Inside the FAA Academy: Michelle Khare Tries to Keep Planes from Colliding
Michelle Khare
Air traffic control is often described as one of the most stressful jobs there is. In this episode of Challenge Accepted, Michelle Khare travels to the Federal Aviation Administration Academy in Oklahoma City to find out what the work involves. Khare admits that despite flying often, they had never thought much about what happens inside an airport tower. Over the episode they visit a working tower, run a tabletop training exercise, tour a radar room, and attempt a final simulator scenario with an in-flight emergency. Both exercises end badly, and the instructors use those failures to explain why controller training takes as long as it does.
Why the Job Carries So Much Weight
The episode opens with news clips. They mention a handful of recent near-collisions between passenger jets and describe controllers as working in one of the world's most high-stakes environments. One clip shows a FedEx plane landing without its front landing gear. The commentator praises the controller on duty and points out that you can hear that controller still handling other aircraft during the emergency. Everyone on board survived.
An FAA instructor puts it in personal terms. Controllers have to be "on our A-game 100% of the time," they say, because the decisions made every day "can have very real consequences on a lot of people's lives."
A Visit to a Live Tower
The first stop is the Will Rogers airport tower, where Khare watches live operations. One of the hosts says few people get to see this. Khare's first impression is of people saying what sound like very important things without any obvious meaning to an outsider.
A controller explains the two positions in the room. The ground controller handles aircraft moving on the taxiways. The local controller handles everything from the runways out to about 5 miles and up to 5,000 feet. The local controller is the one who issues "cleared for takeoff" and "cleared to land." While Khare is there, a departure gets its takeoff clearance, and the controller explains that the local controller would have just coordinated it.
Khare later says the tower staff's ability to listen and multitask was the thing that impressed them most, and that it was also what they most needed to work on.
The Tabletop Lab: Training with Toy Planes
To teach traffic patterns, the FAA Academy has used tabletop simulations with miniature aircraft since the 1960s. According to the episode, those same simulations are still in use. Khare stands over a scale model of the airport. Mallory plays ground controller beside them, and a team of staff walks miniature planes around the floor as the "pilots." An instructor admits the setup looks low-tech, "like playing with toy planes," but calls it an important step for students who have never worked in aviation. Any mistake Khare makes will play out on the floor.
As local controller, Khare has three responsibilities, and all of them have to be handled at once:
- Sequencing inbound landings so arriving planes don't collide.
- Coordinating ground traffic with the ground controller, such as taxiing aircraft that need to cross a runway.
- Lining up departures and getting them into the air.
For arrivals, controllers assign one of the standard parts of the traffic pattern: upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, and final approach. The instructor also teaches the radio format. You say the aircraft's identification first, then identify yourself, then give the instruction. Khare's first call follows that format: "Cessna 172 Papa Tango, Academy Tower, enter left base Runway 28 left."
The early clearances go smoothly, and Khare calls them easy and says "bring it on." Runway crossings take more thought. Before clearing an aircraft across Runway 16 at taxiway Bravo, the instructor asks whether any plane is using Runway 16/34, the runway being crossed. Khare compares it to letting a plane cross a street while another plane lands, with both needing to be managed together.
The traffic soon builds up. An American flight, a Baron, a FedEx heavy, a Bonanza needing to cross, a Cherokee, and more all call in. Khare almost clears the Bonanza across in front of the FedEx jet. They also lose track of how to cancel a clearance, and end up with two aircraft trying to land at the same time. They say the planes "just keep spawning" and call it "like a horror movie," and the instructor stops the scenario.
The Verdict and the Team Culture
The evaluator is direct. Graded as a final scenario, the run would have scored low. Khare said many things incorrectly, didn't follow through on everything, and missed some procedures. The evaluator says Khare is progressing but is "definitely not where we want to be for that final challenge." The staff also note that Khare was the most polite controller they've had and said "please" a lot, which they don't usually hear. One pilot-actor jokes that at times they wanted to say "please go away" to the next commercial jet that seemed to appear from nowhere.
The instructors also want Khare to know that feeling overwhelmed is normal at this stage. They then describe how a real facility works. Even when everyone is as busy as they can be, if one controller says something that doesn't sound right, the whole room goes silent. Everyone turns to look at that controller until they correct it, and then everyone goes back to their traffic. "We look after one another," one instructor says. Another describes it as being like a big family and admits that sounds cliché, but says it really feels that way.
