as far east as Puerto Rico, and to the west, to Guam and Samoa. And of course, there are more than 270 FAA control towers in service of major airfields. The controllers in these towers provide traffic control services to aircraft, taxing on the field, taking off, and landing. A decontinental 21 taxi in a position in hold. An important part of many tower facilities is what we call the radar operations room, a radar-equipped area where controllers handle aircraft as the approach and depart from the field or terminal area. Mode three code zero for Roger. This is one of the most critical jobs in air traffic control because of the complex traffic patterns around many terminal areas. You know, it's hard to believe, but last year in this country, there were more than 26 million takeoffs and landings handled by air traffic controllers, and the number is increasing all the time. That's a lot of airplanes to be responsible for. Yes, and the important thing is this. Every one of those planes is loaded with people. That's the thought an air traffic controller never lets out of his mind. Well, take this plane, for example. These people are more than statistics to us. I don't mean to get dramatic, but every passenger on a plane is a human life that is entrusted in a great measure to the skill and judgment of the pilot and to the air traffic controller. You all must feel a tremendous moral responsibility to the people who fly. You bet we do. You know, I fly someplace every week. I get on board the ship, and the plane takes off, and I sit back and read a little, talk to my neighbor, snooze a little, for naught we're there. I hardly have given any thought that there might be somebody on the ground who's looking after me. In a way, that's the biggest compliment you could give us in the aviation business, because our aim is to make sure that you and everyone else who flies travel with complete confidence. You know, it's just beginning to dawn on me that there's a lot more to a flight like this than meets the passenger's eye. Yes, this flight, for instance, actually began at least an hour before scheduled flight time. See, after the pilot studied the weather and other details, he filed his flight plan with the company's operations office. The clerk passed it on to the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center. The information was put on flight progress strips that indicate the flight number, route, altitude, and other important flight data. These strips were distributed to all controllers in the Chicago Center who would be controlling the flight. So the center controllers had their proposed flight details before the passengers were even on board. You mean all that happened before the plane even left the gate? That's right. Then as soon as all of the passengers were on board and the flight crew had run through a pre-start checklist, the co-pilot contacted the O'Hare Ground controller in the tower. O'Hare Ground Control, United 837, Gate E-5, taxi clearance, IFR Los Angeles. Go ahead. In the tower, air traffic controllers man different positions associated with the departure phase of the operation. United 837, this is O'Hare Ground Control. Flitter and way 3, 2 left. Taxi via the outer taxiway. 1, 3, 3 is 0 degrees at 1, 2. Altimeter 2, 9, or 9, or 4, over. Roger, United 837. In addition, controllers in several other tower positions are concerned primarily with arriving aircraft. All these men are fully qualified to serve in each position, and they rotate every couple of hours. While we taxied out of the runway, a tower controller, known as the Flight Dataman, contacted the departure controller in the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center for an instrument clearance for our flight. And requesting United 837 IFR Los Angeles. The controller in the center checked the flight strip for our flight. To make certain, there were no conflicts with other flights in the area. Then he gave the Tower Flight Dataman the clearance for our trip. United 837, Slam Bravo, cleared to the Los Angeles Airport by Victor 172, Victor 1508, Charlotte. Des Moines is 0, 6, 8, radio 2 Des Moines, J-60. Maintain 5,000 until Malta. Then climb and maintain flight level 260 T.S. A clearance delivery man working with the ground controller passed this clearance along with local departure instructions to our pilot while taxing to the runway. Maintain 5,000 until Malta. Then climb and maintain flight level 260. Climb to 2,700 on departure heading. Re-flight code 1-0, over. A.T.C. Clairs, United 837 to the Los Angeles Airport. Victor 172, Victor 1508, Charlotte. Once the co-pilot repeated the clearance and the pilot had run through his pre-takeoff checklist, the co-pilot advised the local controller in the tower that we were ready for takeoff. Our air tower, United 837, ready for takeoff 3-2 left. When traffic permitted, the local controller in the tower gave us our clearance to take off. United 837, our air tower, 3-2 left, cleared for takeoff. The takeoff clearance was heard on interphone by the radar departure controller and the radar operations room below the tower as well as on radio by our pilots. United 837. Was airborne and clear of traffic in the immediate area. The tower instructed our pilot to change to the frequency used by departure control in the radar operations room. Our air departure control, United 837, standing by your frequency. We had been observed on radar since takeoff. United 837, this is O'Hare departure control. Radar contact, turn left heading 240, intercept Victor 172. Over. When we approach the radar control handoff point in O'Hare's terminal area, the departure