Nick,

You are absolutely correct.

A minimum fuel ADVISORY is just that, an advisory. From the AIM,...advise ATC of your minimum fuel status, when your fuel supply has reached a state where, upon reaching your destination, you cannot accept any undue delay.

A low fuel EMERGENCY suggests the need for traffic priority (i.e. landing against the flow of traffic) to ensure a normal landing.

There is more, of couse, and I'm sure others will add to these two definitions; but two points I'd like to add. One, the media isn't always accurate in their reporting especially about aviation.

Secondly, Tulsa to DFW is about an 1 hr and 20 minutes of flying. The 757 burns about 10K lbs the first hour and approx. 8K lbs the second hour. On a 80 minute flight, that equates to approx 13K -14K lbs of fuel.

If my old age memory serves me correct the minimum fuel amount for dispatch on the 757 is 14K of fuel. You can't leave the gate with less than 14K in the tanks. Then add to that taxi fuel , alternate fuel, holding fuel, etc.

My point is how do run low on fuel if you had the necessary fuel at takeoff brake-release on an 80 minute flight. Did they get lost ? Did they depart with less that takeoff brake-release fuel ? Did they forget that DFW is a congested hub for their airline ? I wonder if there is more to the story.