1997-09 · NASA ASRS report 379911
CTLR RELAYED INCOMPLETE INFO TO ADJACENT CTLR RESULTING IN A POTENTIAL CONFLICT SIT. THE CTLR REALIZED THE ERROR AND WAS ABLE TO ESTABLISH VISUAL SEPARATION BEFORE RADAR SEPARATION WAS LOST.
I WAS WORKING A DEP POS (DR3) AT DFW REGIONAL APCH WHEN THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED: THE DFW W TWR CALLED AND COORDINATED A JET DEPARTING FOR THE ALLIANCE ARPT (A SATELLITE ARPT WITHIN OUR AIRSPACE). I INSTRUCTED THE TWR TO ASSIGN THE JET 4000 FT AND ASSIGN HIM THE MEACHAM N FREQ; A SATELLITE POS THAT WORKS THE AIRSPACE THAT IS SURROUNDING THE ALLIANCE ARPT. NOTE: AT THE TIME OF THIS OCCURRENCE THERE IS NO 'SET' PROC FOR THESE SATELLITE DEPS; BUT THERE WILL BE ONE IN PLACE ON OCT/XX/97. THESE INSTRUCTIONS WOULD ALLOW THE ACFT TO COME OFF DFW CLBING STRAIGHT AHEAD; AND THEN THE MEACHAM N CTLR COULD TURN HIM INTO HIS AIRSPACE THAT IS DIRECTLY W OF THE DR3 AIRSPACE; SURFACE TO 4000 FT. I THEN CALLED THE MEACHAM N CTLR AND COORDINATED THAT A 'JET' WOULD BE DEPARTING DFW TO 4000 FT AND STRAIGHT TO THE MEACHAM N FREQ. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; AN ACR X JET DEPARTED DFW ON A MEACHAM N TAG; BUT ON MY FREQ AND CLBING TO 10000 FT. I SLEWED OUT TO THE DATA TAG TO PULL IT UP ON MY SCOPE. IT SHOWED THAT ACR X WAS LNDG ALLIANCE. I THEN REASSIGNED HIM 4000 FT; AND AT 5 MI N OF THE ARPT I TURNED HIM TO A 280 DEG HDG TO PUT HIM ON A HDG INTO THE MEACHAM N AIRSPACE. I OBSERVED THAT THE MEACHAM N CTLR HAD ONLY TFC LEVEL AT 3000 FT W OF THE ARPT HDG NWBOUND. I THEN ATTEMPTED TO COORDINATE THIS ACTION WITH THE MEACHAM N CTLR; BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO DUE TO THE HIGH VOLUME TFC THAT HE WAS CTLING. I THEN SWITCHED HIM TO THE MEACHAM N FREQ. WHAT I DID NOT KNOW WAS THIS: THE LCL CTLR IN THE DFW W TWR HAD MISTAKENLY MODIFIED ACR X'S TAG TO AN 'M.' WHEN ACR X GOT AIRBORNE AND THE MEACHAM N CTLR SAW THE TAG; HE THOUGHT THAT WAS THE JET THAT I HAD COORDINATED BECAUSE I FAILED TO MENTION THE COMPANY NAME IN MY COORD. THE DATA TAG ON ACR X WAS OVERLAPPING ANOTHER TAG ON THE MEACHAM N CTLR'S SCOPE AND HE TRIED TO REPOS IT. WHEN DOING SO; HE ACCIDENTALLY ENTERED GIBBERISH INTO THE DEST SCRATCH PAD; BECAUSE HE HAD TRIED TO HDOF SOME OTHER JET TO ME; AND BECAUSE THE AUTO HDOF PARAMETERS ARE WRONG IN THAT AREA; THEJET HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO HDOF TO ME WAS ALREADY HANDED OFF TO THE CTR. THEREFORE THE ARTS ENTRY WAS STILL IN THE PREVIEW AREA; AND WENT INTO THE SCRATCH PAD OF ACR X. SEEING THE BAD DATA; THE MEACHAM N CTLR THEN AMENDED THE DATA TAG 1 MORE TIME TO SHOW ALLIANCE AS THE DEST; BASED ON OUR PREVIOUS COORD. ALL THIS TOOK PLACE IN A FEW SECONDS BEFORE I HAD EVEN PULLED UP THE TAG ON MY SCOPE. BECAUSE THE MEACHAM N CTLR THINKS THIS IS A PRE-COORDINATED ALLIANCE ARR; HE EXPECTS HIM TO BE ON RWY HDG AS ASSIGNED BY THE TWR; AND NOT ON THE 280 DEG HDG THAT I ASSIGNED. I AM THINKING THAT THE TWR REALLY HAD 2 ACFT BOUND FOR ALLIANCE AND ONLY TOLD ME ABOUT 1. (HERE MY ATTEMPTS TO COORDINATE ARE FUTILE.) THE MEACHAM N CTLR THEN (THINKING THAT ACR X IS ON RWY HDG AND NOT NOTICING THE TURN); ATTEMPTING TO CLB A DEPARTING SF34; ASKS ACR X TO DSND BACK TO 3000 FT; AND CLBS THE SF34 WHO WAS AT 3000 FT; TO 4000 FT. INSTEAD OF PARALLEL COURSES; AS PLANNED; HE NOW HAS 2 ACFT ON CONVERGING COURSES; WITH NO ALT SEPARATION ESTABLISHED. THE CTLR THEN NOTICING THE SIT; TURNS ACR X AND ESTABLISHES VISUAL SEPARATION. MEANWHILE EVERYONE IS CONFUSED AND AS THE ACR Y JET DEPARTS DFW; THE LCL CTLR CALLS ME AND TELLS ME THAT HE MADE A MISTAKE AND ACR X IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOING TO LAS. I THEN TRY TO COORDINATE WITH THE MEACHAM N CTLR; BUT HE IS TOO BUSY TO TALK; AND I SEND A SUPVR OVER TO ADVISE HIM OF THIS NEW INFO. CONCLUSION: WHAT STARTED AS A SIMPLE SIT; DEVELOPED INTO A VERY COMPLICATED PROB. IF THE AUTO HDOF PARAMETERS WOULD HAVE BEEN SET CORRECTLY; THE SATELLITE JET DEP BEING HANDED OFF TO DR3 BY MEACHAM N WOULD HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED CORRECTLY; AND THE DATA TAG ON ACR X WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INADVERTENTLY CHANGED BY THE MEACHAM N CTLR. IF ACR X WOULD HAVE DEPARTED ON THE WRONG SYMBOL; BUT WITH THE APPROPRIATE DEST; I WOULD HAVE QUESTIONED THE PLT; AND ASCERTAINED THAT THE DATA TAG WAS SIMPLY WRONG; AND WOULD NOT HAVE STOPPED HIS CLB AND HANDED HIM OFF TO THE MEACHAM N CTLR. WHAT STARTED AS A SIMPLE AND SEEMINGLY HARMLESS MISTAKE BY THE W TWR LCL CTLR; ADDED WITH EQUIP MALFUNCTIONS; AND INEFFECTIVE COM; COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A TRAGEDY.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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