"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in
ink.net:


"Judah" wrote in message
. ..

It might have. It largely depends on the exact nature of his
disorientation
- which neither of us know for sure.


Why would the controller issue the altitude alert?

I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I believe a controller will
issue an alert if a pilot is descending faster than 1700 fpm. I also
suspect that in the Boston area, a pilot might be instructed to advise
prior to altitude changes, creating a query if he had not. I agree that
an official Altitude Alert such as those you might get for being 200'
below an assigned altitude on an IFR route would not apply here. But I
have been asked to confirm airport in sight when descending VFR with
flight following and even this could have woken JFK Jr. up...

It might not have made a difference. Or it might have.

Everything from weather and turbulence reports to personal greetings
and brief personal conversations - even sports score announcements!
Many controllers seem friendly and are happy to assist pilots in any
way they can.


But that's unrelated to flight following, that comes from just being
on the frequency.

I'm not sure I get your point here. Do most pilots follow frequencies
as they traverse sectors so that they can listen for other people's
pireps and traffic alerts? I always found it easier to just ask for
advisories.