Short Final: Be Right Back

Monday, March 30, 2020 at 11:08 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

An IFR pilot's emotions swung from disappointment to elation during a brief air traffic control exchange.
The pilot's initial "Awwww..." upon a "disregard" instruction quickly turned into "Woo-hoo!" when the controller promised to return with more information.
The anecdote humorously illustrates the strong impact routing and clearance changes can have on IFR pilots.

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Every IFR pilot knows the joys and sorrows of routing. Flying home from Massachusetts one afternoon, I heard the following exchange:

NY controller: “King Air XXXX, climb and … disregard.”

Pilot: “Awwww…”

NY controller: “I’ll be right back with you.”

Pilot: “Woo‑hoo!”

Ed Fischer
Philadelphia, PA