I once got the dreaded "Please call this number after you land," but I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything wrong. At least, no one demanded I "Say intentions" indicating I was where I shouldn't be or pointed the wrong way. I placed the call, and all they wanted was my input on a Lear Jet that was in the pattern and made an unexpected 360. They were pretty pissed at that other pilot. I was pretty pissed I didn't own a Lear.

I've gotten a call like this when I was a flight instructor, there was a loss of separation between my aircraft and another IFR aircraft in front of me. Took a few days, but after the logs and tapes were reviewed it was found that I was not at fault and neither was my student, the tower controller made a mistake. Getting that call was the biggest weight off my shoulders in a long time.

"Be honest, don't make excuses and learn from your mistakes" is something that applies to ALL careers.

Hearing “I got a phone number for you to copy” from ATC is the equivalent of knowing you are going to get suspended in high school when the “principal wants to see you.” 😢

Pilots Violated?!? Boy, the FAA is tougher than I thought😳

"be honest and tell the truth"....reminds me of the saying "Eat Crow when it's young and tender lest you are forced to eat it when it's old and tough"

I'm a retired air traffic controller. After all these years I still love aviation and I much appreciate your channel. Keep up the good work.

I feel like “I have a number for you to copy” hits the same as when your parents say your full name. I swear the only reason we have middle names is so we know when we’re in trouble!

Be honest and take responsibility is true, not just for pilots.. for everybody. Being honest, making a mistake and learning from it is how you grow and makes you a better person. Kelsey is a great guy and why I'm a long time subscriber that's not a pilot.

How Kelsey (and all pilots) can understand that high speed prattle from ATC is beyond me. It's like someone on a radio mumbling under their breath how to defuse the atom bomb you're strapped to. Totally outside my ability. I'd be infuriating ATCs by asking them to repeat instructions. A lot.

Reminds me one of my favorite quotes (supposedly) from Mark Twain: “Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.”

Ode to the Automatic Pilot: I really hate this damned machine; I wish that they would sell it. It never does quite what I want; But only what I tell it.

Everyone loves 74 Gear... Pure class

I'm amazed how pilots can listen and follow a controller quickly saying a lot of numbers and things with audio quality that matches a drive-through speaker. A slight misunderstanding can lead to big trouble and you can have pilots/controllers from all around the world.

I love the way you explain in great detail....I could kick back and listen to all your pilot stories over a beer

I got my pilots license back in 1978 as a 19 year old teenager. Flying was easy, the hard part was ground school for me. Had I been able to listen to these videos you make, I would have been much more confident getting on the radio. I really enjoy hearing these, thanks.

I violated DC airspace once due to weather at low altitude (in a PA-25) and I couldn't get anyone on the radio to let them know what I was doing. By the time I made radio contact I was already out of the airspace and getting ready to land. Yep I had to call a number. Once they checked the weather and found it was worse than my briefing, all was good. Then I advised them to check on the 121.5 radio cause that wasn't working either (yes I tried it). Turns out that was out of service and not NOTAMed.

The dreaded, "WE NEED TO TALK" transmission from ATC... Well covered Kelsey - especially the part about being honest and take it as a learning experience. Integrity, honesty and humility are among some of the most important qualities every pilot needs to ensure a long career.

I love this one just because you can read so much into the pilots' voices lol. The silence, then the "...go ahead ready to copy" said in such a defeated tone.

At 10:21 it`s Hotel Victor Quebec...other than that...a great informative video as always. Thank you Kelsey!

ATC is like the disappointed dad of the skies

Sunday morning video from Kelsey is as comforting as a good cup of coffee.

Here is what I've learned from Kelsey and 74 Gear in the few years that I've been enjoying it: I would be SUCH a terrible airline pilot.

Kelsey - just dropping in to say thank you once again for educating me on all things flying, and doing it with a great sense of humor. I found your channel about 2 years ago and still look forward to that little bell letting me know it’s Kelsey time once again! ❤

Great lesson. I think everyone who has flown for a number of years.has received that dreaded call. I got mine flying out of CAFB , CA. I was instructing students (3pilots) and I either missed an altitude or heading as we were hopping between airports. I called once we were on the ground. Apologized profusely and owned it. Nothing came from the incident; however, I was much more attentive after that flight.

