ATC EQUIP PROB COM ICSS POS FAILURE.

Narrative

WHEN CTLR IS RELIEVING ANOTHER CTLR AT A POS OF OP AT KENNEDY TWR; AT THE MOMENT THE RELIEVING CTLR PLUGS HIS OR HER HEADSET INTO THE RADIO JACK; THE POS FAILS. THIS SIT IS MOST PREVALENT IN THE COLD; WINTER MONTHS AND IS APPARENTLY CAUSED BY A BUILDUP OF STATIC ELECTRICITY ON THE RELIEVING CTLR AS HE OR SHE WALKS ACROSS THE TWR CAB CARPET. AS THE RELIEVING CTLR PLUGS IN; POSSIBLY BRUSHING HIS/HER HAND AGAINST THE METAL RADIO JACK BOX; THIS STATIC ELECTRICITY IS DISCHARGED INTO THE RADIO JACK BOX; RENDERING THE POS INOP. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES OVER THE PAST YEAR OR SO. ATTEMPTS AT ELIMINATING THIS PROB; INCLUDING ELECTRICAL GNDING OF THE CTL POSITIONS; CTLING THE TWR CAB HUMIDITY; AND TREATING THE CARPET; HAVE FAILED. MOST RECENTLY; ON JAN/THU/96 AT XX48Z; A LCL CTL POS FAILED IN THIS MANNER; WITH ACFT #1 HOLDING IN POS ON RWY 31L AWAITING TKOF CLRNC; WHILE ACFT #2 WAS APCHING ON FINAL FOR THE SAME RWY. A SECOND CTLR; AT A DIFFERENT CTL POS; SELECTED THE FAILED POSITION'S FREQ AND CLRED THE DEP FOR TKOF; AVERTING A POTENTIAL INCIDENT OR ACCIDENT. THIS SIT MAY CAUSE OR CONTRIBUTE TO ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS; AND THE EQUIP EXHIBITS CHRONIC UNSATISFACTORY OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THE PROBS BEGAN WHEN THEY MOVED INTO THE NEW TWR IN OCT/XX/94. DURING THE SUMMER OF 95 THE PROB WENT AWAY. THE LOSS OF POSITIONS FROM STATIC ELECTRIC DISCHARGE HAS RESURFACED. EQUIP IS DENRO ICSS. USUALLY MAINT CAN RESET THE POS IN 5 MINS. UCR FILED AT SAME TIME AS NASA RPT.