Discussions with ATC
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2024 5:59 am
Flew into LIT late last night, and ATIS has taxiway J closed, and taxiway F is closed between H to M. Landing on 4L, that leaves exiting the runway at M and taxiing through the cargo ramp as the quickest taxi option.
http://download.aopa.org/iap/20050609/a ... 0233AD.PDF
My captain and I discuss this a bit, throwing ideas around. For my part, I had been through the cargo ramp during the day only, and there are no center/taxi lines or taxi lights in the area. My captain had seen it once at night, and said it was not well lit and full of trucks and planes. We decided to then to plan on exiting the runway left at M, and wiggle around the taxiways to come back up F and H to parking.
After landing, the controller tells us to exit right on M through the cargo ramp to parking. I quickly tell him we'd prefer not to use the cargo ramp and instead take M left, C, P, F, and H or a backtaxi. He came back with I don't understand, you are saying you can't go through the cargo ramp? Is that a new company policy? I said no, just a preference. He queried again, and I insisted, and he finally agreed to let us backtaxi on the runway and get off at P then F and H to parking. As we are turning, he comes back a bit antagonistic and demands a proper answer as to why we are refusing his cargo ramp option. I just said standby, waited until we cleared the runway, and asked the captain to explain. Captain goes into our pre-landing discussion of our whys', and the controller then said he understood and sounded a tad friendlier, and expressed his opinion that the airport ops were cramping his style by closing J.
So obviously, I would prefer to avoid discussions like this on the runway. One way might have been to bring this up prior to landing, which I did ponder, but he was busy at that point working an emergency at a close by uncontrolled airport that had had an airplane just land and the gear collapse; he was coordinating CFR and trying to find out if the pilot was okay. Didn't think he'd appreciate an interruption at that point; he was also working approach, tower, ground and clearance all at once.
Gave us some amusement for the night, anway.
http://download.aopa.org/iap/20050609/a ... 0233AD.PDF
My captain and I discuss this a bit, throwing ideas around. For my part, I had been through the cargo ramp during the day only, and there are no center/taxi lines or taxi lights in the area. My captain had seen it once at night, and said it was not well lit and full of trucks and planes. We decided to then to plan on exiting the runway left at M, and wiggle around the taxiways to come back up F and H to parking.
After landing, the controller tells us to exit right on M through the cargo ramp to parking. I quickly tell him we'd prefer not to use the cargo ramp and instead take M left, C, P, F, and H or a backtaxi. He came back with I don't understand, you are saying you can't go through the cargo ramp? Is that a new company policy? I said no, just a preference. He queried again, and I insisted, and he finally agreed to let us backtaxi on the runway and get off at P then F and H to parking. As we are turning, he comes back a bit antagonistic and demands a proper answer as to why we are refusing his cargo ramp option. I just said standby, waited until we cleared the runway, and asked the captain to explain. Captain goes into our pre-landing discussion of our whys', and the controller then said he understood and sounded a tad friendlier, and expressed his opinion that the airport ops were cramping his style by closing J.
So obviously, I would prefer to avoid discussions like this on the runway. One way might have been to bring this up prior to landing, which I did ponder, but he was busy at that point working an emergency at a close by uncontrolled airport that had had an airplane just land and the gear collapse; he was coordinating CFR and trying to find out if the pilot was okay. Didn't think he'd appreciate an interruption at that point; he was also working approach, tower, ground and clearance all at once.
Gave us some amusement for the night, anway.