O.K. ... here we go once more ... looks like I gotta' be the 'mean' guy again ... some of you boys are so unbelievably PC and 'touchy-feely' it makes one's eyes glaze over ...
JFK on a 'good day' is one of the most fucked up airports in the western world -- and that's on all sides of the runways. Goofy procedures, ATC screw-ups, tower hysteria, heavy local traffic, foreign carriers, HEAVY radio traffic, lazy ramp-rats, lazy mechanics, the WX, the Mafia, graft, corruption, incompetence, theft, armed robbery, murder ... and that's on a good day.
This 'guy' had no business putting his kid on the radio. It's completely unprofessional and potentially hazardous. If a pilot did it -- he'd be fried. A kid's voice on the frequency has NO place in a busy terminal area, especially one as dysfunctional as JFK. With 'whatever, no harm, no foul .... ' attitudes such as this 'guy' (and some of you) are promoting, it's not hard to see WHY airports/ATC's like JFK are fucked up.
He deserves a month 'vacation'; consider it a 'special time' so he can spend some more time w/ his kid(s) ... ???
Does the concept of 'sterile cockpit' ring a bell w/ anyone ??? It applies & counts on both ends of the frequency.
For the record: this is probably the ONLY time I've ever agreed w/ the 'now honorable' J. Randall Babbitt, so consider that a milestone at the very least ...
Well go figure. This is one of the rare times I disagree with A4s.
While JFK may indeed be chaotic, and in fact "appear" to be the "most fucked up airports in the western world," the guys in the tower are some of the best in the country. It is they that have to work heavy radio traffic, foreign carriers who don't always accurately understand English, an airport layout that is confusing and crowded, multiple and simultaneous departures and arrivals, and lousy weather half the time. And their NY commute is horrible, they have to put up with the mafia, the Feds, extreme differences in piloting expertise, runway incursions, guys lost in taxiing or taking a wrong turn, etc., etc, etc. Therefore, only the best controllers are assigned there.
But JFK, for all its busy times and chaos, also has some extended periods of little or no traffic. It is also not uncommon for those at the top of their profession, during more relaxed times, to do some things while not illegal, but are definitely, "non-standard". You and I with our many years of experience behind us have both probably done some "non-standard' things. :icon_wink
A sterile cockpit still allows for necessary transmissions. And everything the kid said was by the book.... except maybe "adios." ('course I used to say "adios" a lot too, especially out of Mexico.) As a fledgling SNA, with a then squeaky voice not unlike the kid's, and having no clue as to what I should say, I once followed and repeated my instructor's words verbatim in transmissions to New York Center and Approach. Was that wrong?
Agree probably bad headwork on the controller's part. But over the years, I have heard the same type of thing many times. And I have also let ATC jumpseaters talk and receive instructions from controllers on the ground. And back in the day when our flight attendants could ride in the cockpit jumpseat, (and before there were many female pilots) we occasionally let them transmit to Center. Certainly the JFK departing aircraft not only understood the clearances, but also enjoyed them. In this day and age of everybody running scarred, a little change in the routine is a rare bright spot.
This is a tempest in a teapot that has caught the media's attention with all their hype, necessitating unnecessary overreaction on those in authority. I say, no harm, no foul. Just chew the controller out a bit and let's move on to more important stuff like duty limits, fatigue, ATC archaic and faulty equipment, understaffing, etc. You know, those things that really affect safety, rather than a kid who is sharper and more articulate than some in local airport towers.