The Radar Room
The episode then moves from the tower to a dark radar room. Khare says it looks like something out of the Death Star. Area controllers work here instead of in towers. They are usually responsible for airspace between airports and talk to pilots at higher altitudes while the flights are en route. Khare asks whether the lines on the screens are basically the highways of the sky. The guide agrees and says controllers can see quickly whether a pilot is on course. So, Khare notes, while passengers are having snacks and ginger ale, the pilot is talking to whoever sits in that chair.
Stress, Fatigue, and Staffing
Khare asks whether this is the most stressful job in the world. The controller says there is definitely stress and that it rises with the number of aircraft and the difficulty of the situation. They add that they felt much better once they were certified.
The episode includes news clips about controllers saying they are exhausted from mandatory overtime and from alternating between day and overnight shifts. Other clips cover legislation that includes support for controller staffing and training, described as the first in decades, and the FAA reauthorization passing the Senate. One clip stresses that more controllers are needed and that they need to be rested. An FAA representative says they support the recent legislation because it gives the agency what it needs to make sure controllers get enough rest and recovery. They also call controllers "one of those unsung people." Not many people know what controllers do, they say, even though lives are at stake every day.
The Final Challenge: An Engine Fire
The last test is a 30-minute scenario in a 3D simulator. It shows the same airport as the tabletop lab, with everything in the same place. Automated pilots respond through voice recognition, and the instructor says the simulator is as unforgiving as a real day at the airport. An emergency will be added partway through, and Khare will have to decide what to prioritize.
The start goes well. Khare clears a United heavy to land on 28 right, sends a Malibu into the left downwind for touch-and-goes, clears a ground crossing of Runway 16 at Hotel, and clears a Southwest departure. Khare says it's going "so great."
Then a King Air, 20 Whiskey Kilo, reports an engine fire 3 miles east. Khare asks the standard emergency questions. There are four souls on board and two hours of fuel, and the aircraft is lined up for Runway 28 left. At the same time a Cherokee is on short final for that runway and departures keep calling in. Khare clears the King Air to land and sends the Cherokee around. Then a UPS flight checks in. Khare asks whether everyone can just stop so they can focus on the engine fire, and the instructor answers that controllers keep working all the other airplanes during an emergency. Traffic doesn't stop because one aircraft is in trouble.
With 28 left out of use, Khare clears the UPS flight to 28 right, gives the Cherokee its touch-and-go, and clears a Cirrus for takeoff, but on Runway 28 right. The Cirrus pilot says they are lined up for Runway 16. Khare realizes they have mixed up the planes and reissues the clearance for Runway 16, while the Cherokee is coming around for its touch-and-go. Two aircraft get too close, and the scenario is stopped. Khare says they feel "extremely overwhelmed."
The Outcome: A Failed Challenge
The evaluator says the biggest problem was the serious safety issue at the end. Beyond that, Khare kept saying the wrong things, which cost many more points. The challenge would not have been passed.
The instructor connects the result to why the training program is built the way it is. They say the FAA itself was formed after an aircraft accident in which hundreds of people died, and that they want the public to understand why controllers do what they do. A controller who has gone to a field facility and trained there for years, they say, would know exactly what to do in the situation Khare faced, because they would have that experience. Khare closes by thanking the staff and all controllers for managing so many moving parts while keeping passengers safe.
It must take a special breed to be an air traffic controller. King Air Two Whiskey Kilo, we have an engine on fire. Oh my God, there's an engine on fire.
In the past year, there have been a handful of incidents where planes nearly collided. Near collision involving two passenger jets. Known as one of the most stressful jobs, air traffic controllers work to keep our skies safe in one of the world's most high-stakes environments.
This week on Challenge Accepted, I am here in Oklahoma at the FAA Academy to get a small glimpse into what it takes to be an air traffic controller. As someone who is a frequent flyer myself, I admittedly have never really thought too much about what actually happens inside the tower at an airport. So this week I am here to see what it takes to be one of the incredibly brave men and women who keep us safe in the sky.
