Max, there are guidelines which Atcos take their lead from, but my personal interpretation is that as it's my ass in the hotseat, I will decide what level of emergency to apply with regards to the various emergency services. There is the old phrase, "at the subsequent board of inquiry.....", and as far as I am concerned, I don't plan on attending such an inquiry.. .. .What a pilot, airline ops manager or even airport fire officer thinks, has no bearing on my initial decision, although I would entertain advice from a fire officer at a later stage in the emergency, and have done in the past.. .There are some airports which have a culture of "call a full emergency no matter what" and while I don't particularly subscribe to this idea, if that is what it takes to keep me in the right, then so be it.. .. .As for the comment on journos, they will get their story no matter what, so why should I give a monkeys how they get it? An Atco's job is to ensure that the a/c get from A to B as quickly and safely as possible, not to protect an airline's image in the event of an emergency, that's what they pay
PR men to do.. .. .Stagnation - you raise an interesting point about that FO feeling embarrassed, any idea why? If his car had broken down on the way home, would he have been too embarrassed to call the AA or RAC?. .As you said, these things happen, but it's all about making sure an emergency doesn't turn into a disaster.. .. .Sleeping's permitted, dribbling isn't!. . . . <small>[ 08 March 2002, 00:46: Message edited by: Standard Noise ]</small>