AA JFK crosswind emergency...

[regionalcap]

- The controller never said "unable". He told him to fly runway heading while he coordinated. Did you catch that there were other planes in the pattern?? Maybe he didn't want a captain who was suddenly doing his own thing in the terminal area running into another airplane.
- Whichever pilot was on the radio declared an emergency once then got pissy when the controller confirmed that. He did not declare it three times as he claimed.
- You say it appears they didn't have enough fuel.... How do you know? How would the controller have known? How would anyone have known since the subject of fuel never came up during this exchange. If it's a fuel problem, say so.

There's you're common sense. If you think they handled the so-called emergency in the best way possible then I disagree with you. Of course all we have is a short audio replay to go by.

The controller specifically says, "If you need to get 31R, you have to declare an emergency."

There is always a lot more to a story than a short audio clip.

 

[turn&pull]

Either the Captain is a prick or they were already on Min Fuel.

 

[msmb]

Who cares...if that crew declared an emergency...that's it. They GET WHAT EVER THEY WANT!! PIC decision....end of discussion! Everyone who seconds guesses them shut up and learn what is means to be a PIC! Nice job AA crew.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Who cares...if that crew declared an emergency...that's it. They GET WHAT EVER THEY WANT!! PIC decision....end of discussion! Everyone who seconds guesses them shut up and learn what is means to be a PIC! Nice job AA crew.

I think I'm gonna start using that attitude in every flight!

FO - "Requesting push back Gate 21."

ATC - "Roger, standby for traffic in the alley."

CA - "Unable. Emergency push back. I'm a PIC! Clear everyone out of the way."



Emergency: It's not the "Easy Button."

I'm sure we'll find out in due time that they were low on fuel, and it's a good thing they landed when they did. There's a lot to find out about this flight.

This may or may not apply to this case, but in general:
Maybe we PICs need to start pushing back at the beginning of the flight. Request more fuel on the release or don't sign the thing. Fuel policies are painting us into little tiny corners.

 

[SLUF4]

sounds fishy-I don't know the whole story, but from the audio alone I don't see why they couldn't go to EWR or BOS. Unless they were reallly at emergency fuel. Then again I don't have information on the weather at the time, fuel state, or maybe there was something else abnormal going on that created a problem. If it was a fuel problem they could have just said emergency fuel or something along those lines and maybe the controller wouldn't have been so ticked off.

 

[waveflyer]

Like everyone- would love to hear the 5 minutes prior-

but if the pilots state they need 31R- they need 31R- doesn't matter if everyone else is landing 22- they should not be punished or delayed in excess.

I hope there was another reason to DAE, and we ALL know AA captains take pride in being control freak nazi's - but it shouldn't get this far to begin with- and we don't have tape far enough back to see where the break downs occurred

 

[ultrarunner]

"remove everyone from our way"????

Ok, so he breaks off the approach, says he needs 31, told to fly RH. What on earth is the issue with the inability of the flight crew to fly RH and get in a sequence. I'm gonna take a big stab that its not a crosswind issue.

I suspect the truth will come out.

 

[Caveman]

The FAA leadership is pushing pilots to the max at JFK. They are trying to satisfy their masters at the ATA to run the same schedule regardless of environmental conditions. It's the old story, just like airline managements say: "Remember, it's safety first!" but then under the table subliminal pressure pilots to "Git 'er done." At least until something goes wrong, then they hang the pilots and waive the "Safety First" letter under their noses. This is the way the US aviation system has stumbled along for decades.

I agree. I don't care why the guy declared an emergency. He did and that's that. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had a situation that he didn't like and he did something about it. No metal got bent and no one got hurt. That's a perfect outcome. Good job Captain.

 

[SLUF4]

Yes no metal got bent, but it could have by not following instructions from ATC and basically telling everyone else to get out of the way. I just want to know how dire of a situation it was. If something crazy was happening, then kudos to him, but lets not start giving out airmanship awards just yet.

 

[xjcaptain]

To me, many just seem to have a hard time seeing somebody exercise emergency authority, and stepping up as a captain. Maybe time some took some personal reflection, and ask themselves if they are letting other people make the decisions ahead of the cockpit door. Some just seem unable to make the tough decisions without having a conference call with dispatch, chief pilots, and an ALPA rep. They got the job done, and done safely. They didn't let anybody else talk them into doing something they might have regretted later.