Oh, this is so cool. This is so exciting to be out here today. Michelle is going to get to experience something that not many people across the nation get to experience. She is going to visit a live air traffic control tower as operations are occurring.
I am so excited to be here, but I never really knew what happens inside this tower. I hear a lot of people saying what sounds like very important things, but what is going on in here?
These two positions are ground control to control the taxiways, and then we got a local controller that works everybody from their runways out five miles for this airspace and up to 5,000 feet. So the ground controller controls all the planes where they're taxiing around? Correct. And then local control takes them from the runway up to a five-mile radius? Correct. Air up to 5,000 feet.
Is there someone taking off now? There is. Local controller would have just coordinated that. They're the ones that say, "Cleared for takeoff, cleared to land." Cleared for takeoff? Yes. That's really cool.
As an air traffic controller, it's very important that we are on our A-game 100% of the time. The decisions that we make on a daily basis can have very real consequences on a lot of people's lives.
A local air traffic controller helps save the life of a pilot when his plane suffered a malfunction. Now to a dramatic emergency landing. Watch as this FedEx plane touches down without its front landing gear. I would say hats off to the air traffic controller on duty. What's remarkable is you hear that controller still juggling other aircraft. Thankfully, everybody on board survived.
To avoid potential disaster, it's up to the air traffic controller to assign each plane the correct traffic pattern. And controllers have been learning how to do this at the FAA Academy here in Oklahoma City since the '60s. Two years of the most intensive training you can imagine, including periods of special training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. In the '60s, these skills were learned through running dozens of simulations with miniatures, and surprisingly, those very simulations are still used today.
Okay, Michelle, so welcome to our tabletop lab. This is basically a mini version of what you would experience in a real tower? Yes. Next to you we have Mallory. She is going to be your ground controller, and then out on the floor we have our team that are going to be the pilots for you.
Our tabletop labs may seem low-tech. It's like playing with toy planes, but it is a very important learning step for our students who have never worked in the aviation industry.
So during this, as I'm directing the pilots, if I make a mistake, will that play out in front of us? It'll play out, and we'll see what happens with your decisions. Okay. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. Yes, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. We'll get you there, don't worry. Okay, we're good. Let's start.
Academy Tower, Cessna 172 Tango over MacDonald's Bridge, inbound, information Alpha. So we have a Cessna 172 Papa Tango, which is a VFR aircraft. Oh, there's another coming.
As the local controller for this simulation, I have three primary responsibilities. The first is coordinating the landing of all inbound planes to make sure that they don't collide. We're going to give them a pattern entry. Pattern entry, we're telling them how to get on the— Yes, we're going to tell them how to get to the red one.
In aviation, there are five common traffic patterns used to organize the flow of aircraft around an airport: upwind leg, crosswind leg, downwind leg, base leg, and final approach. And it's a controller's job to choose the right pattern for the situation.
They're going to go like this, and then they're going to turn. I'm sorry, Dway, but there's a tail and plane about. We need to tell them what to do. What you're going to do is you're going to talk to the aircraft first, the aircraft identification, then you identify yourself, and then you make your transmission. So what I would say right now— They're still moving, walking towards us.
Okay, Cessna 172 Papa Tango, Academy Tower, enter left base, left base, Runway 28 Left. Runway 28 Left. Roger, enter the left base, Runway 28 Left. KM 791, Academy Tower, Runway 28 Right, cleared to land. Land 28 Right. I like those. Those are easy. Bring it on. Who's next? Cross Runway 16 at Bravo.
My second responsibility is working with the ground controller to manage all the ground traffic, like planes that are taxiing or trying to cross a runway.
Oh my God, so you're trying to have a plane cross a street, and there's a plane landing, and we have to manage both of those simultaneously? Yes. What we're looking at for the runway crossing is, do you have an airplane that you're using on Runway 16/34, which is your crossing runway? No, right now. Okay, cross Runway 16 at Taxiway Bravo.
That means they're no longer on your frequency. Oh, good. I don't want to deal with them anymore. Okay, we landed a plane. Runway 16 cross complete. MK, now let's go back to our Cessna. Cessna Two Papa Tango, Runway 28 Left, cleared to land. Okay, Cessna 172 Papa Tango, 28— Let's go. Cleared to land, Seven Two Papa Tango. Thank you. Runway 28 Left, cleared to land. Yes, thank you. Got two onto the runway, and there's a lot for us to talk about.
