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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxt!mhuxi!mhuxa!houxm!ihnp4!ihuxl!esj
From: esj@ihuxl.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Commercial aviation overflights
Message-ID: <546@ihuxl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Sep-83 20:41:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxl.546
Posted: Thu Sep  8 20:41:35 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Sep-83 05:00:25 EDT
References: <696@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: BTL Naperville, Il.
Lines: 24


We overflew Cuba in January on a flight from Chicago to Montego Bay,
Jamaica.  The pilot (or copilot) told us that the flights had to be
cleared with the Cubans about a month in advance and we had to stay
in a certain corridor.

On the night flight back, several messages from the Cuban controllers
were badly garbled and plagued by static, to the point where our
pilots were asking them to repeat each message three or four times.
This went on for about twenty minutes during which time I could
clearly hear them directing other traffic in the area.

Now if the radio in our plane was bad, why could I hear them talking
to other planes while ones directed to us were garbled?  Same thing
for their transmitter(s) being bad.  I'll admit the possibility of
coincidence but it made me wonder.

To top things off, the Miami controllers then tried to vector us in
for a landing in Orlando.  "Oops! Sorry United 5575, we seem to
have lost you. Maintain present heading and speed and we'll try 
to clear this up." Or something along those lines.

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