controller began procedures to hand us off to the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center. United 837, intercepting Victor 172. Four miles from Victor 4, 29er. Over. Roger, United 837. Chicago Center, O'Hare departure. Chicago Center, go ahead, O'Hare. United 837, three miles east of Victor 4, 29er. Code 10. Radar contact, United 837, DG. United 837 contact Chicago Center. On 120.4, now over. United 837, Roger 120.4, good day. Chicago Center, United 837, your frequency. The air traffic controller in the center had flight strips of all aircraft under his control, including ours, which gave him a complete picture of his traffic. United 837, this is Chicago Center, radar contact, crossing Victor 4, 29er. Roger, United 837. At this point, control of our flight was transferred from O'Hare to the Chicago Center. This is just the first of five centers that will control our flight to Los Angeles. From here, we will move into the Kansas City Center area, then Denver, then Salt Lake City, and finally Los Angeles. The route we are taking is clearly marked by electronic navigational aids known as VOR, or Vortac facilities. VOR and Vortac facilities are actually radio navigation stations. They're located all over the country and form the basis of a whole network of highways in the sky. These facilities are operated and maintained by FAA personnel, so pilots will have a dependable, easy-to-use, static-free aerial navigation system. 63 FAA aircraft fly some 50,000 hours yearly, checking and monitoring the accuracy of these facilities. Like all center control areas, Chicago is divided into sectors, almost like several small centers within the larger center. That team of controllers works each sector. Some sectors, such as Chicago's West Departure, handle traffic up to 24,000 feet. Other sectors handle high-altitude traffic, aircraft above 24,000 feet. The West Departure Controller cleared us through his sector to the position we are now. At 837, climb and maintain flight level 260, report leaving 1,500 over. At 837, Roger, leaving 5,000 for flight level 260, report leaving 1,500. At 837, traffic, 10 o'clock. 1,500 miles, north-westbound. We don't have them, center. How about a radar vector? At 837, turn left heading at 220. Left at 220, United 837. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. Air traffic control is vectoring us by radar to avoid traveling. We'll be back on course in a minute or two. Well, how do you like that? Well, this is an example of one of the services provided by air traffic control. The radar controller turned us away from another target that he had on his scope, just a little extra insurance. Well, this probably was another aircraft flying visually. It looks like they're turning us back to course now. Yeah, I believe they are. You know, there's one thing that bothers me. How do you know if this spot on the radar scope is us or someone else? Well, there are several methods of identifying a radar target. If we're communicating with the aircraft, the simplest one is what we call a radar beacon. Normally, the target is seen on the controller's scope as a double slash. If, for some reason, identification must be verified, the controller asks the pilot to respond by pushing a button in the cockpit. If this is the aircraft, the target blooms. Now, there are other methods to identify aircraft, but this is the quickest. It all seems so simple. You wouldn't think so if you ever saw the inside of a control center. It's the most complex scene imaginable. Controllers everywhere. Radar operating, voices calling, phones ringing, lights blinking. But to the air traffic controller, it all makes sense. For out of all the complexity, comes an orderly and effective system of air traffic control. Chicago Center, United 837, leaving 1,500, go ahead. United 837, Roger, leaving 1,500, 15. United 837, 1,500 miles east of Malta, code 1-0. Radar contact, change United 837 to code 2-1. Roger code 2-1. 240 in the heading, thank you. United 837, reply code 2-1 and contact Chicago Center, 1-3-2.85 now. Roger, United 837, reply code 2-1, and now changing to 1-3-2.85. Chicago Center, United 837 on 1-3-2.85. Climbing to flight level 260, now leaving 1-6,000, go ahead. United 837, this is Chicago Center. Radar contact, 1-2 miles east of Malta. Climb and maintain flight level 350, report leaving flight level 240 and flight level 280, over. United 837, Roger, climb and maintain flight. The Chicago High Altitude Controller controlled us right on up to our assigned flight level. That's the way it goes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Planes inbound, planes outbound, planes going up and coming down, planes at 40,000 feet, planes at 4,000. He has to be able to visualize a three-dimensional area more than five miles high with local patterns, radio aids, minimum altitudes, departure routes, holding a mountain of material fixed in his brain for instant use. There's no time for hesitation with the speeds of today's aircraft. Decisions must be made quickly, and they must be made right. This is the way it is as our plane is handed from controller to controller, from center to center, all the way to Los Angeles. United 837, Chicago Center, contact Kansas City Center now on 1-3-2.4. Kansas City Center, United 837, flight level. United 837, this is Kansas City Center, radar contact, five miles east of Des Moines. Enjoy the traveling, and I represent a real good, hopefully good line. Denver Center, United 837, requesting flight level 310. Headwinds are quite strong here at 350. Go ahead. United 837, Denver Center, stand by. United 837, unable to approve flight level 