RPTR SUGGESTION OF AIRSPACE USE TO KEEP ACR ACFT MORE ALIGNED WITH TCA BOUNDARY.

1993-06 · NASA ASRS report 243095

Date: 1993-06 · Aircraft: Small Aircraft · Phase: climb

Anomalies: other-no-specific-anomaly-occurred|other-unspecified

Synopsis

RPTR SUGGESTION OF AIRSPACE USE TO KEEP ACR ACFT MORE ALIGNED WITH TCA BOUNDARY.

Narrative

I DEPARTED LGB ON A VFR FLT TO HEMET; CA; IN AN SMA. I CLBED ON AN EASTERLY HDG AND CONTACTED COAST APCH CTL INTENDING TO CLB EASTERLY THROUGH THE ARSA. (I WAS ON THE EL TORO VOR 270 DEG RADIAL; PROCEEDING EBOUND.) COAST APCH ACKNOWLEDGED MY CALL BUT TOLD ME TO STAND BY FOR A BEACON CODE. THEY DID NOT TELL ME TO REMAIN CLR OF THE ARSA. I ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO LEVEL OFF AT EITHER 3500 FT OR 5500 FT FOR THE EBOUND TRIP; HOWEVER; THERE WAS A BROKEN LAYER OF CLOUDS AHEAD OF ME THAT APPEARED TO HAVE BASES AT AROUND 4000 FT AND TOPS AT 5500 FT OR 6000 FT. ALTHOUGH COAST HAD ACKNOWLEDGED MY CALL; AND I WAS THUS LEGAL TO PENETRATE THE ARSA; I WAS RELUCTANT TO PENETRATE THE ARSA AT THE 3000-3500 FT ALT (THAT I WOULD HAVE HAD TO FLY TO STAY BENEATH THE CLOUDS) BEFORE I HAD BEEN GIVEN A XPONDER CODE AND BEEN IDENTED ON RADAR. THIS WAS DUE TO THE HVY TFC USUALLY AT THOSE ALTS GOING IN AND OUT OF SNA ARPT. COAST APCH WAS VERY BUSY; AND DID NOT GET RIGHT BACK TO ME. I CONTINUED MY CLB; WHICH VERY SHORTLY PUT ME ABOVE THE TOP OF THE ARSA. AS I RECALL; I WAS PASSING THROUGH ABOUT 5500 FT; APPROX 12 DME W OF THE EL TORO VOR; WHEN COAST FINALLY ISSUED ME A BEACON CODE AND RADAR IDENTED ME. THE CTLR SEEMED TO EXPRESS CONCERN AS TO MY (HIGH) ALT AT THAT POS; POINTING OUT JET TFC INBOUND (FOR LAX) ON THE SLI VOR 148 DEG RADIAL. THIS TFC IS NORMALLY DSNDING BTWN 10000 FT AND 6000 FT IN THIS AREA. I TOLD THE CTLR I HAD THE TFC IN SIGHT. THIS JET TFC WAS IN FACT AT LEAST 5 MI AWAY FROM ME; TO THE S. HE STILL SEEMED CONCERNED; ASKING ME IF I WAS SURE OF MY POS. I HAD BEEN; UNTIL HE MENTIONED IT A COUPLE OF TIMES; AND THEN I STARTED WONDERING WHAT HE WAS GETTING AT; AND STARTED WONDERING IF I COULD POSSIBLY HAVE CLIPPED THE 6000 FT FLOOR OF THE LAX TCA SE OF THE SLI VOR WHILE I WAS IN MY CLB. (I DON'T THINK I DID; BECAUSE PASSING THROUGH 6000 FT IN MY CLB; AS BEST I RECALL; I WAS PROBABLY AROUND 10 OR 12 DME OUT FROM THE EL TORO VOR; WHICH IS DEFINITELY E OF THE LATERAL LIMIT OF THE LAX TCA IN THAT AREA.) A FEW MOMENTS LATER; THE CTLR MENTIONED 'NO PROB' AND GAVE ME OFF TO ANOTHER SECTOR. UPON REFLECTING ON THIS LATER IN MY ARMCHAIR; WITH