Question for controllers

"Al" wrote in message
...

So who files out the paper work later?


What paperwork?



I ask because I once arrived at a major U.S. West Coast airport, and
upon extending the landing gear, had no light. I was left base at the
time, so I asked for a "right 270" to do a quick troubleshoot. Sure
enough, the bulb was bad. After landing I was followed by the equipment,
and when I stopped, the crash rescue guys wanted to know the "nature of my
emergency". I told them I had no emergency, and they left. It took two
months of talking to FAA folks to convince them there was no emergency in
the first place.


Why bother? You feel there was no emergency, they believe there was. So
what?

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Al" wrote in message
...

So who files out the paper work later?


What paperwork?



I ask because I once arrived at a major U.S. West Coast airport, and
upon extending the landing gear, had no light. I was left base at the
time, so I asked for a "right 270" to do a quick troubleshoot. Sure
enough, the bulb was bad. After landing I was followed by the equipment,
and when I stopped, the crash rescue guys wanted to know the "nature of
my emergency". I told them I had no emergency, and they left. It took two
months of talking to FAA folks to convince them there was no emergency in
the first place.


Why bother? You feel there was no emergency, they believe there was. So
what?

That's pretty much how it worked out. The GADO sent representitives to
my home airport, to "ask around" about the "Gear emergency", but I was out
of town at the time. When I got back they had left me a note to contact the
GADO, and I learned they had spoken to most of the maintenance folks on the
airport looking for "Indications of an un-reported problem". I called them
on my return, and after explaining several times that is it was the bulb,
they backed off. I believe the phrase was "Let me off this time." It was
just another incident in a long cynical distrustful relationship with the
FAA GADO's.
On a brighter note, I recently jumped through the hoops to get my second
class medical, after 15 years of no flying, and was treated very well by the
Seattle office of their Aeromedical division. Some of their people(One
Barbara Martin in particular) were extremely helpful. They seemed to be
handling medical request in near real time, the delays I saw were in days,
not weeks or months. This is not the FAA I new twenty years ago.

Al