Super Angry Controller YELLING AT PILOTS!! | Is this Safe At All? 

Unfortunately the radio receiver cannot pick up transmission from too far away by 324WL and Reliant but that was really intense and NOT JUSTIFIED at all. Would I be pilot of any of those airplanes - even if not involved like 55H also getting yelled at - and am definitely calling that number to request good explanations.

lol I was in 8261H as all This was unfolding… 234WL in a nutshell said “I’m out of your airspace and VFR I don’t need to tell you where I’m going”. Instant trigger

This was panic induced anger. He seemed to be very worried about a mid-air collision

TBF, he melted down when multiple aircraft appeared to be ignoring him and were headed toward each other. But yeah, the meltdown just made everything much worse. I suspect he just needed a Snickers bar.

This is normal communication when you are married with 4 kids.

Im good friends pilot who was flying WL. Weather was clear and nice, he was doing training with a newer captain in the aircraft. He was outside DXRs airspace the whole time, and after he was instructed to make the last turn (they had been vectored around many more times than were in the video) he simply requested he was going to cancel all his requests and proceed elsewhere. That’s when the controller lost his stuff. He had visual contact with the other aircraft at all times, and shifted his focus from the radios to helping the captain fly the aircraft.

"Anger" from "Inside Out" gets a job as ATC.

This is a tough one. It's a contract tower and it's staffed by a guy who clearly has issues with his attitude control - but based on the animation only, it appears that the aircraft he was trying to communicate with were either non-responsive or were only taking his instructions as suggestions. While I agree that pilots should follow the ANC rule, if a controller is issuing instructions with "immediate" in the phrasing, you do it first and quickly and then ask questions later. I guess I'd say it was a perfect storm of panicky controller and obstinate or lackadaisical pilots.

I HAVE SO MANY AIRCRAFT TO CONTROL! (Has 4 aircraft in the pattern.) I hope someone reports these kind of interactions to the FAA. 4 planes in your pattern is not a lot.

To provide some additional context on the missing transmissions as someone who was in the pattern. All of the questions and instructions were responded to by both 2WL and RLI379, but if the initial words were not to the controllers liking, he would step on the rest of the transmission to repeat the request in a very loud fashion, unlike anything I’ve personally witnessed from ATC before as a professional pilot. Both aircraft were VFR and outside the Class D when their “conflict” occurred. As you can see, they are separated by at least 500 feet, and a mile or 2. After tower called for the initial left 360, 379 replied that they had traffic in sight, and that it wouldn’t be a factor. That probably should have been the end of it, as they were vfr. Obviously it wasn’t. I’m not qualified to say what’s appropriate for a controller to do in any given situation, as I’m not one myself, but this incident left a bad taste in the mouth of everyone involved. Clearly the controller was concerned for safety, but it seemed like he allowed the stress to get to him too much when dealing with aircraft that were outside of his control.

ATC : GET OFF MY FREQUENCY! GET AWAY ! Plane : aight Also ATC 10 seconds later : hey you still here ?

Didn't know the Portland Rose Parade road rage truck guy was an ATC.

If i ever enter an airspace with a controller yelling like that, as long as i got fuel.....im staying outta that airspace. No sense putting yourself in a situation like that. Controller has lost control and situational awarness is destroyed

This air traffic controller sounds like he's close to a nervous breakdown. The pilots not doing what he wants them to do when he wants them to do it, is merely the spark that ignites the explosive fuel mixture.

Saw angry controller in the title and the mind raced to JFK until i saw the rest of it 😂

"Get off my frequency now!" ... "Are you still with me?" - What the hell?

This guy doesn’t belong anywhere near a control tower.

Somebody needs anger management intervention!! That totally unacceptable. I've been in numerous very stressful situations over my 30yrs service as a Firefighter/ EMS Medical First Responder. Multiple fatality, explosions, structure fire and helicopter crashes. You MUST keep a calm and well enunciated voice. Our best 911 Dispatchers are always calm and that helps keep commanders at IC calm.

He was controlling 4 planes......

If you call for an aircraft to make a 360 then they are going to make a standard rate turn (3 degrees/second, turn completed in 2 minutes). So if you want them to turn faster, you need to call that out to begin with. This guy should know that.