THE LAX TCA CHART SPREAD OUT IN FRONT OF ME; I GOT CONCERNED THAT I HAD EITHER 1) INADVERTENTLY CLIPPED 6000 FT FLOOR OF THE SE PART OF THE LAX TCA IN MY CLB (I'M 99.99 PERCENT SURE I DIDN'T) OR 2) THAT COAST APCH CTL WAS TICKED OFF THAT I CLBED THROUGH THE ARSA BEFORE THEY HAD ISSUED ME A CODE AND IDENTED ME ON RADAR (THEY HAD ACKNOWLEDGED MY RADIO CALL; SO 2-WAY COM HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED AND THE REGULATORY REQUIREMENT MET). MORE IMPORTANTLY; FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ASRS RPT; MY FLT SERVED TO ILLUSTRATE A POTENTIAL AIRSPACE HAZARD IN THIS AREA. ACFT DEPARTING LONG BEACH ARPT VFR AND CLBING EBOUND HAVE ONLY A NARROW 'SHELF' OF AIRSPACE BTWN THE 6000 FT FLOOR OF THE LAX TCA AND THE 5400 FT TOP OF THE ORANGE COUNTY/EL TORO ARSA THROUGH WHICH TO CLB; IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO CONTACT COAST APCH FOR ARSA PENETRATION. (COAST APCH IS OFTEN QUITE BUSY; SO THIS CAN HAPPEN QUITE OFTEN; ALTHOUGH IT WAS NOT SO IN MY CASE.) IF THERE IS A LAYER OF CLOUDS IN THE AREA AT THE 5000-6000 FT LEVEL (ALSO QUITE A COMMON METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENON); THE ONLY OTHER ALTERNATIVE FOR ACFT DEPARTING LONG BEACH AND DESIRING TO CLB VFR EBOUND OR SEBOUND WOULD BE TO CLB S AND W OF THE SEAL BEACH VOR 135 DEG RADIAL WHICH DEFINES THE SW BOUNDARY OF THE LAX TCA IN THAT AREA (WITH A FLOOR AT 6000 FT MSL). DOING SO WOULD PUT THESE AIRPLANES CLOSE TO; AND POSSIBLY IN CONFLICT WITH; JETS DSNDING BTWN 10000 FT AND 6000 FT INBOUND TO SLI VOR ON THE 148 DEG RADIAL; EVEN THOUGH THE 148 DEG RADIAL USED ROUTINELY BY THESE INBOUND JETS IS OUTSIDE OF THE TCA. I THOUGHT THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE TCA WAS TO KEEP THESE JETS WITHIN THE TCA AT ALTS SUCH AS THIS. THE SOLUTION TO THIS AIRSPACE PROB WOULD SEEM TO BE TO RE-RTE THESE INBOUND JETS SO THAT THEY ROUTINELY USE; SAY; THE SLI 130 OR 135 DEG RADIAL INBOUND AT THOSE ALTS; WHICH WOULD KEEP THEM WITHIN THE 'WEDGE' OF THE TCA IN THAT AREA; INSTEAD OF OUTSIDE OF IT. OR THE TCA COULD BE EXPANDED A BIT BY WIDENING THAT 'WEDGE' OUT TO THE SLI 150 DEG RADIAL AS A LATERAL LIMIT. THIS WOULD THEN KEEP JETS DSNDING ON THE 148 DEG RADIAL 'PROTECTED' IN THAT AREA (WITHIN THE TCA). THE SIT I'VE DESCRIBED IS A BIT OF A 'CATCH-22;' AND MAY NOT HAVE A REAL GOOD SOLUTION ACCEPTABLE TO THE MANY DIFFERENT AIRSPACE USERS.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.

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