ATC application to listen in to current flight?

Question

I was wondering if there is some sort of app or website that allows people (well, me as a passenger) to listen in to the ATC of my current flight? (Assuming the flight has passenger wifi).

If this is possible, could this increase the safety of flights?

More passengers and therefore, more ears, on ATC could have potentially saved multiple airliners where major incidents occurred due to pilots mishearing / misunderstanding ATC either due to broken signals, language barriers or other distractions. Please note, this isn't my primary reason for wanting this. I am just interested in listening for entertainment purposes.

This is best asked in chat or searched via a search engine, as resource finding / shopping is off-topic and attracts unwanted spam. — , Jun 27 '18 at 13:27
Maybe we could have something like Twitch Plays Pokemon where passengers vote on what the next control input will be based on what they think they heard over the radio. — fooot, Jun 27 '18 at 14:13
@Cloud - The shopping part is still there, and the new sentence contradicts the last paragraph. — , Jun 27 '18 at 14:15
You claim about passengers "saving" airliners by listening to ATC seems highly implausible. Do you have sources to back it up? But there is a possible reference: for years United let passengers listen to ATC audio on channel 9 (I don't know if they still do or not). If you can find a) an example of a passenger listening to channel 9 who then "saved" an aircraft, and/or b) statistical evidence that United flights were safer in general due to channel 9 (i.e. after controlling for all other factors) then you might have an interesting point. But I'm very sceptical that you would find anything. — Pondlife, Jun 27 '18 at 14:31
Related: How was I able to just plug in my headphones and listen to ATC and pilot chatter? — , Jun 27 '18 at 14:46
Not only is it highly implausible that a passenger listening to live ATC would save a flight, but any possible benefit would be overwhelmed by the massive number of passengers raising false alarms due to misunderstandings. — DJClayworth, Jun 27 '18 at 15:19
@Pondlife What about the Majorca disaster where the pilot didn't hear that the runway was not clear? Perhaps if someone else had been listening... I will try to find some actual evidence to present though. — Cloud, Jun 28 '18 at 09:26
@Cloud You're imagining a scenario where an untrained passenger hears, understands, interprets and correctly assesses the implications of a radio call when two professionals with much more information and situational awareness did not. And then, the passenger has to convince the cabin crew that they should interrupt the flight crew seconds before takeoff to tell them that the guy in 21C thinks that the crew misheard an ATC call. Even for another pilot, that would be difficult. I just don't see it happening outside of a movie. — Pondlife, Jun 28 '18 at 13:42
@Pondlife I understand. Thankyou for the explanation... maybe I will never save an airliner after all... — Cloud, Jun 28 '18 at 14:01
"Maybe"?? It is *absolutely certain* that you will never save an airliner. — abelenky, Jun 28 '18 at 15:31
@abelenky How can anything be said to be 'absolutely certain'?... — Cloud, Jun 28 '18 at 15:34

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 27 '18 at 13:35

4

https://www.liveatc.net/. It's real time ATC, although there might be a delay of a second or two in what you hear.

For fun, great, but if you're thinking that a passenger could listen in and hear something and run up to the flight deck to correct some misinterpretation, no.

answered Jun 27 '18 at 13:35

John K

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@John K - Why not? What if they are speaking in your native tongue, while the pilot is not? – Cloud Jun 27 '18 at 13:40
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How many passengers know the situation and lingo? The pilots have a better situational overview of both the plane and traffic. – vidarlo Jun 27 '18 at 14:01
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@Cloud For every "useful" input from a passenger, there would be a few hundred "huh? What was that? Is that bad?" inputs, and the distraction of having to deal with *those* would be awful. United has 'channel 9' on their IFE so you can listen, but they do NOT accept passenger inputs in the manner you suggest. – Ralph J Jun 27 '18 at 14:13
@RalphJ: Does United still have Ch.9? I thought they ended that soon after 9/11. I used to love listening to it, however. – abelenky Jun 27 '18 at 14:25
But this won't work for the "current flight" due to 1) a passenger not understanding the different stations 2) the coverage of liveatc. – Jun 27 '18 at 15:09
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@abelenky Some flights still have it, although it is entirely up to the pilots whether or not it is on and working. – Ron Beyer Jun 27 '18 at 18:07
LiveATC works great in the US or countries with liberal broadcasting laws, but there are countries (like some in Europe) that do not allow these types of rebroadcasting, so your mileage with LiveATC may vary depending on what country you are listening to. Also note that there is a bit of a delay, so by the time a passenger heard it, the pilot has probably already responded to it. – Ron Beyer Jun 27 '18 at 18:09

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 27 '18 at 14:35

Passengers, on US carriers anyway, would not have access to the pilots. The best they could do is notify the steward/stewardess and one of them could relay the info to the pilot or first officer.

I am a small plane pilot, and also enjoy listening to the active frequency when it is available.

ATC application to listen in to current flight?

2 Answers2