The WORST Pilot Tries To Land!

Is this the worst pilot in the world or is there more to the story? Why is he having such a hard time landing his Citation? The truth might surprise you.

When I first listened to the audio of this incident, I knew there had to be more to the story. After some investigating I discovered the most likely reason why this pilot is not able to land his aircraft. The problem is one that a lot of pilots might have experienced in the past and it's definitely something new pilots should be aware of. I hope this video debrief helps other pilots and aspiring pilots!

I'm still working on improving the quality of the graphics in my videos. Thanks for your patience!

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Thanks to @mmmx_photography for allowing me to use the awesome photo of XB-GTT. He also has an aviation channel @SMNAviation that you can check out!

Citations
National Lampoon's European Vacation, Directed by Amy Heckerling, Warner Brothers, 1985.

Airplane! Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Larry Zucker, Paramount Pictures, 1980.

This channel is for entertainment purposes only and represents solely my opinion and not the opinion, views, or position of anyone else.

[johnszakach]

This is a fantastic controller. Talking slow knowing it’s a foreign registration and English is a second language. Never raising her volume of expressing frustration. Unbelievably great job. What saved everyone was not having any other traffic in the pattern.

[jasonconrad]

What do you need to land?

A pilot. He needs a pilot.

[cardcolumn]

The legends say he's up there still, circling forever, turning left and missing the runway.

[Robodebt]

Congratulations to ATC. The controller is again the hero of this story. Understanding the pilot was having problems and not knowing exactly why… she remains calm… offers constant assistance.. with endless patience. She deserves a medal for her outstanding professionalism and focus on getting the aircraft down safely. Her only concern is the safety of the pilot and aircraft and does all she can to assist. This tower controller represents the very best in ATC. Bravo! The entire flying community.. including passengers.. owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who works in ATC.

[charlesmoore]

She sounds like a mother patiently telling her child how to steer a bike. She never raised her voice; she never yelled “WTF are you DOING up there?” She should get the “Patience of Job” award! Great job! (as @johnsz… said.)

[terrywoodfield]

I have a single landing at LAS at night in a Cessna 172. It happened many years ago. Las Vegas was a sea of lights. I knew the airport was east of the Luxor Pyramid, but I could not distinguish the airport lights from all of the casino and street lights. When ATC asked me if I had the runway in sight, I replied, "Negative, " and the controller said, "Then we'll flash the runway lights for you." This action clearly delineated the runway, and I landed without incident. The friendly and helpful action of the controller prevented me from having the same experience as the Citation pilot in this video. I assume VGT has a similar problem with city lights at night, so this may have been a factor that contributed to the pilot's confusion.

[jamesbauer]

As a jet pilot he should have an instrument approach loaded into the navigation which would draw a straight line out from the runway...There is absolutely no reason for this kind of negligence

[oyzzwzl]

That flight path line looks like something a hyperactive kid with an Etch-A-Sketch would draw.

[sarahmacintosh]

As frustrating as this is to watch, I'm happier to be watching this than watching the accident video because he tried to force one of his many unstable approaches. So good on him for having the patience (and fuel) to keep trying until he gets it right. And the controller is legendary 😍

[sunnyscott]

I'm not a pilot, but I fly in and out of Las Vegas all the time.
Someone, please give this precious ATC lady a raise.
She's keeping us all safe. ❤

[DanielFCutter]

Oh. It’s dark. Thats some useful information right there for us viewers. But you got us to watch the whole vid!

[nick]

That controller deserves an award for “Patience of The Year”! I’ve been yelled at for much less’😂😂😂

[ujerxpf]

9:35 I almost expected her to say just continue heading northbound and keep going...great professionalism and patience displayed here. As a student, I had some less understanding controllers from time to time.

[jameswikstrom]

If I was a passenger in the Citation jet, I would have been a little nervous that the pilot was not going to be able to land the aircraft safely after all the missed approaches. The tower controller has the patience of a SAINT! She deserves all the credit in averting a potentially disastrous situation!

[kevins]

This is actually scary, i'm sure this was creating a lot of stress for the controller as she's probably be side herself with frustration, bewilderment, perplexed, consternation and fear of who she is dealing with here

[mikefreauf]

Good Lord, this ATC needs a huge raise. What a lesson of patience with a pilot that is clearly not as experienced with night instrument landings. Thanks for keeping us safe miss! :)

[michaeltorbay]

Controller deserves a medal. Despite this person appearing to be tremendously incompetent (not sure if actually the case, but that's what it looks like) she kept calm. Without her guidance and patience, this could easily have become a dangerous situation for the souls on-board that aircraft.

[HoltAircraft]

If I was the controller I would have had the police meet him on the ramp to breathalyse him

[zebra]

Holy cow! I'm exhausted just watching this debacle!

[tcthedream]

Watching that gave me ANXIETY. Cudos to that controller for staying calm!