What happens when ATC gives you a number to call?

Question

When listening to ATC on liveatc.net i've heard a few times when a pilot does something wrong or when they disagree with something, the controller will give them a number to call. What happens when you call them, do they talk and clear up the situation or are you in some kind of "trouble"?

Answer 1

you could be in 'trouble' or maybe that tasty atc girl just liked ur voice and wanted your number.

Answer 2

I had it happen once when I had a Cessna cross, without clearance, the runway I was landing on. I said, on the radio, "Did you just clear that Cessna to cross in front of me?" on the radio. The controller asked us both to call.

When I called, he told me that because I had said that on the air, he needed to do things a bit more formally. He told me he had already spoken to the pilot of the other plane, that he was a student pilot, and that he had just landed on the left runway and was used to getting a clearance to cross the other runway almost immediately.

Sadly, he didn't tell the controller he was a student pilot on initial contact, or the controller would have told him to remain clear of the other runway. (There is no reason for the controller to tell you that, you should know to pull off the runway you were cleared to land on but not cross any other runways or taxiways without further clearance. But as a courtesy, they remind student pilots.)

I told him that it was no big deal and that I had already spoken to the student's CFI. He (the controller) had already spoken to the student.

That was that. Nobody else contacted either me, the CFI, or the student. At no time was anyone in any danger. The student landed near the end of the runway and I landed in the very beginning. I was just touching down as he crossed about 2,000 feet further down.

In retrospect, I probably should have gone around, but I was flaring when I saw him.

Answer 3

Remember that pilots license you used to have????

Answer 4

I have only seen it once when a pilot entered class bravo then class delta with no clearance. He called the tower after he was on downwind.

Answer 5

I've never had this happen, but it usually means you are in trouble.

Depending on what you did, they can get the FAA involved, which could cause either fines, or loss of cert/license, or a more temp. punishment.

Sometimes they just want to yell at you. ATC peeps are pretty high strung...but can ya blame them?

Answer 6

It doesn't mean you are in trouble.  Its usually the controller trying to clear up some type of misunderstanding with the pilot in the privacy of a telephone call, rather than on a busy ATC frequency.  It could be as simple as flying a few 10's of feet above or below your assigned altitude in congested airpsace, a transponder encoder that is not giving the correct altitude, or a crackly radio.

If there was a serious violation, the registered aircraft owner would be contacted directly by the regulatory enforcement agents of the FAA or whatever country you are in.

Everybody is trying to improve safety.  Fortunately, I've never been given a "number to call," but I have called controllers by phone to discuss their preferred approaches and clearance procedures when its not laid out clearly on the approach plates at unfamiliar foreign airports.

Answer 7

You'd probably better get another pair of drawers.  Cause you are in a really big pickle - sometimes dill, sometimes not.

Would not want to have him/her tell me to call...