310, account converging traffic on J80. United 837, this is Salt Lake Center, stand by this frequency. Los Angeles, go ahead. United 837, 25, northeast of Boulder, City of Wyoming. It seems to be obvious to me that it must take a, well, a special breed of man to be an air traffic controller. Oh, that's what they say. The main thing is the ability to combine quick, accurate decisions with sound judgment. I guess some people just do that a little better than others. Where do controllers come from? Like you, for example, how'd you get started? Well, I was a pilot during the war. That's where a lot of our FAA controllers got their basic experience necessary for the job. Then a lot of our people were controllers in the military service. And then there are some without any experience who showed themselves to be especially suited for this kind of work by showing up well on the aptitude and psychological tests worked out by FAA Civil Air Medical Research Institute. Well, what about training? It must take an awful lot before a man can handle this kind of a job. Two years of the most intensive training you can imagine, including periods of special training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. Air trainees learn about such things as aviation weather, navigation aids, civil air regulations, flight assistance service, radio telephone communications, and they begin qualification training for their career in an ARTC center, flight service station, or in a control tower. About 6-0-5, right turn approved. That's a little 55, cleared to land. This kind of training makes sure only the best men survive. We do everything we can to find out if they can take the kind of situations likely to occur under actual conditions because if they can't, we want to know it now, when no human lives are at stake. Send a golf stream around. Go stream 701, the golfs go around. Stop the problem. You're using poor judgment at this time here. The man who will handle it, stay around. The others don't make the grade. Now, after a man gets his certificate from the Academy, he goes into on-the-job training at either a control tower, center, or flight service station. And it takes two years before he's a full-fledged controller. Just about. But even then, this training doesn't stop. Controllers are always getting advanced training in such things as radar and radiophrasiology and operating the new equipment that's constantly being developed to help us do our job. In fact, I'm on my way to Los Angeles now to help set up a new voice improvement training program. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. We are now approaching the Los Angeles area, but we have been advised by the Los Angeles control center that low-level fog and smoke is causing inbound traffic delays. And we must hold it down here before we can be cleared for our approach. In the meantime, will you check that your seatbelts are fast and clean? Well, now an announcement like that has a little more meaning for me. The Los Angeles center controller has directed us to circle until the controller in the radar operations room clears us for an approach to land, huh? Is that right? That's right. Here, let me show you. Now, we're approaching Los Angeles at about 20,000 feet. Now we're holding here over down. That's a radio facility on the ground. The pilot navigates in this pattern without radar assistance since other aircraft at different altitudes in the same holding pattern make it impractical to follow any one aircraft on radar. When traffic permits, the center brings us down and control of our flight is transferred to approach control. After we leave Downey, the approach controller will pick us up on radar and guide us to the final approach course to the runway. Approach control, United 837 at Downey, leaving 10,000, your control now. A roger on United 837. United 837 contact Los Angeles approach control on 124.9er, now, over. United 837, Janie. Los Angeles approach control, United 837, Downey, leaving 8,000. Go ahead. United 837, this is Los Angeles approach control, Roger. Depart Downey, heading 275, descend and maintain 3,000 for a vector to the ILS final approach course. Weather, measured ceiling, 500 overcast, visibility two miles, fog and smoke. Wind 260 degrees at 12. Altimeter 299.5, over. United 837, leaving 6,000 and we'll leave Downey heading 275. Approach control, United 837, leaving Downey and 4,000, go ahead. United 837 radar contact, descend to 2,000, 7 miles from the outer marker, turn left heading 245, cleared for ILS, 25 left approach. Radar advisories on localizer voice, contact Los Angeles tower on 118.9er, now, over. United 837, Los Angeles tower, this is United 837 on your frequency. United 837, this is Los Angeles tower. Report passing outer marker, straight in runway 25 left. Wind 270 degrees at 8, over. United 837. As the pilot makes an instrument approach to the Los Angeles airport, he listens to the radar controller in the radar operations room, as well as to the tower controller. United 837 passing outer marker on course, altitude OK, advisement runway in sight. Los Angeles tower, United 837, outer marker inbound. United 837, cleared to land. United 837, 4 miles from touchdown, on course, 25 feet above glide path. United 837, 3 miles from touchdown, on course, altitude OK. United 837, runway in sight. Talked your ears off. Oh, not at all. I've enjoyed this flight more than any I've ever made. You know, getting behind the scenes and learning how all this happens. Let me say this, Mr. Craig, speaking to all the air traffic controllers from all of us who fly, thanks for helping to get us there safely. Thank you.