Black dots = Airplanes. Where they're all heading is Memphis - FedEx's hub (before they and the storm gets there its a red dot with KMEM on it). A storm is moving in so the controllers direct the planes around the storm and land most of them before it hits. The planes making circles are 'circling' waiting for weather to clear.

I've saved this as a favorite, and have probably watched it once a month for a few years now... Love it!!

Each center is divided into areas, and each area is divided into sectors, which is the smallest unit of air traffic control. Each plane passes though many sectors enroute to an airport. A sector is not only lateral space, but vertical as well, kind of like layers of a cake. So to answer your question, yes, many had a hand in pulling this off. The area supervisors are the ones who coordinate with weather control. It's a well oiled machine.

150(+/-) aircraft from 11p to 1a and back out between 2:30a and 4a... 3 N-S runways and one E-W runway.. the ATCs here are talented and perform this bal;let each night. I've been working the FedEx Mem Ramp for 16 years and I still love watching the planes land and take off...

P E R F E C T JOB! He should be promoted or something like that. He saved so many lives in just a few hours!!!

I love that one plane at the very end where it diverts and goes way off the map :P

They look like ants going to the ant pile. and the music just totally completed the looks XD.

Seeing FedEx has the largest fleet of planes in the world and Memphis, Tennessee is their main hub, with thunderstorms and tornadoes passing in the southeast a lot, who can imagine how skilled ATC is?

That is soo cool and funny at the same time! Speeding up the image gives a comical view.

I love the one aircraft that gets routed -through- the line of storms (0:17-0:21; watch in the middle-right) and lands just ahead of the storm. And as I've said before... the music is almost perfectly-timed to what's going on in the radar image. I love this video lots, and have much respect for the intricate choreography that kept everyone safe. :)

KMEM is the major hub for FedEx. Everything from 747's to Caravans. If you ever see an aerial pic of the airport, the whole north side is FedEx.

I love the total badass at :20 who just flys right through the north part of the storm.

ATL dealt with close to 90,000,000 passengers in 2007, living up to its designation as the world's busiest airport. However, Memphis does have the world's largest cargo operation by volume, thanks to FedEx and UPS.

I love the one plane that decides to divert instead of holding...

As a 19 yr old kid going into the Air Force for ATC, this is fascinating and intimidating. I hope to god that i'm prepared enough.

@bitstream1

3 ай бұрын

howd it go?

Your package is on the plane that went through the red, you know it.

Haha, makes the planes look like ants returning to the nest.

nice, they showed that same video at the Fedex offices near the airport when i did a summer aviation program it was so cool and that showed the one of fedex operation in a 24 hour period

i was a helicopter crewmember for kern county fire, and later the US Forest Service... we not only fight fire, but set up the air bases all the helos use. I've worked as the air base radio operator(mission control sort of) and take off and landing coordinator(kind of like the tower, basically controlling incoming/outgoing aircraft on the deck)) on huge fires with up to 35 helos flying missions 14 hours a day on a 2 hour fuel cycle... cargo, personel.. all that stuff

@beergut111 If we take the term literally yes they're both skilled but this video is specifically highlighting the controller's ability to direct flights. The planes you see here that are maneuvering around the storm, the fact that they're able to land safely on limited runway space in complicated air space is due to the controllers telling every single one of those planes you see on that screen where they need to be at that very moment, and where they need to go.

I really applaud your choice of music to go along with the display. :)

Bloody hell, that is work load, A friend once asked me why I didn't apply for for ATC : Thats Why!!!!!! Respect!

@straightflush66 Yes, it's the fedex arrival rush into Memphis. I'm sure there were planes departing, but not fedex and this is only fedex aircraft. The planes all arrive, the freight is pulled off and sorted and loaded into different planes, and then they all depart. It's really a logistical marvel.

More like highly skilled dispatchers and pilots.

wow. that controller really is highly skilled!

funny to see when the storm hovers above the terminal, the 'ants' starts to run around

Thunderstorms have violent vertical shifts in winds. Even if you wings stay in tact, you may find that there suddenly no lift. It is a situation called wind sheer. There was a crash in Texas I think in the late 80's where a 737 was on final, hit a wind sheer, and crashed. That's what dangerous about thunderstorms and flight.

this is awesome, nice choice of music also

That takes skillz, right there.

lmao i like the one guy that choses to divert to Forth Worth it looks like while the rest suck it up and land in the thunderstorm.

If you've ever been in a tower you'd see that one person isn't doing this alone... and the video is CLEARLY speeded up.

that was like watchin a bunch of ants.. lol kudos to the controller... :-D

Memphis gets military traffic, your standard commercial traffic (Mostly RJs but some heavier aircraft from Delta and the like), and the traffic from FedEx's worldhub for basically the Americas. FedEx traffic makes up the vast majority of their traffic, and FedEx is a damn big company with a lot of planes, so you can pretty much expect the majority of that traffic to be either an ASA RJ or FedEx heavies coming in. Pretty cool sight though.

0:31 i bet they were like "OH CRAP.! BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP" xDDD

It's like playing Lemmings in real life.

This would be several controllers working in conjunction.

This guy has some mad skill. Good Job, Awesome.

geez that one plane at the end went all the way back to dallas!

@atczeroable No, I wasn't implying that she actually runs a sector, but she used to. She is very capable of doing it agian if she had to, but now she manages people. Occasionally she will cover a board if someone is late or needs a bathroom break, things like that.

this man must be a god at flight control

Yeah August 2, 1985 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed on final to KDFW runway 17L (I believe it was 17L) it first hit about 6,000 feet from the runway, bounced up, took a car off of highway 114 (Unlucky guy in the car...) and then hit two 15,000 gallon water tanks... Their were 29 survivors however.

props to guy that does ojob!

cool to watch everytime. good job to ATC.

