The altimeter, which is usually a barometer calibrated in units of distance instead of atmospheric pressure, can therefore be set in such a way as to indicate the height of the aircraft above ground. This is done by communicating with the control tower of the airport (to get the current surface pressure) and setting the altimeter so as to read zero on the ground of that airport. Confusion between AGL and AMSL, or improper calibration of the altimeter, may result in controlled flight into terrain, a crash of a fully functioning aircraft under pilot control.