This sounds really bad on the controller's part; stress is part of the job, and if he loses his temper like this on a regular basis he's definitely not suited for it. But I'm curious to hear the pilots' side of the story, as apparently they didn't want to do the 360's he requested for some reason? Too bad their radio calls weren't picked up.

Maybe it was closer than it looked to me, but from what I could see there was no risk of an imminent collision.

He sounds like the principal on beavis and butthead when he about has a coronary from their shenanigans.

Controllers aren’t super-human….they’re just…human. Everyone has a breaking point that on-the-job stressors and personal (outside of work) stressors can exacerbate. I’m assuming this controller doesn’t typically behave in this fashion. Clearly, some mental health intervention is needed. Either a long vacation or professional help….or something in between.

Wow! That was pretty horrific... It is difficult to find any transmissions from that controller that used standard phraseology. He didn't even specify the runway he was clearing people to land on... Has he received any training at all?

This is reminding me of Northwest Airlink 5719 where the captain was just as angry at his colleagues for the simplest of things. Whatever what 324WL was doing, the controller was instilling fear in the other pilots under his watch with that tone of voice. They are worried that if they mess up they would also get a browbeating by the controller too. Being this angry in the aviation industry nine times out of ten never ends well.

My first GA flight ever was at DXR 48 years ago. Glad this jack wagon wasn't there to influence my decision to pursue aviation as a career!

I go to a Part 141 and it can get pretty hectic for our controllers. During a checkride on departure there was 6 aircraft in the pattern and more ready to depart. If this guy can't handle the 4 planes he has now, I'd hate to see what he would do in the non-radar environment at my school.

Pilots weren't responding. Busy day. Okay, but losing your composure won't help.

Looks to me like WL decided it wasn't worth the headache and just left. If he was out of the D airspace, which it looks like from the map that he was, the controller has no say in the matter.

When I learned to fly home field routinely had 4-6 in pattern all day long and it was uncontrolled

So he told Reliant 379 to do a left 360 then screamed at him when he was to do a right 360. He shouted and screeched at 4WL to the point where most people would have been confused about the instructions given. Also - him crying about how busy he is with 5 aircraft on screen is an absolute joke. If that’s how he sees it, it’s absolutely not the job for him. I hope he’s never allowed in a tower again. Imagine having him in charge of an emergency. TERRIFYING is how best to describe that. What a jerk.

That angry guy hasn’t gotten any pudding in a while 😂

Is that Danny Devito from Taxi in that tower?😅😂😅 He's going through it. Sounds like a taxi dispatcher from the 80's

"RL379, I need you to make a 360 RIGHT Turn" few minutes later... "R379, I need you to make a 360 immediately....make a LEFT turn...immediately. "

I wonder how many hours per day, and consecutive days, this controller has been working. Either that or he just has anger issues.

Lol I think this guy or his twin works at JPX in the summer. Loses his mind if more than 4 planes are in the sky and starts yelling at everyone. Some poor Challenger pilot genuinely said thanks for your help to him and he blew up. Lots of NY controllers who get bounced end up as angry contract tower controllers.

Everyone seems to be calling out the controller only on this. Based on the given feed, I think there’s enough there for the blame to be passed around to the pilots as well.

Need the other side of comms to make any determination. It could be that ATC was giving bad instructions or it could be that N234WL was ignoring ATC and deliberately turning into traffic.

Someone needs a mental health day

Well that was unsettling. I get what the ATC was concerned about. It almost seems like they were all having radio issues. Or maybe 324WL set off a chain reaction of fuckery? I really don't know what to make of that hash.

For clarity Danbury is a contract tower. This is NOT an FAA staffed facility. When I heard the teaser my first thought was ( and I still have my doubts) this is fake. What is missing and apparently not available is whether Reliant or other aircraft were hearing some of his transmissions. While it’s no excuse for the unprofessional demeanor of the controller I can’t imagine that many pilots just ignoring clearances. If this is true the issues this video raises is far more than the controller. In the ned though I just cannot believe this is real. I feel like somebody might have faked the audio for this. I’ve never flown through the airspace so I don’t speak with anything more than instinct.

