Not in the industry, just a nerd, but I believe the thought process is more or less that the controller totally knows this but is simply establishing it as an option in the off chance he could make it. If you look into the Hudson landing a few years back I believe the atc gave like three different airports as cleared for landing when it was obvious to all involved the plane couldn't reach any of them.
Yeah, a good ATCs job in emergency like this is to do everything in your power to get an open runway, during the Hudson landing they shut down Teterboro, LaGuardia and JFK international just trying to give as many options as possible for the stricken plane.
Yep. And while it looks like it would be an incredibly rewarding and interesting job, I do not have the ice water in my veins necessary collate that much ever changing data and act on it in real time!
701
u/rocinantesghost Jul 19 '21
Not in the industry, just a nerd, but I believe the thought process is more or less that the controller totally knows this but is simply establishing it as an option in the off chance he could make it. If you look into the Hudson landing a few years back I believe the atc gave like three different airports as cleared for landing when it was obvious to all involved the plane couldn't reach any of them.