LACK OF TRACON ARTCC INTERFAC COORD IN FOREIGN AIRSPACE LEADS TO A POTENTIAL CONFLICT. SYS ERROR.
Synopsis
LACK OF TRACON ARTCC INTERFAC COORD IN FOREIGN AIRSPACE LEADS TO A POTENTIAL CONFLICT. SYS ERROR.
Narrative
I HAVE BEEN FLYING BTWN ARUBA AND SAN JUAN DURING THE MONTHS OF MAY AND JUNE AND HAVE SEEN POOR AND DETERIORATING COORD AND COM BTWN CURACAO CTL; SAN JUAN CTR; AND BEATRIX APCH. THIS PEAKED ON JUN/XX/95 WHEN FLTS LEAVING ARUBA WERE SEPARATED BY 25 MIN INTERVALS. WHEN WE FINALLY RECEIVED TKOF CLRNC IT WAS TO CLB TO FL30 AND PROCEED OUT G885; THE ABA 052 DEG RADIAL; BUT STAY WITHIN 25 NM OF BEATRIX; WHILE OBTAINING AN AIRBORNE ENRTE CLRNC FROM CURACAO ON 124.1. WHILE I WAS DOING THIS; THE FO OBSERVED TFC ON TCASII; SAME ALT; APCHING FROM THE E. THE TFC PASSED BEHIND US WITH NO TCASII ACTIVATION. CURACAO CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS A DEP FROM PLESMAN; TNCC; BUT HAD PROVIDED NO TFC SEPARATION SINCE THEIR FIRST KNOWLEDGE OF US APPARENTLY WAS OUR RADIO CALL AFTER TKOF. NEEDLESS TO SAY; THIS TYPE OF RECKLESS OP IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO A SERIOUS INCIDENT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT THE PROB SEEMED TO BE IN THE CURACAO CTR. THE CTR HAD BEEN 'SHUT DOWN' SEVERAL TIMES AND HAD A HISTORY OF LABOR PROBS. ARUBA GETS THEIR CLRNCS FROM CURACAO CTR AND; IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY CLRNC; GIVES THE DEP FLTS A DEP CLRNC THAT IS 'ALMOST A VFR CLRNC' IN THE RPTR'S WORDS. THEY ARE RESTR TO A DISTANCE OF 30 MI FROM ARUBA ON THE DEP PROC. RPTR HAD A FLC/ATC REVIEW WITH ARUBA. HE WAS FLYING AN A-300. THE OTHER ACFT WAS A COMMUTER TYPE ACFT. HE SAID THAT DELAYED DEP PROCS ARE THE 'NORM' AT ARUBA BECAUSE OF THE LOWERED LEVELS OF COORD IN THE ATC SYS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.