If the pilot wants a straight in approach to a runway that is occupied by
another aircraft that can't be moved in time, ATC can certainly suggest
alternatives as well as point out the impossibility of the pilot's request.
This isn't a legal issue. This is a question of declaring an emergency and
then having the pilot and ATC work together to safely get the aircraft down
at an acceptable airport ASAP.

I don't know all of the details. It does appear that ATC was reluctant to
totally screw up their arrival patterns at DFW to handle this aircraft.
That would obviously not be acceptable if DFW was the only option. However,
the pilot also appears to have been focused on getting home more than his
"emergency". Gethomeitis is what kills the most pilots every year.

Mike Schumann

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in message
...
Danny Deger wrote:
"Ross" wrote in message
...
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"Mike Schumann" wrote in message
.. .

I'm not saying that ATC didn't have a problem, but by the same
token, it is also unacceptable for the pilot to continue to his
destination after he declared an emergency to avoid the delays and
hassles of diverting to a closer airport.



What closer airport?

The Dallas news said McKinney (KTKI) and Addison (KADS) were other
choices. As someone else said, the decent cruise to KDFW would have
been just as quick.


This brings up an interesting question. Maybe a straight-in to the
south was not a problem for these other airports, but a straight-in
to the south at DFW was a pain in the ass for DFW traffic. Does ATC
have the right to decline a straight-in to DFW if they can give the
pilot a reasonable alternative?

No




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