Sure, the ATC lost his cool and might want to contemplate a career change, but you also had some goobers in the air.

Scary stuff, I hope that controller gets the help he needs.

Controller wasted so much time yelling at one aircraft when he could have been more adaptable to a fluid situation. Seems so concerned about two coming together yet he put a departure on the runway in front of a bird on short finale where the landing aircraft questioned her clearance to land. Years ago I worked with a controller who had a similar problem of yelling at pilots. He was from the big Apple and he was high strung. He Later bid out to Kennedy where I heard he did fine. Dansbury is a privately controlled facility so he was probably working alone.

I wonder what 234WL was saying or arguing against? Guaranteed the controller went a little nuts, but who needs the 3rd degree after a midair because some clot wouldn't listen?

N234WL just deciding to fly in front of other traffic and take whatever route they felt like instead of following ATC was the issue here.

Seemed to be panicked that those planes would end up in a collision. Not saying that what he did was right, but sometimes using a nice tone, doesn't get people to "get a move on" like they would with "that" tone. Just like kids... you can be nice all you want, but when mom/dad uses that tone, you best move your ass, STAT.

I am usually quick to take ATCs side because that job is stressful af and they deserve more grace than people usually give them but man this was just unacceptable. It's not the anger, it's the fact that instructions are overshadowed by the anger.

lol every time I flew into Danbury I always heard this guy. He always sounded like that but never thought it would be like this

NONE of this nonsense should be tolerated. Apparently, the controller had a bit too much coffee that day. Nonetheless, that interaction need to be brought to the attention of the supervisor and run it up the ladder.

DXR is a contract tower. Some contract controllers are excellent, some are this guy or the guy at SQL

Sure the controller melted but what kind of pilots are these that don't comply with ATC instructions?!? Total sh*t show going on here...

Seems like dude needs to make a right 360 😅

He needs a new job.

This is where I learned to fly. I believe I was once yelled at by this controller too years ago on one of my first solos. BUT it was my error as I read back his instruction incorrectly. Still, the yelling made my already stressful solo that much more

Sounds like a controller’s worst nightmare. Planes on a collision course apparently ignoring his instructions. Then he wakes up to discover he really is on VAS aviation 😱😂

The gap between the best of controllers and the worst is kind of horrifying. I’ve been lucky in recent years to have nothing but good but I’ve had a few basket cases in the past…

Sounds like the pilots really didn't trust his instructions... I wonder why?

Picked a helluva day to quit sniffing paint thinner...

That guy needs to get his tickets pulled and then be reassessed.

This is truly unacceptable behavior.

Poor guy got really stressed but he did his best to pull himself out of it. Other pilots kept their cool, by the sound of it. Do controllers not always work the same airfield? Was this a different field for him?

Wow! He is def in the wrong job!

This is absolutely embarrassing

Holy mackerel - i wouldn't have believed it had i not heard it. This controller was spazzier than the spazziest person i ever worked with - yikes.

Am I reading it right? There was 500+ feet of vertical separation between N234WL and RLI379?

I wonder if the ATC transmitter is badly positioned so there are some directions and altitudes where you can’t hear ATC. Seems like a hell of a coincidence that several different aircraft weren’t responding to him, including some professional pilots in presumably well-equipped jets.

"Alright, standby" - HORRIBLY vague comms from the get-go Alright = approved as requested? I understand you, but I need you to hang on until I sort something else out? That doesn't make sense, let me think about it. Standby = until when? do I continue? Where do I go?

This controller either needs a long vacation or find a job in a different industry.

So now we get pretty much what we came for in the first thirty seconds. Thanks, see ya.

Seems like both 4WL and the controller are to blame, but the controller takes the lion's share. 4WL legit followed his earlier instructions to turn South then turn back inbound. Meanwhile his toolbag is screeching like a banshee over what, 4 planes? He needs to find new employement, I fly in and out of TTN, PNE, LNS and other smaller Class Ds in the area, and I those guys get swamped with GA, heli, light jet and even airliner traffic and I've only rarely had a bad interaction with them. This kind of overreaction is completely unnecessary, esp for 4 planes

I really don't understand why people always blame the controller instead of the incompetent pilot? I've seen multiple videos where the pilot is definitely in the wrong but people wanna blame the controller. 234WL didn't do ANYTHING the controller asked and caused a major conflict. The controller could've changed their tone but seriously, people are worried more about tone rather than the fact 4WL caused a major safety incident.

