A recording posted on LiveATC.net Wednesday evening dictates an American Airlines Boeing 767 pilot telling the tower at JFK airport that he will declare an emergency if he cannot land on a particular runway.
From a New York Post article:
The controller asked the pilot to keep heading toward 22L "for now."
"OK, we're declaring an emergency," the pilot said. "We are going to land 31 Right."
When the controller tried to clarify whether the pilot declared an emergency, the pilot said, "Three times I've told you that."
Actually, he'd only said it once, according to a recording on LiveATC.net.
American Airlines said the emergency was declared because the pilot could not land in the gusting crosswind and because of low fuel. No doubt the FAA will look into it further.
More from WABC-TV in New York.