Now the third and final responsibility is helping planes line up for departure and getting them up in the air. And all three of these responsibilities need to be managed at the exact same time.
So this is like a horror movie. There are three planes in the sky. Okay, American 211, Academy Tower, Runway 28 Right, cleared to land. American 211 is cleared to land, Runway 28 Right. Oh my God. So while we're at it, let's get our Baron cleared to land. Baron 47 Lima Yankee, Academy Tower, Runway 28 Left, cleared to land. Seven Yankee, Runway 28 Left, cleared to land. The American, they landed. Yay!
FedEx 167 Heavy, with you. FedEx, I knew it. I had a feeling. So they're going to come in on the right. They should be cleared. FedEx 167 Heavy is cleared to land, Runway 28. Oh God, this person. Bonanza 36 Bravo Echo, cross runway— Oh, don't do that. I almost had them cross into the FedEx plane.
Academy Tower, Cherokee 7643 Kilo, with you over Riverside. Cherokee 7643, Kilo, cleared to land. Be assertive. You're a controller. Ten Zero Uniform, left base. Wait, how do I cancel that one? He's there sooner. Oh my God, oh my God, I have two people trying to land at the same time. Cancel. Academy Tower— They just keep coming. They keep spawning. He— Guys, we're going to stop the scenario.
Oh my goodness. If I was grading this as an evaluator for your final scenario, that would have been a pretty low score. There were a lot of things that you said incorrectly, didn't follow through with everything you needed to do, and just some procedural things. You're definitely progressing, definitely not where we want to be for that final challenge. Okay, cool. Copy that.
When we went to the Will Rogers Tower, it was amazing, their ability to listen and multitask. Absolutely. Which is something I clearly need to work on. But you were the most polite controller. That is true. Really said a lot of please. We don't usually get that. There's times when you felt like saying, "Please go away." You would just spawn another big commercial jet out of nowhere. You're going to bite me about this, aren't you?
I just wanted you to hear that even though you are up there and so much is going on, this is normal for this stage of training. Everybody can be absolutely busy as possibly can be, but if one controller says something that doesn't sound quite right, the entire room will go silent. Everybody will turn and look at that controller until they fix what they said, and then we go right back to working our traffic. We look after one another. Wow. There is a really good team dynamic. It's kind of like being a big family, and I know it's kind of cliché, but it really feels like it.
And that team doesn't end there. Unlike the local and ground controllers who work in the towers, there are also area controllers who work in darkened radar rooms like this one.
Super high-tech, like we're in a bunker. The aesthetic of this room is pretty much straight out of the Death Star. It really is. You do get that feeling of all the equipment and machinery.
Area controllers are often stationed between airports, typically communicating with the pilots at higher altitudes en route on their journey. Are these lines basically the highways of the sky? Correct. So we can see visually very quickly if a pilot is on course or not. So while we're enjoying our snacks and ginger ales in the plane, the pilot is talking to this person in this chair? Correct.
There are some people who say that this is the most stressful job in the world. Is that something you agree with? There's definitely stress in this job. Don't get me wrong, there definitely is. But what I found is that even though there was all that stress, once I got certified, I felt a lot better. The job can be stressful at times, and the more aircraft you have at one time and the harder it gets, the more stress that can occur during those situations.
Many controllers complain they're exhausted, working mandatory overtime and alternating between day and overnight shifts. This legislation also includes support, staffing and training for air traffic controllers for the first time in decades. We are definitely supportive of all the legislation that we've been seeing lately that is giving the agency what we need so that we can make sure our controllers are getting the rest and recuperation that they need.
After months of painstaking work, the FAA reauthorization is passing the Senate today. So critical because right now we need more air traffic controllers, and we need them to be rested on the job. We're one of those unsung people. Not many people know what we do. There are lives at stake every day, and we continue to try to make that even safer every single day while taking care of our employees.
For Michelle's final challenge, she is going to be working a 30-minute simulation scenario while she has an emergency inbound that she will have to deal with and make decisions on what her priority is going to be.
