Originally Posted by
jonkster
being denied a clearance should not have been a big deal - a prudent diversion should also have resulted in a safe outcome
He had a good second option. He could divert 5 miles right of track and avoid the CTA while remaining at cruising altitude. He had turned right, it appears that is what he was doing.
However, he had requested clearance 4 times bouncing between 2 different controllers. Perhaps when the Class D controller came back with "at or below 1000 feet" he didn't feel like he could say "You know what, I don't need clearance after all." Perhaps he felt obligated to accept what he understood to be a clearance and descend.