Whenever an aircraft declares an emergency, why does atc ask for the tob and fuel on board. Surely the pilots are busy enough without having to pass this info which can be obtained just as easily from the ground staff. Also are atc or the emergency services going to provide a different level of service if the tob is 10 or 410 ?
Basically because they want to know as quickly as possible how many people they need to look for if an emergency turns into a crash, and remember, the guy flying a Navajo with eight or nine sob doesn't -have- a "ground staff."
Fuel should be obvious, since it determines much of what your capabilities might be in terms of range/endurance if the emergency isn't necessarily a land-instantly situation.
And if you're too busy to tell them, say you'll get back to 'em on that...