The title was phrased in an interesting way, I was thrown for a loop 😂 I thought pilots were literally violated

1million subscribers! Congrats! Glad you’re still making these videos

Thanks Kelsey for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. It really helps me.

Agreed. Anytime someone says "please call" or "come to my office", heart drops and thinking "oh crap, what did I do this time?"

I must admit, when I first read the title for this video I thought something quite sinister had happened to the pilots...

This is why I believe in the "T brief", in which you go across the autopilot panel and describe what is set and how you are going to use it. "Heading select at 400 feet, Vnav at 1000, I've got our heading 235, you've got the derate in...." and so forth. If they had done this, they would have caught that they weren't cleared to a fix, they were cleared to fly a heading. This sort of mistake is real easy to make! Phraseology can help as well, "Cleared for takeoff runway 24, left to 235 degrees" could have clued them in as well. Great video!

As a Roanoke resident, I never thought I'd hear Kelsey talk about KROA in one of his videos. We're not exactly a major hub, just a small regional airport in a bowl of mountains.

THATS MY HOME AIRPORT!! Wow best video of yours yet!

Kelsey, this was one of the best “inside baseball” videos I have seen from you, and appreciate the proper context, respect, and detail you provided. You are a class act.

I hate getting violated when I'm flying. 😁

It’s not the mistake you make that gets you in trouble, it’s how you deal with it.

You know it's gonna be good when you hear "prepare to copy a number"

I once got a "we have a number for you to call" from NY Approach after there was some confusion about my altitude assignment. When I called, they apologized to me for not handling me as the ifr flight that I was. Apparently, while I was completing the short flight they verified I had filed ifr, got clearance before takeoff and was checked in ifr after takeoff with an ifr altitude assignment. But, apparently the handoff-ee controller took me as vfr. There was no issue and the weather was vfr. Seemed no biggie to me but apparently it was a significant error judging by the way they acted. I'll always remember that. Made me feel like a big important pilot in my little Mooney.

Yep, happened to me during IFR training. I admit it was a brain fart, but I was greeted by the nastiest controller possible. First, I wanted to get clearance to do a missed approach and go to the hold fix and learn how to properly enter and fly a proper hold (I didn’t have a graphic gps so I had to time each leg). The approach controller yelled at me and said I cannot practice at his airport KGON. He was really nasty to me so I just went ahead with a missed approach . Turned me over tower and I just declared a missed approach and wanted to go back to my home airport KHPN. Here’s the mistake, which is my own fault. I continued flying but missed the right turn she told me to do. Then, to my surprise, had me go back to approach and the shit hit the fan! The same nasty controller said I was given a right turn. Then quite intentionally and overly aggressive told me “so you want to do some holding practice, he sent me to the hold fix at the appropriate altitude. After two circuits, he had me climb a thousand feet while still in hold. Two circuits later, another altitude change. By now I knew, for sure, he was enjoying torturing me. I could have just given up and flown away VFR, but I didn’t want to give this aggressive, vindictive controller the satisfaction by cancelling IFR. But during the third altitude change, my head was pounding so I cancelled IFR. That’s when I got the “ we have to talk!” He asked me why I deviated from the right turn and I honestly apologized and said that I was in training and had made a mistake. He had rattled me early with his brutal admonishment against practicing at his airport. Are you ready to copy a number, he asked. I copied it down and when we returned home my instructor called. He said it was his fault and spoke with someone. He asked to pull the tapes and see what this controller had put me through since the beginning and during the hold. I was really flustered and didn’t fly IFR for a week. There are nice ways to get a point across and I happened to come across one with a real bad attitude. Nothing came of it.

