Years ago I got "that number." Delta almost ran me down, it was a near miss. When asked how close I lied. I was not at fault and it was probably a controller that F--- up. I know this made a controller happy and a Delta Pilot happy. I am not a fan of the FAA. I suspect the Delta Pilot also lied as I never got a follow up phone call.
This was during the Aircraft Controllers strike in the 80s and ATC was doing the best they could with limited staff. President Reagan told them if they went on strike he would fire them. They went on strike and Reagan fired all that did.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER !
I remember when that happened. I was on the last plane coming over from the UK before they all got turned around. I was four hours late and had an adventure getting from JFK to Maryland.
Apparently the ATC audio is available (I’ve not heard it), and a reader comment at the Herald suggests that mastery of basic aviation English might have been an issue.
Makes me wonder if the tail number of the biz jet begins with Nā¦
A guy I knew back then had a dad who was middle management at the FAA in ATL. He went into the replacement ATC training program and ended up moving to Anchorage and doing a full career as a Federal ATC up there.