Short Final: Left Turn

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 04:14 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An air traffic controller instructed a pilot to make a "left turn," but the pilot initially misread or misheard it as a "right turn."
The tower corrected the pilot, who then acknowledged the "left turn" and humorously remarked on the lengthy alternative of a "right turn."
The interaction concluded with the tower's deadpan response, "It's been done," implying that such significant navigational errors or extreme deviations have occurred previously.

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I recently heard this at Detroit Metropolitan Airport:

Tower: “Airliner 123, left turn to heading 185. Cleared for takeoff 21R.”

Pilot: “Right turn 185, cleared for takeoff 21R.”

Tower: “That’s a left turn, 185.”

Pilot: “Left turn 185 … that would’ve been a really long right turn.”

Tower (completely deadpan): “It’s been done.”

Chris Iriarte
Detroit, MI