Proceed direct to an airport other than your destination?

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Mike262

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exlration262
I filed IFR from 05C (chicago area) to KHFY (indianapolis) via LUCIT and FOVRA. I was cleared to HFY via RV to LUCIT then direct.
After I got airborne, I contacted ATC and was told to proceed direct Terre Haute which was 124 miles south of my departure airport and 60 miles west of my destination airport. So, as I flew south but before I got to LUCIT (which was also south) I was handed off to center. I asked to confirm that I was supposed to be direct LUCIT or Terre Haute. They responded with proceed direct destination without saying anything about Terre Haute again or acknowledging an error. Is it normal for ATC to tell you to proceed direct to an airport other than your destination that is nowhere near the airport you were cleared to?
 

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It is somewhat normal around Chicago, though this seems to be a bit of an extreme case. I flew IFR in the mid teens from KDPA to Kansas City once and I was nearly to RFD (NW of my departure) before I got direct. And after every handoff I asked for direct. For fixes not in my flight plan, I play dumb and “request vector because it’s not in my flight plan”. That works usually.
 
Maybe “confirm direct Terre Haute then direct HFY?” I suspect asking that would help them catch the apparent brain fart.
 
HUF might look like HFY to a bleary-eyed controller.
 
Mike262 said:
I filed IFR from 05C (chicago area) to KHFY (indianapolis) via LUCIT and FOVRA. I was cleared to HFY via RV to LUCIT then direct.
After I got airborne, I contacted ATC and was told to proceed direct Terre Haute which was 124 miles south of my departure airport and 60 miles west of my destination airport. So, as I flew south but before I got to LUCIT (which was also south) I was handed off to center. I asked to confirm that I was supposed to be direct LUCIT or Terre Haute. They responded with proceed direct destination without saying anything about Terre Haute again or acknowledging an error. Is it normal for ATC to tell you to proceed direct to an airport other than your destination that is nowhere near the airport you were cleared to?
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You should’ve questioned that right away. Not wait until after handed off. Being told to proceed Direct Terre Haute, with nothing after that, makes no sense. It leaves a ‘hole’ in your Route. If they’d a said Direct TTH Direct KHFY, that’s another story.
 
luvflyin said:
You should’ve questioned that right away. Not wait until after handed off. Being told to proceed Direct Terre Haute, with nothing after that, makes no sense. It leaves a ‘hole’ in your Route. If they’d a said Direct TTH Direct KHFY, that’s another story.
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There are several things that make no sense. You point out the lack of routing after TTH. There's also the fact that TTH is not on the cleared route at all and well outside Chicago Approach (and even Chicago Center's) airspace. Even if intended, I'd be expecting "I have an amended clearance. Report ready to copy" for something like that, not a naked "proceed direct" instruction. So I'd still be questioning the instruction (after asking them to spell Terre Haute's ID so I could figure out where it was-I don't know the area).

But @Mike262 did end up questioning it timely. It's only 17nm miles from 05C to LUCIT. That's not very far into the flight.

Mike, unless you have the times and the ability to look up the communications on LiveATC, I'm tempted to chalk it up to a simple communication error (more reason to clarify). I can see it not even being noticed by ATC. Depending on where you were when you received the instruction, LUCIT would be just about on a line between you and TTH, so at that point whether LUCIT or TTH, you were on course from their perspective.
 
midlifeflyer said:
There are several things that make no sense. You point out the lack of routing after TTH. There's also the fact that TTH is not on the cleared route at all and well outside Chicago Approach (and even Chicago Center's) airspace. Even if intended, I'd be expecting "I have an amended clearance. Report ready to copy" for something like that, not a naked "proceed direct" instruction. So I'd still be questioning the instruction (after asking them to spell Terre Haute's ID so I could figure out where it was-I don't know the area).

But @Mike262 did end up questioning it timely. It's only 17nm miles from 05C to LUCIT. That's not very far into the flight.

Mike, unless you have the times and the ability to look up the communications on LiveATC, I'm tempted to chalk it up to a simple communication error (more reason to clarify). I can see it not even being noticed by ATC. Depending on where you were when you received the instruction, LUCIT would be just about on a line between you and TTH, so at that point whether LUCIT or TTH, you were on course from their perspective.
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Yeah. TTH not being on the Cleared Route is not an ‘also.’ That is the point.
 
Jim K said:
All a bunch of damn Hoosiers. Might as well throw Lafayette in there too.
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midlifeflyer said:
There are several things that make no sense. You point out the lack of routing after TTH. There's also the fact that TTH is not on the cleared route at all and well outside Chicago Approach (and even Chicago Center's) airspace. Even if intended, I'd be expecting "I have an amended clearance. Report ready to copy" for something like that, not a naked "proceed direct" instruction. So I'd still be questioning the instruction (after asking them to spell Terre Haute's ID so I could figure out where it was-I don't know the area).

But @Mike262 did end up questioning it timely. It's only 17nm miles from 05C to LUCIT. That's not very far into the flight.

Mike, unless you have the times and the ability to look up the communications on LiveATC, I'm tempted to chalk it up to a simple communication error (more reason to clarify). I can see it not even being noticed by ATC. Depending on where you were when you received the instruction, LUCIT would be just about on a line between you and TTH, so at that point whether LUCIT or TTH, you were on course from their perspective.
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Thanks for your response midlifeflyer. I'll just it up to an error.
 
I once got a reroute that they wanted me direct to a fix that was about 70 miles BEHIND me.
"Say what?"
"Sorry, that's what the computer spit out."
 
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