Short Final: Information Whiskey

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, July 05, 2022 at 04:03 PM ET

Verified

Image: Phillip Capper - CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons

Key Takeaways:

A pilot flying for Patient Airlift Services (PALS) let a passenger listen to air traffic control during a flight.
When ATC asked to confirm ATIS information "Whiskey," the passenger mistakenly thought it referred to an alcoholic beverage.
The passenger questioned the pilot's sobriety, prompting the pilot to explain the phonetic alphabet and ATIS system.

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I do flights in my Cessna Cardinal for PALS, Patient Airlift Services, such as flying people with cancer to their medical appointments in another city. On one recent flight, I decided to let my passenger/patient put a headset on so she could hear me talking to the controllers.

Well, we were taking off from Hudson Valley Regional Airport, Poughkeepsie, and ATIS information Whiskey was current. The ground controller, when I called ready to taxi asked, “Confirm you have Whiskey.”

I of course did.

Once we took off, my passenger asked me, with her eyes wide open in surprise, “It’s okay to fly with whiskey? I certainly hope you’re sober.”

I had to explain the terminal information system and the phonetic alphabet to her to keep my reputation intact.

Brian Gately

Brooklyn, New York