First Annual Archie League Medal of Safety Awards:
Audio Tape Transcripts 

GREAT LAKES REGION

MADISON TOWER

CONTROLLER: Dan Hemenway

HEMENWAY: Cirrus eight delta foxtrot, turning left heading three-one zero.

Cirrus SR22 – call sign N678DF (“eight delta foxtrot”): delta foxtrot, three one zero.

HEMENWAY: Cirrus eight delta foxtrot, descend and maintain two thousand, seven hundred.

N678DF: Eight delta foxtrot, going to two thousand, seven hundred.

N678DF: (short, repeated breath sounds)

HEMENWAY: Cirrus eight delta foxtrot, low altitude alert. Check your altitude immediately. You’re supposed to be at twenty-seven hundred.

HEMENWAY: Eight delta fox, say your altitude?

N678DF: Eight delta fox, going through one thousand.

HEMENWAY: Eight delta foxtrot, climb!

N678DF: It went nuts.

HEMENWAY: Two thousand seven hundred, eight delta foxtrot. Say your altitude now?

N678DF: Two thousand five hundred.

HEMENWAY: OK. Eight delta foxtrot, is everything OK?

N678DF: No, it isn’t OK.

HEMENWAY: Eight delta foxtrot, maintain two thousand seven hundred if you can. Let me know what the problem is, if you can.

N678DF: OK, eight delta foxtrot, I think I’ve stabilized it now.

HEMENWAY: Cirrus eight delta foxtrot, can I do anything for you?

N678DF: Eight delta foxtrot, I’m just trying to stabilize it here. I’m a little over three thousand. I went to zero. So you need to … I think I’ll go back to Rockford. I took it off the autopilot and it just went nuts.

HEMENWAY: Eight delta fox, OK, just maintain anything above two thousand seven hundred is fine.

N678DF: Eight delta fox, can you tell me what altitude you’re reading for.

HEMENWAY: I’m showing thirty four hundred, eight delta fox.

N678DF: Eight delta fox, that’s perfect.

HEMENWAY: Eight delta foxtrot, I’m going to climb you and try to get you on top. Climb and maintain seven thousand.

N678DF: Eight delta fox, going to seven thousand.

(HEMENWAY THEN ATTENDS TO OTHER AIRCRAFT WITH A SERIES OF TRANSMISSIONS)

HEMENWAY: And eight delta fox, just to verify now, fly heading one eight zero, climb and maintain seven thousand, let me know when you get on top.

N678DF: OK, one eight zero, we’re going through four thousand.