Can you share some air traffic controller funny stories?

A controller once had a pilot who thought he was being super clear when he said 'I'm over the big lake'. But there were several big lakes in the area. The controller replied 'Which big lake? There are more big lakes here than I have fingers!' It was quite a comical exchange.

Sure. There was one time when a pilot radioed in to air traffic control and said his plane was being chased by a large bird. The controller replied, 'Is it a superbird? Do you need backup?' Another time, a controller accidentally told a pilot to land on the wrong runway, but quickly corrected himself. The pilot joked, 'You almost sent me to the wrong party!'

Well, I heard of a situation where a new air traffic controller was on duty. A very experienced pilot, just to tease the newbie, started speaking in a made - up language on the radio. The controller was panicking until the pilot finally broke into laughter and said he was just joking. It was quite an amusing incident for everyone in the control room.

I've got a good one. There was a traffic jam because a family of ducks decided to cross the road. They waddled slowly in a line while all the cars patiently waited. And then there was a taxi driver who had his radio blasting really loud music and was dancing in his seat while waiting at a red light. It made everyone around him laugh.

Well, there was this time in traffic. A guy was driving a really old and noisy car. He was trying to overtake a line of cars very slowly. As he passed each car, his car made such strange sputtering noises that everyone was laughing. It was like his car was having a conversation with the other cars.

One horror story is when there was a sudden equipment failure in the control tower. The radar screens went blank just as a number of planes were approaching for landing. The air traffic controllers had to quickly switch to backup systems which took a few nerve - wracking minutes. During that time, they had to rely on communication with pilots and visual sightings. It was a chaotic situation, but luckily no accidents occurred.

Sure. There was a guy who got a ticket for parking in a no - parking zone. In court, he said he parked there because a sign told him to. When the officer showed the real sign, it turned out the guy had misread a 'Tow Away Zone' sign as 'Park Here'. Everyone in the court had a good laugh.

Sure. Once, I was in a traffic jam and there was a guy in the car next to me. He was so bored that he started doing a puppet show with his hands on the dashboard for the kids in the backseat of his car. It was really hilarious.

There's this story where an air traffic controller was dealing with a very chatty pilot. The pilot was talking about his vacation plans while waiting for clearance. The controller finally said, 'Sir, we can talk about Hawaii later, right now we need to focus on getting you in the air.' Another funny incident was when a plane's transponder was malfunctioning. The air traffic controller said, 'You're like a ghost plane right now.' And the pilot responded, 'Am I spooky enough to get a fast lane to land?' These kinds of stories add a bit of fun to the serious world of air traffic control.

An air hostess was serving drinks on a bumpy flight. As she was about to hand a glass of juice to a passenger, the plane hit a big air pocket. She managed to keep her balance but the juice in the glass flew up and then back down into the glass without spilling a drop. She just smiled at the astonished passenger and said 'I've been practicing that move for a while!'