protectthehornet hotdog
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atc can and should offer options of landing...but why did they offer the runways that took the greatest flying distance,and not the shortest flying distance...I think it is because it was not fully realizeed that the plane was powerless...hence my suggestion for a new radio phrase.
I'd submit the controller offered those runways (and airports) quickly and off the top of his head because they were probably the active runways (northbound departures) in use at that time for those airports which, as the TRACON controller, he would have fully known. It's also well-understood by any controller that the pilot can elect to land any way he damn well chooses on any runway and fly any pattern while excercizing his emergency authority.
I see his offers as giving the pilots airport options, and shouldn't be construed as him assuming the aircraft was still powered and could fly traffic patterns to those specific runways instead of landing on its reciprocal as the situation dictated, since conditions were VMC.