Short Final: 007

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, August 08, 2023 at 12:50 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

During a flight, a pilot was handed off to approach control and received an unusual altimeter setting.
The air traffic controller playfully stated the altimeter as "James Bond," rather than the numerical value.
The pilot initially questioned the instruction but quickly understood the 007 reference, responding with the correct altimeter setting of "3-0-0-7" (30.07).

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I recently had a long flight from Somerset, New Jersey, to Houston Southwest Texas. I don’t remember which approach controller it was, but when I got handed off to him and I checked in, he acknowledged, “Malibu 7MX, XYZ approach, altimeter James Bond.”

I wasn’t sure what I heard so I said, “Say again?”

My brain finally processed it before finishing those two words, so I laughed and followed up with “3-0-0-7, 7MX.”

Sree Velicheti
Warren, New Jersey