On my first solo cross country, I was flying north through the San Fernando
valley and trying to keep track of traffic callouts. Apparently there was
a controller with a similar problem.
He had managed to confuse a commercial jet on approach to Burbank with a
private plane that was transitioning south across the valley. For a period
of about 90 seconds he was calling out instructions to them that weren't
quite what they wanted ... and finally the commercial jet pilot enquired
as to where he was being sent.
There was a brief exchange about intentions, followed by an "oops" and 30
seconds of silence. The next voice I heard on that frequency said:
"Attention all aircraft. Previous controller no longer a factor.
W H Y C O P S H A T E Y O U <<<<&l <
-if you have to ask get out of the way-
Have you ever been stopped by a traffic cop and, while he was
writing a ticket or giving you a warning, you got the feeling that
he would just love to yank you out of the car, right through the
window, and smash your face into the front fender?...