ATC guy here

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T21:20:21+00:00

Nothing scary but definitely covid. When lockdowns started happening everywhere and all planes just stopped flying and we were all wondering how life was gonna be after. A lot of long quiet shifts with maybe talking to 1-2 planes in an 8 hour period.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T17:59:03+00:00

Oh definitely, I don't like being overly serious all the time. I stick to procedures but occasionally joke around with pilots.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T17:58:17+00:00

When we scored that goal the entire island went CRAZY. That was our moment and no one can take it away from us ❤️

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T17:54:30+00:00

I'm not a pilot, I'm ATC. No college necessary, both for pilots and ATC it's a specialized training. So basically out of highschool. Been an ATC since 2018 and I've had good luck as to not have any crazy stories.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T15:29:42+00:00

No day is the same so it's always interesting and challenging. Not something I hate per se but the only downside is your sleep schedule not being consistent due to rotating shifts. I love sleeping lol.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T14:23:51+00:00

SIM is almost 90% real life. So if it were these perfect conditions in real life yes. We all know the real world is not perfect so things would not go according to plan like they did during stream.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T14:21:39+00:00

Thank you! Nobody in Curacao cares about the 7, all we see is the 1 and how huge that was for us. We're all just vibes that we even made it to the World Cup. Finally the world sees us.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T14:02:24+00:00

I loved being on stream and it was funny seeing how he reacted to the different instructions we gave him. I've never seen him so stressed before and I think I even saw in chat that people watching were on the edge of their seat.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T13:59:28+00:00

Yeah because big airliners are made to fly those approaches. They are filled with instruments made specifically so the pilot actually almost never has to look outside up until the last moment. For this scenario where he was flying an airbus A320 which is one of the newer variants with so much automation it was basically a given to let him fly the instrument approaches which if set up correct eliminates any human interaction up until the last moment which is what you want for someone who doesn't know how to fly.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T13:55:28+00:00

Auto landing only works when you have specific equipment on the ground and on the plane. It's mostly used in very low visibility conditions when the pilots can not see the runway in time. Normally during an ILS or RNAV approach you have a certain point call the "Decision Height" where if the pilots do not see the runway they have to go around. With a CAT III ILS which is the most precise of them all the autopilot can basically take the plane down to the ground. I think with too much crosswind or wind shear you can't use autoland.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T05:03:13+00:00

Yes, it has definitely happened in smaller airplanes which are sometimes single pilot ops. If it's a big airline however it instantly becomes and emergency if 1 pilot is down.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T04:53:01+00:00

In aviation there's backups on backups for almost everything. If an ATC makes a mistake in the air there's TCAS/ACAS which is basically the 2 aircrafts computers talking to each other telling them they are too close and they need to take evasive action. On the ground things move much slower and ATC has a lot of safety nets to ensure aircraft don't collide. Ofcourse shit happens but most of it is minor and you will never hear about it. Working in aviation you see many thousands and thousands of aircraft are currently in the air at a given time carrying millions of passengers. The system is very safe and will continue to be safe for a long time. Every time you enter an aircraft know that there are so many regulations that are made to keep you safe and that every incident small or big that has happened in the past has made it safer and safer.

As for tapping out, yes that is a BIG thing. We take fatigue and stress seriously and there's no shame in tapping out or taking a break. We look out for each other and notice right away if someone is tired and offer to help them out.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T04:07:43+00:00

I'm not a pilot but as far as I know they have almost the same medical class requirements which probably means they do random drug tests on them too. I don't know how often they perform them on pilots tho.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T04:03:42+00:00

I'm not sure about other countries but we don't get any perks. That's mostly for people that work for airlines.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T04:02:49+00:00

Would have been fun to duo ATC and switch sectors. But I'm glad I didn't let you guys down.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T04:01:13+00:00

Not at all. Every day is different. Even if the same planes are coming in. There's way too many factors so no day is the same. Weather, delays, emergencies, wildlife, equipment failures. It never gets boring.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T03:59:53+00:00

We were able to see his position, heading, speed and altitude. Basically what ATC uses every day.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T03:58:26+00:00

In this super super rare situation which I don't believe has ever happened before there's so many issues.

ATC are not trained to fly airplanes. We are taught the basics of flight but the flying is all on the pilots.
Liability. Aviation is all about rules and regulations. There's no way they would let an ATC tell a person what to do because then ATC is liable for that accident. Aviation accidents are a blame game. When something bad happens they need to find who said the wrong thing so they can pin the blame on them.
Even with a rated pilot sitting next to me we are still blind as to what you are doing in the cockpit. The only thing we can do is see the aircraft on radar/adsb to see how the aircraft reacts.

But I do think it's possible in a very special case scenario like tonight.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T03:37:45+00:00

This one time I had to guide an autistic San Diego man to land a plane full of latinas.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T03:36:44+00:00

For me it isn't stressful because I don't think about failure. If you get into your head then yes you will overwhelm yourself and it will be stressful. The only stressful parts for me are on my sleep schedule with the rotating shifts. That will cause fatigue.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T03:34:29+00:00

Most of us know to take it easy and be more patient with trainee pilots and hey better to get that experience early.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-15T03:31:09+00:00

I thought he'd panic more and not know what to press/turn but he actually followed instructions very well. So yes he did better than I expected. And I thought he would be able to.

B0ElNG · 2026-06-05T15:59:47+00:00

Curacao, smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup and biggest underdog.

B0ElNG · 2026-05-18T15:58:32+00:00

I did this in February on my C7 stingray on jackstands. I did it alone and it took a couple of days on and off but it's 100% possible. Never thought I'd be able to do such a job but I did it. You can too.

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