Tower controller described a less than required landing separation event when the second aircraft re...

Narrative:

I observed the lead aircraft; a C172; on the runway and the trail aircraft; a C182; on short final. Local control instructed the C182 to go-around because runway separation would not have been maintained. The C182 responded that they did not have enough fuel. Local control then cleared the C182 to land. It appeared that the C172 was approximately 2;700 ft down the runway when the C182 crossed the threshold. It was unanimous among controllers in the tower cab that allowing the C182 to land did not pose any safety risk to either aircraft. All controllers felt that sending the C182 around would have placed the C182 in an unsafe situation given his reported fuel shortage. After a discussion with the pilot of the C182 on the tower telephone; he reported seeing the C172 off the runway when he crossed the threshold. It did not appear that way to any controller in the tower cab.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower Controller described a less than required landing separation event when the second aircraft refused ATC's go around instruction because of a minimum fuel situation.

Narrative: I observed the lead aircraft; a C172; on the runway and the trail aircraft; a C182; on short final. Local Control instructed the C182 to go-around because runway separation would not have been maintained. The C182 responded that they did not have enough fuel. Local Control then cleared the C182 to land. It appeared that the C172 was approximately 2;700 FT down the runway when the C182 crossed the threshold. It was unanimous among controllers in the Tower Cab that allowing the C182 to land did not pose any safety risk to either aircraft. All controllers felt that sending the C182 around would have placed the C182 in an unsafe situation given his reported fuel shortage. After a discussion with the pilot of the C182 on the Tower telephone; he reported seeing the C172 off the runway when he crossed the threshold. It did not appear that way to any controller in the Tower Cab.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1019636
Time
Date	201206
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue

Tower controller described a less than required landing separation event when the second aircraft refused ATC's go around instruction because of a minimum fuel situation.