someone is clearly not up for the task ahead? I watched Blancolirio’s latest video and that, maybe elderly pilot, who spoke slowly and was clearly not ready to fly into IMC conditions with his maybe analogue gauges only aircraft. The ATC guy was super helpful but the pilot seemed to have googled the Bronco something departure while holding short. He crashed and died a minute after take-off clearance. So whenever an ATC thinks someone is unfit for the flight , can they ask you to exit the runway and park the plane?
hmmm interesting question. I have no idea. I do know the pilot in command is responsible. ATC is a service. They can deny entering an airspace or deny an IFR clearance. Curious if anyone knows this answer.
For what it is worth: An ITA A330’s winglet collided with an Air France 777’s tail at JFK last year. Online ATC recordings has ATC telling the ITA crew that they hit something, but the ITA crew take off anyway. The damage to the A330’s winglet was found when it arrived in Rome. ATC did not stop them from departing or ask them to return to JFK once the ITA flight was airborne and it became clear that they had indeed hit the 777.
It’s a difficult question. As an ex UK air traffic controller I believe we did not have the authority to prohibit flight other than for traffic reasons. There were designated agencies and personnel we could contact that did have that authority. Police and customs officers for example. I did once have a Falcon 20 that hit another aircraft wing tip while taxiing for departure. The Facon stopped, opened their door and inspected their wing tip and announced they were good to go, so I let them go. Had it appeared more serious and if you believed that the safety of life was endangered then the trick was to tell the aircraft to hold position, clear a fire vehicle on to the taxiway or runway in front of the aircraft, and then advise them that the vehicle had broken down. During the delay advice would be sought from the relevant authority empowered to prohibit flight. Contrary to what a lot of people think, the general purpose of ATC is to expedite and assist pilots, not to obstruct them. However in today’s crowded and complex airspace there do have to be rules and regulations in order to segregate aircraft and prevent accidents. It’s a great pity that the ATC system in MSFS is so pitifully bad and that no attempt has been made to correct it’s obvious flaws.
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