Originally Posted by
atakacs
Is this SOP ? I think not and frankly unrealistic at any busy airport. And what about night / low vis landings ? I'd say it is the responsibility of the crew to make sure the gear is extended...
ex-Mil ATCO perspective. Whilst I fully agree that the Captain is wholly responsible for operating the aircraft (and rightly so) a Local Controller should be more than just a parrot repeating clearances. Certainly in my former world, even at very busy units, the controller should (vis/wx permitting) ensure that the runway is clear and monitor closely all aircraft approaches and movements in his area of responsibility. That’s why one of our tools was a pair of binoculars immediately ro hand.
As a SATCO I suffered from a Local Controller who never seemed to look out of the windows. Queues of vehicles waiting at traffic lights waiting to cross an empty runway with no movements, that sort of thing. Never actually unsafe, just dismally inefficient. A year or so after I left I was conducting a Staff visit, and there he was in Local ... with no movements and a queue of vehicles stuck at the lights. “Nothing’s changed, I see, Sergeant XXX”, pointing at the vehicle queue.