there is a ATC Audio YouTube Video circulating with a shocking title: She says BOTH pilots INOPERATIVE. Real ATC Audio. The video claims to have actual ATC audio from Tap Air Portugal flight TAP484H, a scheduled passenger flight from Lisbon, Portugal to Nice, France. The audio covers a miscommunication in aviation that caused much consternation among Nice controllers. Specifically, the pilot reports that the bathrooms are inoperative but the French controller understands that she is saying the pilots They are inoperative.
There is no indication of when this happened, no date or even a year is mentioned. All other articles that mention the incident use this video as a reference.
It’s a fun video but… is it really legit? I have my doubts and I’ll tell you why.
The first version of the audio appears to be this: Pilots or bathrooms? A true example of lack of communication in aviation posted on Instagram on July 2. The poster writes:
A flight operated by Air Portugal traveling from Lisbon (Portugal) to Nice (France) contacted the Marseille ACC to request a direct route and maintain high speed until reaching FL100… All toilets on board had stopped working and passengers were understandably anxious to land as soon as possible.
The French ATC misheard the transmission because “the pilots cannot operate.”
This led to several tense minutes filled with confusion and growing worry, until it cleared up and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. The problem was solved and the flight proceeded without further problems.
This one has the tone of a lesson in clear communication, and includes titles such as WHY THIS HAPPENED and HOW COULD IT HAVE BEEN CLEARED FASTER? He concludes that this “humorous scenario” is a significant reminder that effective communication is about clarity, shared expectations, and using appropriate context.
So why do I have doubts?
First, there is the combination of radio calls and internal phone calls between ATC controllers and supervisors. These phone calls are internal and only available to ATC. Phone calls include the sound of a phone ringing and then frantic conversation about what is happening on the plane. I can’t think of any case where internal ATC phone calls have been leaked. But of course, the radio exchange isn’t as fun without the phone calls that explain the confusion and escalate the situation into a full-blown emergency. My point is that phone calls don’t make sense from a sourcing perspective, but they’re also necessary as they make the scenario really fun. The radio exchange alone does not make clear how deep the misunderstanding is.
Then there is the fact that French ATC transmissions exist. French privacy and data protection laws are very strict. The French Penal Code Articles 226-1 and 226-2 establish that the unauthorized use and interference of radio frequencies and communications is prohibited, punishable by interception, recording and broadcasting, with a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros. If the victim is a person of public authority, as an ATC controller is probably considered to be, the penalty is increased to two years in prison and a fine of 60,000 euros. This is only for recording and retransmitting ATC.
Edit: This actually looks more like appropriate statusThanks James! I can’t find much information on the legal situation, other than people being very clear that they will not risk sharing ATC communications due to the current situation.
How to listen to parler planes on the radio?
Is it legal? Hey! Vous avez parfaitement le droit d’écouter la bande aéro! More attention, it is TOTALEMENT INTERDIT d’émettre ! Veillez donc, if you have a radio, à ce qu’elle ne possède pas de fonction émission. Before looking at scanning methods, a little technical aspect may be helpful if you have a reason. Otherwise, you can go directly to the listening methods part!
Be that as it may, it would be a separate crime to leak the phone recordings, assuming they were legally recorded in the first place. I can’t find any other case of French ATC and leaked and transmitted phone calls like this.
Additionally, the YouTube video from the same date cites ATCLive as the source of the communications. No other source is ever provided. But ATCLive would not have recordings of phone calls for any flight control operations, as they are internal only. And ATCLive does not cover live streaming from any French airports. October 2022, published the founder of the LiveATC.net site to their forums on the topic:
We are involved in a conflict with the aviation authority in France. All feeds will be offline until the dispute is resolved. We have sent a response to the authority and they seem to refuse to respond. The basis of his claim is also questionable and does not appear to have any solid legal basis.
and in July 2023
It really has no legal basis, since someone transmitting over open airwaves without encryption has no reasonable expectation of privacy. They allege that air traffic controllers can be personally identified by the fact that they simply give instructions to pilots in the air (voluntarily, because they chose their job). It is a ridiculous statement.
Again, there is no date on the video, but it seems unlikely that this audio has been languishing in the LiveATC.net archives for years before being discovered by someone with a YouTube channel.
In short: we have no details, we have no source, we have internal phone calls mixed in with the radio call and we have no means of corroboration. You can see why I have doubts.
Finally, although I recognize that this is a weak point, it seems very clear that the Tap Air Portugal pilot’s use of the “toilet” sounds increasingly as a “pilot” as the video progresses. I can’t help but think that any competent flight crew would state it more clearly, without making the situation worse, by eliminating the o altogether. Furthermore, the woman is clearly aware of the misunderstanding from the beginning: “No sir, we have autopilot working correctly. Our problem is with the bathrooms… it doesn’t matter anymore. We don’t declare anything. We just have to get there as soon as possible.” And yet, with good English and good radio knowledge, he does not resort to the unambiguous official term, sink or, at least, WC (which he uses at the end of the recording, so he knows the term). He could also have simply written BATHROOM, which should have been instinctive not being understood.
But of course, if I had used another word to clarify, the problem would have been solved…and the fun phone calls trying to decide what to do wouldn’t have been necessary.
I know everyone loves to pick on the French, but I find the whole sequence highly questionable, especially the frantic phone calls that the plane is planning to land with no pilots on board: “The firefighters are out, everyone’s on the ball. And that’s it.”
No one in the comments seems to question the veracity of any of the videos, so maybe I’m just too tired. The entire discussion seems to revolve around whether ATC is to blame for escalating to an emergency over such a simple issue, or the pilot’s fault for not using the correct terminology and not removing ambiguity.
So is it real? Who is to blame? Let me know in the comments what you think.