0:30 "shit shit turn around!"

i have a big respect 4 all air trafic controllers and,when regan god bless him fird all of them in LAX.i was very sad ,they r our EYEIN THE SKY,very stresful job!

The red is LAVA!!

Great! I see very few actually had to hold for a while. Nice work by the controllers.

thats the weather, red is a storm, and you notice how the planes get diverted, or get put into a holding pattern and wait it out. No plane is allowed to land or take off under those conditions, its extremely dangerous! yellow, is caution, the planes can still land and take-off, but usually involves high winds/crosswinds, but need to be done with care, and the green well... just light winds, not much to worry about unless your first time solo in a Cessna 172! :D

Nice video. It looks like a stream of ants! I also like the selection of music for this.

Believe it or not, that FEDEX traffic comes into Memphis around 11PM to midnight, so it would be understandable that there were no departures, even if they were depicted, which they probably were not.

wow, I never really understood what an traffic controller did. That was soooooo cool!!

looks honestly like a slow day at atlanta.

I like the one guy who's like fu*k it I'm going to Dallas...hehe

Wow, they all look like ants marching around.

Now that my friends is a great video for traffic patterns and weather. hehe

Fantastic!

This is approx a 1.5 hr (or so) time frame, total. The last flight DID divert to DFW. Thats what happens when LIT and STL and other alternate airports are full of previously diverted aircraft. I't a nightly thing at KMEM/FDX when the wx is bad. Most aircraft make it in, thanks to ATC, FDX pilots and dispatchers. And that's why packages Absolutely Positively get there the next morning.!

Wow, that is awesome, man alive.

Great Vid!

The skies are fuckin busy!

Maybe he was flying out to begin with. It was funny anyhow with the music and them going in confused circles.

Great job from the ATC, and great choice on the music. What's the name of this song, please?

Yeah I hope people realize this is not just ONE controller working all of these airplanes. There's probably a dozen or more.

awesome... air traffic control is an amazing mental exercise.... it drives some people crazy (like wierd look in the eye, i think they need to punch somebody and get it over with crazy), but it actually makes you feel smarter when you first begin to do a good job, lol... and for some reason, you start feel like pilots are getting less smart as you go along, lmao... but i never handled more than a 35 aircraft base ...

Wow thats amazing!!! although its been sped up, i mean wow! Have to rethink applyin to be an ATC if thats wat's expected!!

that is so awesome!

I know this has been asked already, but since it's been bugging me -- what's the song? It fits so well!

Not every controller is govt. Many smaller airports (typically below level 6) are contracted out to the airport, and they manage their own workforce. The rest, yes, are then either FAA, DoD, or military. Those are the 4 ways to be a controller in the US. --SNA ATC Specialist

I'm pretty sure that it's because it's only tracking FedEx planes going in to Memphis for loading. They all come in before midnight, load up, then go out again. At the very end of the video it looks like they're leaving again.

@hghskid In the UK, its 6-9 months training followed by 3-4 years on the job being supervised intensively. During all this time you will be paid basic wages but will often have accomadation taken care of. After that, its about $70000+ and you can easily earn double that later on in your career. Its good pay but a highly stressful job (esp at big airports) and its all shift work (eg often working midnight to 8am). You always need to remain calm, have good hearing and eyesight too.

that's amazing!

thats art!!!!!!!!!

amazing!!!

The controllers work for the government, and have no connection to FedEx. Getting these planes down and to their ramp was the work of 10-20 controllers, not just one.

there are probably like 10 people guiding the airplanes

good - wages, depending on what sector your in FSS,VFR,IFR, anywhere from about 45k-100,000+, depending where you are, and your senority also its like a giant video game, just with no reset button! :D also the oppertunity to crack jokes to pilots is alot of fun! also its not nearly as stressful as hollywood or people think it is, people in the tower/centres are trained professionals that have undergone rigourous training... its stressful at times, but so is every job!

no. one flew into Little Rock (LIT), and then one came out heading to Dallas. Some of the others diverted to LIT as well.

47 seconds! They ARE good!

@Loxspliff -just curious. How many people does it take to make that happen? (not including flight crew.) love this vid btw.

LOL when the storm hits the airport they all just run away..

The controllers don't direct planes between thunderstorms. That's pilots using weather radar on board to see where to go.

While true.. controllers are providing separation and creating the "string of pearls" with undoubtedly a bunch of diversion requests. I don't see many holding patterns going on here which means controllers are doing a good job.

really cool

Getting them lined up around the weather and setting them up on the proper approaches requires quite some skill. There's plenty involved in ATC vectoring in severe weather like that.

i know its just that the holding pattern looked like a long time but other then that he can make them organized quickly

Ha ha ....Nice comback, rick

Agreed- Mspenecer ~ Good collabrative efforts on Both ends, obviously.

Hell only one diverted......good ATC!!!!

So many packages!!!!!

0:00 - WANT 0:31 - DO NOT WANT

that was kinda cute, somehow

Very Nice. Is it based on ADS-B ? and yes, WHAT IS THE MUSIC ?

HUMANS OWN

@giantrobot503 join the air force. Only a few minor details: it is free, you have to sign a 6 year contract, you might have to wait a while to get in, you might not make it with 80% washout rate, you'll receive better training than FAA school. Easy choice for me. Rated air traffic controller with no degree after just over 12 months in the military. Good luck with whatever you decide!

run away, run away!!

@Loxspliff Yes thats why it says controllerS

@drewmagoo1 Well, at least I learned a new music search software. Was kinda tired of the crappy Tunatic. Thanks!

@Loxspliff what do you work as? like position?

that was lovely haha!

nice!