Challenger CL604
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 65; Flight Crew Total 11000; Flight Crew Type 6500
Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Speed All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Human Factors; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Procedure
While on the arrival into PDK we were vectoring around heavy rain and thunderstorms. The Approach Controller tried several times to fly us directly into level 3-4 rain cells. The Controller said he wasn't showing anything on his RADAR and continued in an aggressive manner to turn us directly into the cells we both could see and were showing on our RADAR. In his frustration; the Controller turned us 180 degrees from our airport and told us to 'sort out whatever we were seeing'. We were then given another frequency of another Controller who not only saw the same weather; but actually helped us navigate through it. After many turns and deviations we were told to contact [our previous frequency] again; we did and the original Controller was back again with us. He then asked what our speed was and we replied 245 KTS indicated. He advised us we were in Class B airspace and to slow to 200 KTS. We complied and shortly came out of the other side of the weather front and landed at PDK without further incident. In hindsight we should have reverenced the terminal airspace chart when clearing the thunderstorm threat.
Corporate jet inbound to PDK voiced concern regarding the questionable ATC handling provided by one ZTL Controller with respect to weather avoidance.