I think the kid was easier to understand than the controller, and I’m from NY. His speed of delivery and accent are tough to deal with.
I can’t argue with that. Though he did give the incorrect callsign for Aeromexico.
+1! And I’m a NYC native as well.
As heartwarming as this story appears and as amusing as it might be to hear the kid’s voice emanating from the radio, it was a very, very poor example of professional conduct.
Hence ends “Take your child to work” program? 
I don’t see anything wrong with that… All he’s saying is contact departure and clear for takeoff, and you know someone is telling him when to say it…
Pretty cool! 
I love that he said “adios”
I have no problem with it. Now if the controller was working intersecting runways and had multiple arrivals and departures I’d feel a little uneasy…
One more thing for the FAA to waste time on. Now, like fly said, if it was intersecting runways, that is one thing, but “simple” things like “contact departure” is no big deal. The kid had to remember one thing, who he was talking to. The rest was a no brainer…so to speak.
FAA, like they usually do, are going to blow this way out of proportion.
I heard this story on the radio on my drive into the office and the way the reporterer described it was ALOT worse than what actually happened apparently. I had this vision of jets full of terrified passengers screeching past each other over JFK and an unattended toddler giggling on the mic watching it all happen, while his father is passed out in an inebriated state with a warm budweiser in his hand.
Exactly! Another example of CYA. Hell, this kid is better than the grumpy guy working 120.8!
No, this might be an instance where a proper response is an over-reaction.
Towers are supposedly closed to non-licensed personnel.
It didn’t always used to be that way. I remember taking several tower tours, including one when I was a kid where the controller showed me how to enter the flight information into the computer for handoffs. We once got a tour of the tower at SHV just by asking the controller while we were taxiing in. They sent someone over to the FBO to pick us up.
I think this is going to be a deal that the media blows out of proportion.
I fear your prediction will soon come to life.
I would question the judgment of the pilots who accepted clearance onto the runway and into the air from a kid. Post 9/11, in New York, I think you have to stop and ask yourself, what is going on here? Fortunately the kid didn’t have a middle eastern accent and say ‘allah akbar’ after each transmission.
Well lets see. First we fire the controller, then we fire the supervisor. We suspend everyone in the room who had knowledge and did not report it. Then jet blue should call the crew on the carpet for not reporting a gross violation of the FARs. I am a
professional pilot and take exception to this type of activity. It was not cute by any means and has no defence at all.
Thank You
Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel.
Tool
So please…answer me this…what harm came of it?
other than getting a couple of experienced controllers losing thier jobs?
and by the looks of it…it appears you self righteous politically correct folks got your wish.
foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587801,00.html
What a bunch of HOG WASH … This was not a gross miscarriage of safety and he was under the control of an instructor and doing minor calls. He prolly will be a controller for life now … Unless the Gutless PC BOO HOO’s get their way.
You accept instructions from Green controllers dont you
They are prolly more nervous than this kid and Make more mistakes than he did.
GEEZ AMERICA HAS LOST ITS SENSE OF HUMOR … we cant have fun anymore
Might as well lock us all in Padded rooms and watch nothing but CNN for our own good.
Its just getting sickening what people get worked up over these days. There is times to get worked up and THIS ISNT ONE OF THEM.
I think it was a very unwise decision by the kid’s dad, not because of any inherent danger, but because as an FAA employee he should know how easily the FAA can blow anything out of proportion, and how heads can roll for something that common sense says is harmless.