Short Final: Worth Asking

We had just received our handoff from SoCal Departure to LA Center after departing Palm Springs International in our Praetor 500. We hadn’t even had a chance to check in when we heard this exchange:

N1AB: “… requesting direct destination.”

LA Center: “Who … who was that?”

N1AB: “N1AB requesting direct to our final destination.”

LA Center: “No. (pause) There is no way to clear you direct from your present position to an airport in Canada!”

N1AB: “Oh well, it was worth asking.”

Unidentified voice, clearly annoyed: “No, it wasn’t!”

Daniel Sternbergh
Palo Alto, California