"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:
I just called the FBO.

Just out of curiosity, can you make a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone
Network) call from your radar station? Are the calls recorded?

For ARTCC's, we can't access a PSTN from the Sector (at least in my
facility). However, there is a PSTN in the ARTCC with dozens of commercial
phone lines and phones at each supervisor position in each Area. We have
access to literally hundreds of phone numbers, from law enforcement at our
airports to emergency services to FBO's to airline dispatch offices, ARINC
etc.


I've heard that you're not allowed to accept IFR cancellations which are
relayed via other aircraft. Is this correct?

This is not correct. We can.

On a marginally related topic, my club had a talk recently about
in-flight medical emergencies. Let's say you were working me and I
said, "I've got a medical emergency, landing Podunk Municipal, get an
ambulance to meet me there" and then disappeared from the frequency.
What would you do? Do you have the resources/authority to get a medical
team dispatched to Podunk?

Yep. In the ARTCC's, we keep an updated index file on computer of hundreds
of emergency contact phone numbers for the airspace we serve. Going in to
Podunk, we would look up the emergency services for Podunk, place an
official sounding, recorded, urgent emergency call from FAA, and do our best
to get an ambulance to you if it was possible.

In Center airspace out in the boonies, you might have to make do with
whatever showed up at the airport though. One of the fun extra-duty jobs
I've had was verifying the Center's fire and emergency services numbers a
few years ago (something we do every year as part of facility SOP). I
called the official emergency number for Gilmer County Airport up in the
Blue Ridge of North Georgia.

"Yaller? Airport."

"Hello, this is the FAA Atlanta Air Traffic Control Center calling to verify
that this phone number is for emergency services at 49A."

"Say whut?"

"Err, this is the Federal Aviation Administration calling. Is this Gilmer
County Airport?"

"Weel yes sah, it's Gilma Counee, sheer is..."

"Err, could I speak with the airfield emergency services dispatcher?"

"He ain't here- he's out on the ambulance."

"How about the airport manager? I'm trying to verify that this is still a
good aircraft emergency contact number."

"Dang it, hold on..." He put down the phone, went to a door and yelled:
"Hey Jed! JED! Hey! It the Fed's! HEY JED DAMMIT! CLIMB ON DOWN AN'
COME 'ERE! PHONE CALL FROM THE FFA!"

"Sorry about that mister, he was out on the ambulance mowing the airport..."

Here's your sign....

Chip, ZTL