I’ve gotta hand it to New York’s most well-known (notorious?) air traffic controller — this is how you can be sassy without being a total jerk. Well, maybe he’s still being a bit of a jerk, but it’s an improvement…
Copa pilot makes wrong turn at JFK, ATC teaches them a lesson
YouTube channel You can see ATC has air traffic control audio and a visualization of an interaction that happened at JFK late at night on May 20, 2026, as Copa flight CM736 just landed in New York (JFK), after completing a 4hr43min Boeing 737-800 flight from Panama City (PTY).
While taxiing to the gate, the following instructions were given:
JFK ATC: “Copa 736, continue via left D, left on B, and hold short of W.”
Copa pilot: “Left on D, B, and hold short of W, Copa 736.”
The plane did indeed turn left on D, but rather than turning left on B, it instead turned right, meaning it was headed in the wrong direction, down a taxiway that doesn’t intersect with W.
The air traffic controller noticed the mistake, and this is when things got interesting:
JFK ATC: “Copa 736, what are you doing? Stop moving your plane.”
Copa pilot: “You said to me, left on D, B, and hold short of W, Copa 736.”
JFK ATC: “Okay Copa 736, I’m not going to yell at you. Take the next few minutes, look on the chart where W is. I’ll be back to you.”
*20 second gap*
JFK ATC: “Copa 736, did you see where W is on the chart?”
Copa pilot: “Affirmative.”
JFK ATC: “Okay, so where is it?”
Copa pilot: “Behind.”
JFK ATC: “Thank you. Copa 736, continue B, short of DB.”
This is actually pretty well played by JFK ATC, if you ask me
This particular JFK air traffic controller is known for going completely berserk on pilots, and it often seems like he cares more about being right than keeping things moving. What’s most frustrating is how he often treats foreign pilots, using non-standard phraseology, and then yelling at them when they don’t understand.
So I actually appreciate the approach he takes here: he specifically says he’s not going to yell, and he then lets the pilots realize their own mistake (though clearly he still has to be right, because he gets the ultimate satisfaction when the pilot volunteers that they made the wrong turn).
Now, in fairness, he wasn’t without fault, and I can kind of see how this could happen:
- The instructions were to “continue via left D, left on B, and hold short of W,” and the Copa pilot read back “left on D, B, and hold short of W,” so the air traffic controller really should’ve corrected that read back, and reiterated that it was a left on B
- I can also understand how the pilots might’ve gotten this wrong, given their workload; they were trying to communicate with the ramp to see if their gate was ready, and at the same time, it’s logical to think that you’re not being given instructions to make a 180-degree turn
Again, that’s no excuse, since obviously if they had properly looked at the charts, they would’ve seen that you have to turn left on B to get to W.
Bottom line
A Copa Boeing 737 pilot made a wrong turn at JFK. While the instructions given by the controller were correct, the read back from the pilot wasn’t fully accurate, as it didn’t confirm that the second turn would be to the left, rather than to the right.
When the pilots made the wrong turn, the controller had them hold position, look at their charts, and then admit the mistake they made. Hey, it might only be baby steps, but this is progress for this guy in terms of not totally losing it on pilots.
What do you make of this JFK ATC interaction?
