SikPilot,

There was much more pilot/ATC Q & A relating to this incident than what was aired in the 30-second clip on the evening news. I feel certain that the first Controller who was informed that there was a "problem" of some sort, started obtaining all of the necessary information to provide assistance: 1) callsign, 2) nature of emergency and 3) pilot desires are the bare minimum. That info is then handed off to an FAA Supervisor, who will then disseminate the emergency info via landline (recorded) or commercial telephone (might be recorded).

Just guessing here, but the Supervisor probably notified each and every sector that the aircraft would transit while entroute to DFW; the DFW Tower and TRACON were notified; and someone might have called the airline Operations or Ramp Tower at DFW. The Tower Crash Phone was activated at some point, and a bunch of other agencies are notified via this network. There's quite a bit of coordination that takes place behind the scenes, and very little (if any) of this is heard on the frequency -- it's mostly internal.

By the time that this emergency aircraft checked-in with the Feeder Controller at DFW TRACON, everyone in the building already knew that there was an emergency aircraft inbound; they knew the callsign; the type; and runway that was going to be assigned. There was no further need to question the pilot about information that had been previously obtained by a Fort Worth Center Controller.

From the audio clip that was aired on TV, it seems pretty clear to me that the pilot wanted RWY 17C. However... if my Supervisor orders me to take an aircraft to a different runway than what was requested by the pilot -- I'm gonna do it. Insubordination is not something that my career can stand at this point of the game. I have to trust that the Supervisor is privy to some other information that I don't have at that particular moment. The company might want the aircraft on a particular runway, RWY xx might be closed or ARFF might prefer an emergency aircraft on RWY xx for some logistical reason.

It's unfortunate, but sometimes the pilot has to express his concern or desires in such a manner that would appease an attorney (or an FAA Supervisor/Manager) who might be sitting at the RADAR scope. I tried to talk a pilot into a particular runway many years ago (non-emergency), and was informed the following: "Look Son, I'm the captain of this here aircraft. I've got 170+ passengers on board, and I'm telling you that I need RWY XX, and no other runway will suffice." Okey dokey... and we started clearing a path for the guy.

If you are weight restricted... speed restricted... or experiencing difficulty of any nature, do not allow ATC to talk you into something that is unsafe in your opion. The Captain is responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft, and in an emergency -- the Captain's desires should be met if at all possible. Stopping departures at DFW for an opposite direction arrival will create a mess, but it is/was possible -- if only FAA Management would have allowed it to happen.

MEM_ATC