ATC 😂 told him to "get away" then tried to reconnect after he forgot to give him a phone number

Sounds like an average VATSIM session.

Anger issues aside, this controller needs some training on how to clear aircraft to land too. Most of the clearances he doesn't say the runway. In this instance it's obvious everyone is landing 8, but DXR has an intersecting runway so he really should be calling it out every time

What does a controller do when pilots are not following directions and safety is in jeopardy? They get excited, worried, concerned, scared, whatever word you want to use. His anger and forcefulness was appropriate. With only one side of the conversation, it is difficult to assess, but to me it appears that N234WL felt a bit entitled to go wherever he pleased. He flew right across final for an active runway that presumably he knew was active. There have been a few videos on this channel of entitled pilots who ignored ATC directions because it made their direction of flight a bit more drawn out or inconvenient. I hate that! When flying in controlled air space there should be no arguments with the controller. His/her situational awareness is 99% of the time going to be better than yours. Do what you are freaking told unless it presents a clear hazard, or get out of the airplane! Those folks are there to keep you safe first and then to accommodate you and a dozen others if possible. As a pilot, especially a student or private pilot, you have absolutely zero right to demand anything or to unilaterally do whatever you want.

As long as this guy stays at Danbury tower wherever that is and away from an actual busy facility that would be greeeatt lol. That was actually comical, but I legit hope he gets the help he needs.

Imagine what everyone on the frequency is so thinking.

Does anybody else know a worse controller reaction? I sure don't recall one this rough.

I guess he should have diverted other aircraft away from the reliant (not so reliant) aircraft.

Better off as an ATC for drone racing.

He must have been an old NYC cabbie prior to this

ATC sounded just like Danny from Quincy who calls into Boston sports radio stations screaming about Boston sports teams.

ATC needs to maintain a calm tone. There is also pilots up there that may be under pressure and this controllers shouting is not helping the situation

The controller lost his sh*&, and made things much worse than they needed to be.

5:23 "4WL, by any chance, are you still with me?" Yeah, probably not

"You ain't the boss of me" - N234WL

There was guys talking about this in the flying subreddit. Had no idea it was this bad lol 😅

Mental breakdown guy needs some help

Disturbing.

This controller made a few mistakes that made it worse. 1:23 he said fly 2 miles south and make a right turn which would have put him on final going the wrong way. I suspect he meant HIS right which would have been a left for the aircraft. 4WL complied with the turn south but then I suspect got confused and didn't make the turn. Not sure what 4WL said at 2:25 that made the controller say he didn't give a clearance yet, he already had given him clearance to establish himself on final. Then at 3:53 he tells Reliant to make a left 360 which if the radar timing is correct would have put them in a situation where the turn would have kept them from seeing the traffic. Then at 4:33 he tells them to make a RIGHT 360. Dude needs to go back to kindergarten and learn the difference between left and right.

I got bad news for you guys. DXR is a CONTRACT tower so the FAA cannot do ANYTHING regarding poor controller professionalism. PLEASE file a complaint with one or all of the following companies Midwest Air Traffic Control Services, Robinson Aviation (RVA), Inc., RVA-CI Squared Aviation, Inc., and Serco Management Services, Inc. These contract towers tend to be smaller in size and operation, typically employing between five and 10 controllers, many of whom are retired FAA and military air traffic controllers.

What a mess he made of his airspace.

Controller tells 34WL to fly 2 miles south then turn right. He does that, turns right, then controller yells at him that he hasn't given him clearance yet?

Where's my couple of "possible pilot deviations" and accompanying "I have a phone number for yous"?

3:41 in any type arriving or departing situation all us ATC's need to keep that calm nature..not this spectacle...wow. No good DXR...

When I close my eyes tonight, all I will hear echoing in my mind is “make a right 360”.

That controller has a big problem and should see someone ASAP. He lost it big time.

What the hell