My thanks to Ehcimocs as per usual.
Three days after he gets home, while he's sitting on the couch beside Mitch trying to pretend his world is back to normal, Scott gets a followup text from Kirstie.
>> I know this was your worst ever day, but something about it might amuse you: https://youtu.be/DFWaalDMcD
Scott clicks on the link to find an ATC video titled "DFW Taxiway Chaos After AAL6226 Landing." He shares a concerned glance with Mitch, and then presses play. There's a title screen explaining the scene in clinical terms, and then the LiveATC recording starts with color-coded text.
Ground: In case anyone missed it, both 18 Right and 18 Left are closed. Avianca 441 Heavy, we're going to turn you around. Your new departure will be 17 Right. Turn left onto 18 Left, then turn left again on Yankee. Hold short Foxtrot, we're still figuring out the line order.
"Ben's working it," Mitch says, and Scott nods. He hasn't met Ben, but Mitch has mentioned him a number of times as being highly competent at arranging even the worst chaos into order.
Avianca 441: Okay, uh, left onto 18 Left and left Yankee, short Foxtrot, Avianca 441 Heavy.
Medic 3: Ground, Medic 3?
Ground: Medic 3?
Medic 3: Coming out of the ramp at Whiskey Mike, heading for 18 Right, Medic 3 plus two.
Ground: Medic 3 plus two, cross 18 Left and continue onto 18 Right.
Medic 3: Crossing 18 Left to enter 18 Right, Medic 3 plus two.
Ground: Alaska 717, you okay with departing 13 Right?
Alaska 717: Yeah, we need to in this wind, Alaska 717.
Ground: Alaska 717, continue on Zulu, cross 18 Left and 18 Right, left on Charlie. Slow to under 10 knots once you cross Whiskey Lima. Be prepared to stop and shut down if we lose containment of passengers on 18 Right.
Shit. Scott knows, intellectually, that all this rerouting is because of him. But even ambulances crossing runways in packs doesn't make all of it sink in as much as the possibility that his passengers might have been wandering around lost outside his broken plane.
Alaska 717: Zulu crossing 18 Left and Right, left Charlie, slow below 10 and watch for pedestrians past Whiskey Lima, Alaska 717.
Ground: Correct. Okay, American 220 Heavy, you're changing to 17 Right. Turn left on 18 Left, left on Yankee, pull up as close as you can to Avianca at Foxtrot.
American 220: How long are we going to have to wait in that line?
Jesus, Scott knows that voice and attitude.
Mitch does too, judging by his muttered, "Until hell freezes over, if it was me."
Fucking Myer. Ground's response is far more polite than it sounds like either of theirs would have been:
Ground: We're getting everyone going as quickly as we can, American 220, but we're limited by an emergency situation and bad weather. Give me your read-back, please.
American 220: Letting that plane block 18 Right instead of having it pull off onto a taxiway is inefficient, and closing down 18 Left as well is downright ridiculous.
Scott feels his mouth drop open, and the waves of ire suddenly rolling off of Mitch are palpable and probably visible from space.
???: Have you ever considered not being a douchey mcdickface? Just for fun sometime?
Oh God. The video creator obviously doesn't know who said that, but Scott does. Kirstie just called Myer Douchey McDickface directly. On freq.
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Come Fly With Me
FanfictionScott's a little in love with the new air traffic controller at DFW, as much as he can be for someone he's never seen and who isn't even the right gender for him. She's always professional, but has a sense of fun, and her voice is warm and friendly...