Hi Kelsey, This is one of my favourite videos from yourself. It's detailed, but the explanation is the key. I'm a simmer & love this type of information. Honesty is always the best policy, Slainte ❤

This is among 1 of probably 1000 other "gotcha's" that we encounter daily with ATC as pilots. Then you have the controller who is a fast talker, the controller who uses non-standard phraseology, the controller that can't keep his callsigns straight, the list goes on, and it all comes down to the pilot being able to read the instructions back, understand the instructions and then follow them.

My favorite part of Sunday is when Kelsey drops a new Video!

2:42 as a programmer I feel sorry for pilots when their instructions look as cryptic as Assembly language

Another great Sunday video from my favorite 747 pilot, well done Kelsey!

Once again I see parallels with other professions. I'm a nightshift team leader in IT support. I drill into my team that all of us WILL make mistakes, and the first thing to do is pause & tell another team member. Don't try to whitewash it or bury it. Unless there has been a deliberate and malicious intent, something discriminatory or violent, pretty much everything else can be dealt with. I play my role and remain the person ultimately responsible to my own management, I don't throw the individual under the bus, and all of us try to gather some learning. We can't change what's happened. This mindset works well for us because some nights it's my own turn to mess up. That happened recently, I did exactly what I ask of others, we worked it out and it was fine. Someone else made a mistake more recently that ended up being quite impactive, but again we followed our rules & we sorted it out calmly. Until someone invents a time machine, mistakes will happen in all industries and it's our shared responsibility as professionals to identify and control them with timeliness & honesty.

As a controller, I’ve got a couple things: I’ve never heard a heading given during a pre-departure clearance like that. Maybe this place has different procedures than other facilities but I’ve never been taught to do it that way. Headings are normally given during a takeoff clearance or a release from an uncontrolled airport. Second, it sounds like the departure controller didn’t have much going on. I’ve never violated a pilot unless there was a safety problem, like a loss of separation or going into an MVA or something like that. Otherwise I let it go if nothing bad happened. That’s not necessarily a good policy on my part but I usually err on the side of no harm, no foul. That being said, in this particular case the tower or a supervisor might have questioned what happened, so it might have become an official thing. And for pilots reading this, remember it’s a POSSIBLE pilot deviation. A lot will depend on the phone call and the circumstances involved. If I was this pilot I’d definitely mention that they didn’t get assigned a heading during takeoff, and I’d make sure not to cop an attitude with the person you’re talking to…this is usually going to be a supervisor who should have reviewed any recordings and talked to the controller involved. Filing a NASA form will also cover you in most situations so make sure to do that. The supervisor may just remind you to make sure you’re clear on procedures and let it go at that, they won’t necessarily elevate the situation to FSDO.

As a retired center controller and now an Airbus captain I can say that a Brasher warning does not mean a certainty of a pilot deviation. Many times it’s just a chat and that’s the end of it.

The way you phrased the title makes it sound to a layman like the pilots' punishment for getting lost was... sexual in nature.

Reading back IFR clearance is one of my favorites. Especially when I manage to write everything and repeat back on the first attempt 😂 I guess we are all complacent with the usual "fly runway heading", or being given a SID. This time they were given something different, and it messed up their "usual flow". Luckily, I fly Warriors, 172s, and Seminoles. No fancy electronics to load 😂

So much knowledge and it's such a shame no big filming studio has a decency to hire a pilot for consultaiton, whenever they shoot a plane scenes.

Great video. Love this channel and the effort you put into them. Though not a pilot, I learn a lot to implement into my simming.

That title was a real toss up “pilot violated “

There was that time Harrison Ford landed on a taxiway. He got a number and they had the phone call recorded. He calls the tower and says, :This is the (dumbass) who landed on the taxiway." He didn't try to make excuses and he didn't argue and just he just got a warning. A lot of people called out "celebrity privilege" but a lot of pilots said this was a typical result. The media tried to make a big deal that her flew over an airliner but it wasn't really a near disaster. I have discovered that not making excuses and arguing is extremely effective in getting out of a ticket. It won't always work, especially if you have a lot of tickets on your record, but it will work more often than not. I even got out of a ticket for running a red light and coming *REALLY* close to crashing into a cop car. I was honestly really shocked when the cop said, "I'll let you go with a warning this time."

