flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
I was listening to LiveATC tonight and heard something interesting... Now, the pieces may not all be there since most locations are scanning and so you miss bits and pieces.
However, I was listening for a flight my parents were on going through ZLC (Salt Lake City Center) and heard a "17W" mention being low on fuel. I poked around in Plane Finder and found it - A Beech Premier, N817W, filed from KMLI to KSLC via the Brigham City Four arrival.
Not too long after he made the turn at LHO, Center put him in a hold (!), as published on the arrival with 15 mile legs, and the pilot reiterated he was low on fuel. Crossing the fix a second time, the pilot said "I'm about 5 minutes from an emergency here" and they negotiated the second turn of the hold at only a 3-mile leg. On the outbound, they put him on vectors - And not exactly efficient vectors in terms of getting him toward the airport. Finally, he peeled off the approach and dropped it into Ogden, 25nm short of the destination. Looks like he made it, there's a flight plan filed KOGD-KSLC now, leaving in a few minutes.
FWIW, I did not hear any other aircraft get put into a hold, and there was one SkyWest flight that apparently heard the hold being issued and slowed down to avoid holding himself, and ATC told him to speed back up. So why would Center take the only guy who's low on fuel in his sector and put him in a hold?!? And why would Approach be giving him crazy vectors instead of getting him pointed at least somewhere toward the airport? (I heard a 140 and then 080 for an approach to the south.)
It also seems like there should have been enough fuel on board, since the plane went direct from KMLI to the arrival fix, so it seems there must have been some poor planning on the pilot's part too.
However, I was listening for a flight my parents were on going through ZLC (Salt Lake City Center) and heard a "17W" mention being low on fuel. I poked around in Plane Finder and found it - A Beech Premier, N817W, filed from KMLI to KSLC via the Brigham City Four arrival.
Not too long after he made the turn at LHO, Center put him in a hold (!), as published on the arrival with 15 mile legs, and the pilot reiterated he was low on fuel. Crossing the fix a second time, the pilot said "I'm about 5 minutes from an emergency here" and they negotiated the second turn of the hold at only a 3-mile leg. On the outbound, they put him on vectors - And not exactly efficient vectors in terms of getting him toward the airport. Finally, he peeled off the approach and dropped it into Ogden, 25nm short of the destination. Looks like he made it, there's a flight plan filed KOGD-KSLC now, leaving in a few minutes.
FWIW, I did not hear any other aircraft get put into a hold, and there was one SkyWest flight that apparently heard the hold being issued and slowed down to avoid holding himself, and ATC told him to speed back up. So why would Center take the only guy who's low on fuel in his sector and put him in a hold?!? And why would Approach be giving him crazy vectors instead of getting him pointed at least somewhere toward the airport? (I heard a 140 and then 080 for an approach to the south.)
It also seems like there should have been enough fuel on board, since the plane went direct from KMLI to the arrival fix, so it seems there must have been some poor planning on the pilot's part too.