So, Michelle, welcome to your final challenge. This is so cool. So is this a 3D rendering of the tabletop simulator we had yesterday? So it's the same airport? Correct. It's the same airport. Everything is in the same place. You are going to have a voice recognition system. There will be automated pilots talking to you, and when you talk, the computer is going to talk back to you. So this simulator is going to be just as unforgiving as reality? Correct, it will. Just like a day at the airport. Just like a day at the airport. Ready? Let's do it.
Okay, I see a plane. Academy Tower, United 433 Heavy over Woody. United 433, Academy Tower, Runway 28 Right, cleared to land. Academy Tower, United 433 Heavy, cleared to land, Runway 28 Right.
Academy Tower, Malibu 422 Tango Papa over MacDonald's Bridge. Malibu 422 Papa Tango, Academy Tower, enter left downwind. Requesting two touch-and-goes followed by a full stop, Malibu 422 Tango Papa. Malibu Two Papa Tango, cleared Runway 28 Left, touch-and-go.
Cross Runway 16 at Hotel. Oh, cross Runway 16 at Hotel. Academy Tower, Southwest 858, ready for departure, Runway 2. To take off, Southwest Airlines 858, cleared for takeoff. Southwest 858, cleared for takeoff. Turn. Okay, good. They're coming in for their touch-and-go. Southwest Airlines is taking off. Got two people in line. Okay, I think this is going well so far. Don't write anything down. It's going so great.
Tower, King Air Two Whiskey Kilo, we have an engine on fire. There's an engine on fire. Who is it? Michelle, say again. King Air. King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo, we're three miles east inbound. We have an engine on fire. Okay.
Tower, Cherokee Eight Delta Sierra, short final, Runway 28 Left. Cherokee Eight Delta Sierra, Academy Tower, Runway 28 Left, cleared to land. King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo, how many souls on board? King Air Two Whiskey Kilo, we have four souls on board. King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo, fuel level? We have two hours of fuel, King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo.
Tower, Cessna 531 Victor Kilo, ready for departure, Runway 16. There is so much happening. King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo, which landing runway? We're in line for Runway 28 Left, King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo. Oh my God, oh my God. Then I need to move the other guy. King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo, requesting landing clearance. King Air Two Zero Whiskey Kilo, cleared to land. Then I need to move the other guy. 28 Left, cleared to land, King Air Two Whiskey Kilo. Cherokee 288 Delta Sierra, not cleared to land. Go around. Academy Tower—
Now we have a UPS. Can everyone just stop so I can focus on the engine on fire? Even during emergency situations, we have to continue to work all the other airplanes that are in the airspace. It doesn't stop just because we have one emergency going on.
Okay, so now that that runway is not usable. Okay, UPS 1057, Runway 28 Right, cleared to land. Tower, Cherokee Eight Delta Sierra, request touch-and-go. Okay, cleared for touch-and-go. Tower, Cirrus 504 Sierra Charlie, ready for departure, Runway 16. Cirrus 504 Sierra Charlie, cleared for takeoff, Runway 28 Right. Cirrus 504 Sierra Charlie, we're lined up for Runway 16.
But y'all are down there. They want to go off 16. Oh, they're down— I have these planes confused. Cirrus 504 Sierra Charlie, Runway 16, cleared for takeoff. Runway 16, cleared for takeoff, Cirrus 504. But they're doing a touch-and-go. I have them back. Oh my God, I think these are too close. Oh, that was very close. Well, I messed that up. And we're stopped. Oh my God.
So how do you feel? Extremely overwhelmed. We actually had a pretty big safety issue there at the very end. I would say that that is really the biggest problem that I saw, but there were a lot that were just not saying the right things. Right. I mean, this is a lot of points deducted.
The FAA was formed as the result of an aircraft accident. Hundreds of people lost their lives. I really want to expand the knowledge of air traffic control. I want people to understand why we do what we do and why it's important.
That challenge would not have been passed. Okay, that makes sense. That's why it's so important that we have the training program built the way we do. Once you go to a field facility and you've spent years training, you would know exactly what to do because you have that experience.
I am so grateful to everybody here and everyone who is a controller for the incredible service y'all provide, managing all of these moving parts and prioritizing safety for all of us passengers. Thank you so much.
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