"Jim Macklin" writes:

Maybe, how much time was available? If the AA plane was in
DFW approach airspace, it was maybe 5-6 minutes out, how
long would clearing all the other traffic take?

The time required to read a vector to each aircraft and receive the readback.
"(callsign), turn to heading xxx" and "Turn to heading xxx, (callsign)"
multiplied by the number of aircraft. If each instruction and readback
require a total of eight seconds (and I'm being generous), and there are
twenty aircraft to be moved, that's 160 seconds, or just under three minutes.
In reality, of course, they won't all have to be moved, and it isn't even
likely that there would be two dozen in close proximity. There are other
factors that come into play, most of them reducing, not increasing the time
required to move other traffic.

On a busy day at Wichita, there might be three other
aircraft, at DFW, it would be dozens. How long does it
take?

See above. It doesn't take very long.

BTHOOM, but it does take some measurable time.

Yes, measurable time, but not significant time.

ATC has limitations, they can be UNABLE just as pilots can
be unable.

They are never unable to divert traffic. If they were, then many aircraft
would crash each time a thunderstorm rolled over the airport or an aircraft
was slow in leaving the runway.

If the AA plane was over Ardmore, then DFW had
plenty of time, if the AA plane was close-in, there would
not be time to clear the space.

There's always time to clear the space. Most of it is clear already. The
only real obstacle is an aircraft on the runway, and that can be cleared in a
few seconds.

You seem very reluctant to accept the reality of unconditional priority for
aircraft with emergencies, and very eager to postulate highly fanciful
scenarios in which it would somehow be difficult to make way for an aircraft
with an emergency to land on the runway of the pilot's choice.

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