I love this video please keep going. Keep up the good work!

Good morning Kelsey from Buenos Aires I love your videos.Thank you so much

I love this channel. Your stories are interesting and informative. Keep it up.

I fly in and out of ROA frequently. Depending on which controller you get, they can be pretty level headed and chill.

I know what you meant on the title of the video, but I'm gonna be honest, my mind went.....somewhere else when I first read it.

I like how you explain these incidents. You do a good job.

"Pilots Violated after making wrong turn" - honestly, I knew it wasn't what it sounded like, but the mental image is still there XD

good advice Kessley .admit your mistake and what you learned, have done that in the past (not a pilot lol), and have had new trainees where I worked always said the same, make a mistake tell me, and then we will sort it out, found it always worked well, and help with "trust" in a work environment.

"Pilots Violated" had me thinking something very different had happened. Seemed rather harsh for a wrong turn.

Thank you for another awesome video today. You always make so much sense when explaining things to us. Have a great Sunday. Blessings, Carlos ✝️🙏❤️😊❗️

Congrats on 1 million subs! Love your videos!

I have checked crews that operate in the "information is power" mode and do not communicate changes to one another. I can guarantee the one withholding the information during a check-ride will fail.

Clear and concise communication is critical in human interaction. I agree that ATC should leave nothing out. However, I’ve learned that owning mistakes or oversights usually has the best outcomes.

This wasn’t quite what I’d expected, from the Thumbnail I assumed that the pilots were both Bummed good and hard once they got back on the ground !!!

Typically when not filing a SID, the clearance is “as filed fly head 235 radar vectors”. That little statement really helps.

I will be a pilot in my next life because of you! Love your videos as a couch pilot in this life, though!

Right up there with 'whose bra is this'...

So this is the, “It’s not me, it’s you,” version of the breakup.

Awesome work as always, keep it up, God bless you.♥🙏

At 1 million views, maybe time for the 2nd live stream? Or another meme video? Would be great!

I understand and agree with the 'take responsibility and use this as a learning experience' angle, but maybe that should be true for the airline as well? Perhaps special procedures need to be in place for airplanes with captain only tillers? It seems like this handoff happening simultaneously with information/task heavy comms does not allow for sufficient verification of information.

Another example of ATC telling you you've done something wrong without directly telling you you've done something wrong is when they remind you and then re-remind you about the altimeter setting when you busted your altitude. I always disguise my reply with "resetting altimeter" to cover my being off my assigned altitude and then reestablish the correct altitude.

Absolutely wonderful descriptions of the Victor airways!

This is the first video from Kelsey where I don't understand what happened. Should they have made a right turn? Should they not? Did they miss putting the 235 into the autopilot? Did they not? Was that the right turn that they did(n't)? What happened? And what was supposed to happen? I miss the explanation 🤔🧐

Funny story about the 'we need to talk' phrase: When my wife and I were fairly early in our marriage, she sent me that exact text; while I was at work mind you (was in the US Marines at this point so telling the boss I need to dip because of domestic troubles was not really an option because most of our married folks were having some kind of domestic troubles) so I had to stew for over 6 hours only for me to get home panicked (probably did 20+ over the whole way home) asking what was going on and it was actually about some charge or something on the card that she wanted to discuss because it was somewhat big and she didn't recognize it. Turns out, she was blissfully unaware of the implications of the phrase 'we need to talk' and just sent it not even thinking about it, once I explained it to her, she realized that was a huge goof and that I was in panic mode for more than half my workday because of that text, she was super apologetic and promised to never send that for anything other than it's intended purpose from then on, which she has kept. TL;DR: Wife didn't know what 'we need to talk' meant, sent it as a text about an unrecognized charge, stressed me out for over 6 hours about it because I couldn't leave work or call her about it.

