"Dave Butler" wrote in message
news:1133385648.868087@sj-nntpcache-3...

OK, suit yourself.


No, you suit yourself, I'll adhere to the established definitions.



The clearance as originally stated was not for a discretionary descent.
It's not what's in the controller's head that counts, it's what she says.
When she "verified" that that the descent was to be discretionary, she was
in effect changing the clearance. That may not have been the controller's
intention, but that's what a pilot receiving the clearance should infer.


As I said previously, the controller used nonstandard phraseology. The
controller from the start intended for the descent to be at pilot's
discretion, she verified that it was when the pilot asked for clarification.
The clearance was not amended.