Nationwide Ground Stop Catches Student Pilot on First Solo Flight, Leaving Him Unsure What to Do
A nationwide ground stop imposed in the United States on November 13 due to a communications outage caught a student pilot in the air during his first solo cross-country flight.
In a newly surfaced air traffic control (ATC) recording, a controller can be heard informing the student pilot of the nationwide ground stop and advising him to land his aircraft. The student pilot expressed his confusion, saying, “Honestly, I’m a student pilot. This is my first solo cross-country flight, and I don’t know what to do.”
The air traffic controller then advised the student pilot to return to Hicks Airfield in Texas, where he had departed from. After providing information about other aircraft operating in the area, the controller reassured the pilot that there was nothing wrong with the airfield itself and instructed him to switch to the appropriate traffic advisory frequency.
