Originally Posted by
FullMetalJackass
For what must be the twentieth time in this thread, how does someone in the tower know how much space is adequate for take off? It's not as if the controller has simply said: Cleared for take off. He's TOLD the crew that they are at D5 and not D6, the controller has given them the TODA available, he has ALSO questioned them whether that would be sufficient, he's also offered them the opportunity of turning around, backtracking up the runway to D6 in order to give them sufficient space without the crew losing their position as number one on the runway - what more could the controller do? Get out and fly the damned plane for them????
What should ATC do if they can feel that the pilots in a plane still on the ground are impaired, for example, drunk ?
It's close to this situation.
I would be very interested to know how much time it took the captain to answer if the takeoff was feasible from the D5 intersection.
If the answer was almost immediate (less than 10s) it is certain that the ATC could have suspected some sort of crew incapacitation.