Good morning Kelsey! BWI was having a big 747 party yesterday. I wondered if you were there. Cargo was unbelievably busy. Have a beautiful week, sir. We so appreciate you. ❤

Great video…. Brought a smile to my Sunday

Just a few days ago, I really lucked out. I’m a student pilot and I went on my ‘long’ cross-country solo. I depart out of a Class Delta airspace airport. When I was coming back, I did my normal radio calls and I was told to enter a left base for Runway 31. Being super nervous about my XC, I wasn’t paying attention and lined up for runway 36. I was about a mile away from touchdown when Tower said ‘Archer so and so, it appears you’re lined up for the wrong runway go around.’ I had a mini heart attack and requested to make a full stop. I had a feeling my flying career was over. I technically should have gotten a pilot deviation but the airport I’m at has a ton of flight schools operating out of it so I think Tower understood why I made such a dumb mistake.

3:01 Just out of curiousity, what aircraft was the pilot flying going to Alliance Airport? As an air traffic controller, when working tower, I almost always remind pilots who aren’t local of the heading even if it’s in the clearance

Usually it’s the tower control during takeoff clearance that gives me “fly runway heading” or “right turn heading 270” or whatever although at KLGB where I’m based, it’s usually in the clearance. “On departure fly runway heading, at 800 feet left turn heading 200, radar vectors Seal Beach…”

Another great video. Thanks.

Excellently constructed video explanation of ATC & Pilots working together to mitigate risk. I still want a personal jetpack we were promised when growing up in the 1980's. VFR for short distances (Sub 100 Miles) only thank you. In MS Flight Simulator I only fly the single engine prop planes and the annoyance factor has always been setting trim for level flight. The bug heading & altitude setting with AP does a good job but there's still a bit of bounce. Is that normal in a typical aircraft when the trim isn't set properly or will it happen with changing weather conditions?

Good morning Kelsey👋🏻 from Chicago, 😲hope this day finds you and yours♥️ well and prosperous🤑 brother! KEEP THE BLUE SIDE UP 🛩🫡

The animation/flight sim footage is super helpful!

Thank for this video 🎉

This is more important than it seems I think. Remember the Comair at Lexington? Routine and early morning fuzz made BOTH pilots ignore the fact that they lined up on the wrong (too short) runway. Sad day. So maybe the protocol needs to change so that the heading is not announced until the plane is cleared for takeoff. I can see how he slipped this one.

I teach in the area around DC and Camp David. I teach all my students to keep Guard in the second radio, as they are supposed to do. Every few weeks we'll hear, "aircraft at a specific location and distance from a given point, this is the US Air Force on guard. You are approaching restricted airspace. Turn around now." It's said in a testy voice. If the person doesn't listen to several warnings, they are told, "You have entered restricted airspace. Leave and land at the closest airport." That tone isn't just testy...it's hostile. If they have to be intercepted, it's even less pleasant. At that point, the pilot can expect a suspended certificate or extra training depending on the circumstances. Potomac approach can be testy just because they are Potomac. However, most controllers in the area are great to work with. The class D airports in the area, especially, are great with stupid student pilot solo tricks. I seldom hear anyone get the transmission to call the tower. It's usually a fast controller to student teaching moment, which is greatly appreciated by everyone involved.

Great video as usual Kelsey!

Hey! I'm from Boise! Never thought I'd see that on one of your videos. Thanks for the great content!

"Pilots Violated After Making Wrong Turn" - kinda harsh.

Based on the title, I thought the video would consist of a councilor holding a doll and asking the pilots to point out on the doll where the disciplinary board touched them.

I really enjoyed the towers CLEAR annunciation. I could understand every word he said, lol. NOW, tell me that departure said '160 at 6' after listening to that again...

Enjoyed this clip thank U 4 posting

Pilots Violated After Making Wrong Turn. Erm, is that, like, english? I didn’t catch the part where they were assaulted after the turn but will rewatch until I do.

4:46 I dont care what anyone says. A lot of the controllers speak horribly and try to go to fast. It seems like an ego thing. You can say " there a lot going on" but the difference between 1.2 secs and 2 secs does not make a difference unless you are in an emergency situation. There are a lot of controllers who speak clearly and slow enough to properly hear them while still speaking fast enough to have things progress smoothly.

Great video Kelsey!

Love how you recreate the flight with MSFS. Great video…keep it up!