"Pilots Pull Rank, Declare Emergency At JFK (With Audio)"

[A4sForever]

One thing to throw out from experience as well as to ask the others with lots of commercial experience is that everytime I have had to declare an emergency, the controller has thrown in the, "When able state the nature of your emergency.".... It also let's the controller pass on to the field what is happening and even though sending emergency vehicles is standard, maybe you had a fire that injured 30 people. Two ambulances ain't gonna help much.

While the e-word can be used to give you options...

And many/most controllers say/used to say: ''PLEASE STATE TOTAL FUEL AND SOULS ON BOARD'' ... thus providing a further 'headwork' complication to an already potentially 'complex' problem ... I always told 'em to ''STAND-BY'' w/ the head-count if we were procedure-buried at the moment (can't they check w/ company ??? we'll get to it when we can--it's easy w/ a Second Officer, but he's probably reading the EMERG Checklist ... ) ... but the fuel ... ahhhhhhhhhhh .... there's that fuel 'thing' again. That one's 'easy' ... you should KNOW it alla' de' time ...

You've got quite a few options w/out declaring an 'EMERGENCY'. I've asked Tower/ATC to ''ROLL THE EQUIPMENT'' when I had a 'problem' that may or may have not eventually included bumping it up to 'EMERGENCY' status -- that's what the guys in the fire house are getting paid for, and most of 'em wanted 'something to do' in any case. I figured it was more prudent to have a couple of OSHKOSH's following us during the roll-out/back-taxi than to have the 'problem' deteriorate and have no emerg/crash assistance readily available ...

Never caught any flak for 'rolling the equipment' and ultimately not 'needing' it, and neither did any of my Amigos. It's part of the job.

 

[yak52driver]

And many/most controllers say/used to say: ''PLEASE STATE TOTAL FUEL AND SOULS ON BOARD'' ... thus providing a further 'headwork' complication to an already potentially 'complex' problem ... I always told 'em to ''STAND-BY'' w/ the head-count if we were procedure-buried at the moment (can't they check w/ company ??? we'll get to it when we can--it's easy w/ a Second Officer, but he's probably reading the EMERG Checklist ... ) ... but the fuel ... ahhhhhhhhhhh .... there's that fuel 'thing' again. That one's 'easy' ... you should KNOW it alla' de' time ...

You've got quite a few options w/out declaring an 'EMERGENCY'. I've asked Tower/ATC to ''ROLL THE EQUIPMENT'' when I had a 'problem' that may or may have not eventually included bumping it up to 'EMERGENCY' status -- that's what the guys in the fire house are getting paid for, and most of 'em wanted 'something to do' in any case. I figured it was more prudent to have a couple of OSHKOSH's following us during the roll-out/back-taxi than to have the 'problem' deteriorate and have no emerg/crash assistance readily available ...

Never caught any flak for 'rolling the equipment' and ultimately not 'needing' it, and neither did any of my Amigos. It's part of the job.

I've had an engine that ran pretty rough a couple of times and let tower know that, they rolled the equipment without even being asked or the E word being used. And I agree with you on the rescue folks, they like getting their stuff out even if it's not needed.

 

[eas7888]

And I agree with you on the rescue folks, they like getting their stuff out even if it's not needed.

"Hope for the best, train for the worst"

 

[pourts]

Or, in the game of telephone from pilot, to approach, to tower, to ground, to the fire trucks "unexpended mk-76s" becomes "hung ordinance" and they roll themselves down the runway. Better that they be chomping at the bit than lazy, I suppose.

 

[scoolbubba]

And many/most controllers say/used to say: ''PLEASE STATE TOTAL FUEL AND SOULS ON BOARD'' ... thus providing a further 'headwork' complication to an already potentially 'complex' problem ... I always told 'em to ''STAND-BY'' w/ the head-count if we were procedure-buried at the moment (can't they check w/ company ??? we'll get to it when we can--it's easy w/ a Second Officer, but he's probably reading the EMERG Checklist ... ) ... but the fuel ... ahhhhhhhhhhh .... there's that fuel 'thing' again. That one's 'easy' ... you should KNOW it alla' de' time ...

Down south, tower loved to question every wave off. Taking a bird off the windscreen on final and into the #2 engine that then flamed itself out, the last thing I cared about was rogering up to Juan in the tower when he inquired why we waved off smack in the middle of our Emergency S/D checklist. Coupled with the language barrier and Central American non-standard radio comms (They always get the last word....always...Roger, rooooyer), clueing the bubs on the ground in to what was going on in the air was a very distant 3rd, after flying and navigating.

 

[A4sForever]

Down south, tower loved to question every wave off... Coupled with the language barrier and Central American non-standard radio comms...

Probably 'cause they're not used to seein' people going around for WX, headwork, or general conditions requiring it ... they're more used to seeing the 'local boy' crews press on & run off the end of the runway.

This is not 'opinion' ... this is first hand knowledge ... even though I am a bigoted, racist homophobe ...

 

[ryan1234]

Probably 'cause they're not used to seein' people going around for WX, headwork, or general conditions requiring it ... they're more used to seeing the 'local boy' crews press on & run off the end of the runway.

This is not 'opinion' ... this is first hand knowledge ... even though I am a bigoted, racist homophobe ...

Most of the islands down 'yonder have crashed aircraft on every end of every runway to attest to that (as I'm sure you've seen). In the FBOs the story always starts .... "so the first time I crashed a DC-3/6/etc on take-off..."


On a side note totally off topic - one of the old frieght dogs used to talk about how the locals in Dom Rep would play in the wrecked/crashed aircraft at the airports.... actually they weren't playing... but practicing how to ingress a moving (taxi) aircraft so they could stowaway for a free flight to a better life.... He said that to see the 'door light come on while on the taxi was not an unusual sight... after a couple of those incidents they started putting some armed guards on each taxiway.

 

[Jim123]

Most of the islands down 'yonder in the carib have crashed aircraft on every end of every runway to attest to that (as I'm sure you've seen).

Yeah, that kinda surprised me the first (and second) time I saw that. Sorta like cars on blocks with stuff growing out of them.