A Day in the Life: Air Traffic Controller

Last updated 10 months ago

1 question

Instructions

Read through a Day in the Life of your new job. Use the word bank to drag and drop the missing words into the correct spot to complete the worksheet.

Required

The international airport where you work is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and every flight is directed by multiple air traffic controllers. You usually have 8-hour shifts for 5 straight days, and then have 4 days off. Today, your shift in the 1. ______________________  begins at 3:00 pm. You prefer working in the afternoon to the early morning, since you have to wake up at 5:00 am on those days! You begin the shift by coordinating the 2. ______________________  in your assigned sector of airspace. You are a little on edge because the forecast calls for evening windstorms. Sudden downdrafts can be dangerous for aircraft, and severe weather can wreak havoc on air traffic schedules. However, you can’t let that distract you, since dozens of aircraft are waiting for your instructions. A plane takes off every few minutes, so your directions to the pilots must be both quick and precise  The flight plan you review for each departure has already been established with the FAA and pre-filed by the dispatch officer; the same flight paths are often used for regular destinations. The 3. ______________________  indicates the type of aircraft, the route the pilot intends to use, and possible alternate routes. Once a flight plan is sent to the control tower, a flight strip is printed automatically. The tower keeps a physical copy of all flight plans in the rare case of an emergency system failure. Pilots must contact ground control to receive 4. ______________________  before the planes can take off. A pilot radios to you, “Tower, Skyway 789 is ready for departure.” After you read over the flight plan, scan the runway, and check the radar for obstacles, you confirm, “Skyway 789, you are cleared for departure.” High up in the control tower, you act as the pilot’s eyes while the plane taxis towards the runway. It can be difficult to see an aircraft in fog or storms, so you sometimes rely on ground surveillance radar to track its course. Despite the bad weather, there are many flights scheduled for this afternoon, and you focus on directing smooth departures. After each take off, you monitor the plane until it leaves your sector of airspace. Once the plane has ascended past a certain altitude, another air traffic controller tracks the en-route flight using long-range radar. At 5:00 pm, you take an hour-long break. Air traffic controllers take several breaks during each shift, as the high-pressure job requires sustained concentration. After all, you are responsible for many people’s lives every day! Next, you switch to coordinating the arrivals in your 5. ______________________ . You adjust the flight paths for planes approaching the airport from several directions in order to merge their landings seamlessly onto one runway. You broadcast the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), which gives updates on weather conditions, wind speed, and the active runway. The pilots need this information for their descents. For one arrival, you state, “Icarus 542, runway 25 Right, winds are out of the Northeast at 28 knots. You are cleared to land.” The plane touches down on the runway and uses the air brakes to slow down. Once it leaves the active runway and turns onto a clear taxiway, the ground controller advises the pilot which gate to approach. You eat dinner during your 8:00 pm break. When you get back to your desk, you notice that the wind has picked up substantially. You check the forecast for the next 4 to 6 hours and issue a warning to pilots about windshear, since these sudden changes in wind direction can be dangerous if a pilot is not expecting them. As you have been assigned to a satellite position for the rest of your shift, you use an advanced 6. ______________________  system to monitor the flight paths of aircraft in your sector. At 11:00 pm, you hand over control to the next shift, making sure to mention the windshear warning. Your job can be exhausting, but you love the challenge and excitement of being the eyes in the skies!