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‘They’re dumb’: Nathan Fielder fires back at FAA over HBO show criticism

If you’ve ever watched the series “Air Disasters”, the impact of poor communication will not be a surprise.
 
The Air Traffic Controllers at JFK (and around NYC more generally, including La Guardia and Newark) are notorious for speaking too fast to be understood by pilots (for many of whom English is their second language); And for using non-standard words and phrases, in contravention of ICAO rules and principles.

On March 2, 2025, an All Nippon Airways (NH) flight pilot preparing for departure requested taxi clearance to New York (JFK) ATC.

The controller responded with “You’re on request,” a phrase not recognized in standard International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) terminology.

Confused, the ANA pilot repeated the request, prompting the controller to insist on his phrasing rather than clarifying with standard language like “Standby for taxi.”

The interaction escalated when the controller criticized the pilot’s comprehension, despite the ambiguity of his own instructions.

ICAO mandates clear, standardized phrasing to prevent such misunderstandings, especially at busy international hubs like JFK, where pilots may have varying English proficiency.

Air traffic controller: “You’re on request. As soon as this aircraft lands, I’ll get you moving.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “All Nippon Airways 159 heavy, sorry, say again.”

Air traffic controller: “You’re on request.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “Oh, we request runway 31L, All Nippon 159 heavy.”

Air traffic controller: “You are on request.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “All Nippon 159 heavy, request taxi via A1, left turn A…”

Air traffic controller: “All Nippon 159 heavy, I don’t know if you’re not familiar, it seems like you’re not. When somebody says ‘you are on request,’ that means they have your request. That’s it. Just wait.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “So you mean we can taxi by our own, All Nippon 159 heavy?”

Air traffic controller: “All Nippon 159 heavy, absolutely not. ‘You’re on request’ just means just wait. You don’t say anything. You just wait for the controller, which is me, okay? Just wait.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “Okay, holding position, All Nippon 159 heavy.”

Air traffic controller: “Yes, I have your request. That’s what that means.”
Click to expand...
(https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2...ways-pilot-new-york-atc-involved-in-argument/)

English is my first language, and I would also have failed to understand what the controller meant by "You're on request". He then compounds his error by using the phrase "absolutely not", when what he meant was "negative". He's lucky that the Japanese pilots didn't interpret that as "absolutely", and start their requested taxi.

The ICAO mandated phrase for this situation is just "standby". The controller should just have said (and should have known that he should have said): "All Nippon 159 heavy, Roger. Standby for Taxi".

Literally every commercial pilot on the world is required to know that "standby" means what this joker meant by "you're on request", as are all Air Traffic Controllers. But at JFK, the protocols are routinely ignored.

When challenged, the excuse given is that due to the crowded airspace and high stress levels, controllers need to save time by speaking faster; But all this does is waste time because they are constantly being asked to "say again".

A nice apocryphal tale has a pilot from Georgia on approach to JFK responding to the incomprehensibly rapid chatter from ATC with a slow drawl: "Do y'all hear how fast I am a talkin'? 'Cause that’s how fast I am a listenin'".
 
bilby said:
The Air Traffic Controllers at JFK (and around NYC more generally, including La Guardia and Newark) are notorious for speaking too fast to be understood by pilots (for many of whom English is their second language); And for using non-standard words and phrases, in contravention of ICAO rules and principles.

On March 2, 2025, an All Nippon Airways (NH) flight pilot preparing for departure requested taxi clearance to New York (JFK) ATC.

The controller responded with “You’re on request,” a phrase not recognized in standard International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) terminology.

Confused, the ANA pilot repeated the request, prompting the controller to insist on his phrasing rather than clarifying with standard language like “Standby for taxi.”

The interaction escalated when the controller criticized the pilot’s comprehension, despite the ambiguity of his own instructions.

ICAO mandates clear, standardized phrasing to prevent such misunderstandings, especially at busy international hubs like JFK, where pilots may have varying English proficiency.

Air traffic controller: “You’re on request. As soon as this aircraft lands, I’ll get you moving.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “All Nippon Airways 159 heavy, sorry, say again.”

Air traffic controller: “You’re on request.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “Oh, we request runway 31L, All Nippon 159 heavy.”

Air traffic controller: “You are on request.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “All Nippon 159 heavy, request taxi via A1, left turn A…”

Air traffic controller: “All Nippon 159 heavy, I don’t know if you’re not familiar, it seems like you’re not. When somebody says ‘you are on request,’ that means they have your request. That’s it. Just wait.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “So you mean we can taxi by our own, All Nippon 159 heavy?”

Air traffic controller: “All Nippon 159 heavy, absolutely not. ‘You’re on request’ just means just wait. You don’t say anything. You just wait for the controller, which is me, okay? Just wait.”

All Nippon Airways pilot: “Okay, holding position, All Nippon 159 heavy.”

Air traffic controller: “Yes, I have your request. That’s what that means.”
Click to expand...
(https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2...ways-pilot-new-york-atc-involved-in-argument/)

English is my first language, and I would also have failed to understand what the controller meant by "You're on request". He then compounds his error by using the phrase "absolutely not", when what he meant was "negative". He's lucky that the Japanese pilots didn't interpret that as "absolutely", and start their requested taxi.

The ICAO mandated phrase for this situation is just "standby". The controller should just have said (and should have known that he should have said): "All Nippon 159 heavy, Roger. Standby for Taxi".

Literally every commercial pilot on the world is required to know that "standby" means what this joker meant by "you're on request", as are all Air Traffic Controllers. But at JFK, the protocols are routinely ignored.

When challenged, the excuse given is that due to the crowded airspace and high stress levels, controllers need to save time by speaking faster; But all this does is waste time because they are constantly being asked to "say again".

A nice apocryphal tale has a pilot from Georgia on approach to JFK responding to the incomprehensibly rapid chatter from ATC with a slow drawl: "Do y'all hear how fast I am a talkin'? 'Cause that’s how fast I am a listenin'".
Click to expand...

It looks like they are some of the last holdouts on using Controller–pilot data link comms in conjunction with voice commands. Supposedly implemented by the end of this past April.
FAA En Route Domestic CPDLC
 
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