Yes exactly. They were within 1000 yards of each other and less than 5 seconds from colliding according to some videos analyzing the GPS data. If you listen to the ATC chat, the American Airlines pilot noticed the other plane going the wrong way himself and made a proactive change to avoid collision without waiting for ATC. Although the traffic controllers did notice and quickly gave out new directions, it may have been too late if the pilot didn’t act.

What's the most reliable situation you can think of that will never fail and drive better audio quality?

This is a field where they need more .9999s than Amazon.

I think that the audio we are listening too is from some ground recording station that isn't necessarily near the airport. We aren't listening to a recording of what the pilots heard or what air traffic control hears.

It has to do with how ATC needs to be able to communicate with all planes in the air, even ones built 100 years ago. They have to use radio so everyone can hear everyone else. There’s no other technology that is as ubiquitous as radio, so they have to work with what they’ve got. Upgrading to other stuff would be an absolute nightmare, though they are making progress on less critical fronts.

Right? Just in a car, we know that talking to someone in the car itself has adverse effects on situational awareness, and talking to someone on a phone is much worse than that. But even after all the research and training that goes into human factors in aviation ... we can't do better than confusing, poor quality, AM band party lines during critical phases of flight?

I want you to very carefully consider the better options.

Perhaps they type instructions? And hope someone reads them?

Perhaps they drag and drop vectors? Then what, a radial menu with emergency modal screens?

Or maybe they click some buttons, forcing the occasional look away from the screen?

Maybe AI could do it all?

For this, voice is perfect. We have been following instructions by voice since humans could grunt. We do not require anyone to look away from the screen (ATC) or look down from the window outside (pilot) for any reason.

We do not require rebroadcast because everyone can hear and take initiative if required.

By what interface, specifically, should someone required to fly an airplane interact with ATC while flying that airplane? By what interface should someone who needs to see where everyone is all the time be able to contact that pilot that cannot look away from the world outside ever and cannot use their hands for anything but flying at a critical time?

Chesterton's ATC.

For starters, ADS-B is being rolled out, allows planes to 'see' each other and respond in real time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Dependent_Surveillan...

Yeah. It's a super stressful job that doesn't pay well normally and now these people are having to drive Uber on the side to pay their mortgages and put food on the table. I'm definitely not flying until this is sorted out.

I can't speak to the first question, but as to the second, correct, US air traffic controllers are not currently being paid.

[1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/travel/shutdown-air-traff....

[2]: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/us/politics/shutdown-air-....

[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/28/air-traffic-...