2 days ago, while en-route at 11'000, Albuquerque Ctr cleared me to "Cross Buckeye, maintain 7'000".
Confused, I requested clarification. Did he mean: Descend and maintain 7'000? The response to my query was "Just cross Buckeye, maintain 7'000". I read back "Descend and maintain 7'000, cross Buckeye at 7'000". No response from ATC, and 7'000 is above the MEA, so I descended to 7'000 and didn't hear from ATC again until I was passed Buckeye.
Was this correct? The pilot/controllers glossary didn't help me understand. I would have preferred to stay at 11'000 as long as possible (tailwind).
Any comments would be helpful.
Confused, I requested clarification. Did he mean: Descend and maintain 7'000? The response to my query was "Just cross Buckeye, maintain 7'000". I read back "Descend and maintain 7'000, cross Buckeye at 7'000". No response from ATC, and 7'000 is above the MEA, so I descended to 7'000 and didn't hear from ATC again until I was passed Buckeye.
Was this correct? The pilot/controllers glossary didn't help me understand. I would have preferred to stay at 11'000 as long as possible (tailwind).
Any comments would be helpful.