ARTCC RADAR CTLR OBSERVED AN UNKNOWN ACFT FLY THROUGH R4009-P40 WITHOUT ANY CONTACT WITH ATC. ADJACENT FACILITIES TRACKED ACFT TO NEAR N97 THEN LOST RADAR WITH THE ACFT. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS THE RPTR SAW AN SPC AND 2 OTHER TARGETS ENTER THE SAME AREA. CTLR CHKED WITH SUPVR TO SEE IF IT WAS NOW 'HOT;' AND TO ADVISE HIM OF THE SECOND PENETRATION OF THIS AIRSPACE.

Date: 1997-10 · Aircraft: Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer

Anomalies: airspace-violation-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|other-airspace-violation-entry-or-exit

Synopsis

ARTCC RADAR CTLR OBSERVED AN UNKNOWN ACFT FLY THROUGH R4009-P40 WITHOUT ANY CONTACT WITH ATC. ADJACENT FACILITIES TRACKED ACFT TO NEAR N97 THEN LOST RADAR WITH THE ACFT. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS THE RPTR SAW AN SPC AND 2 OTHER TARGETS ENTER THE SAME AREA. CTLR CHKED WITH SUPVR TO SEE IF IT WAS NOW 'HOT;' AND TO ADVISE HIM OF THE SECOND PENETRATION OF THIS AIRSPACE.

Narrative

AT APPROX XA23Z ACFT WAS OBSERVED NWBOUND; 7 MI NW OF P40 AT 4500 FT. I HAD JUST ASSUMED THE R6 POS. I TRACKED ACFT AND ASKED MDT TO TRACK HIM AND ADVISE. WHEN SUSPECT ACFT NEARED MDT/ZOB BOUNDARY; I CALLED TO VERIFY ZOB/IHD SECTOR (C53) WAS WATCHING HIM. THEY HAD NOT BEEN GIVEN THE INFO FROM MDT APCH SO I ADVISED THEM OF HIS POS; THEY OBSERVED THE VFR TARGET AND TRACKED ACFT. I LOST RADAR CONTACT ON THE ACFT AT APPROX XA45Z AT APPROX 28 MI N OF THE THS VOR. ZOB/IHD SECTOR ADVISED AT APPROX XA52Z THAT THE ALLEGED ACFT APPEARED TO BE DSNDING INTO N97 (CLEARFIELD) AND THAT ZOB WAS TRYING TO CONTACT AOO FSS TO CONTACT PLT. ZOB LOST RADAR CONTACT ON ACFT APPROX 1 1/2 MI S OF N97 AS HE DSNDED BELOW THEIR RADAR COVERAGE. SHORTLY AFTER INITIAL CONTACT; ACFT OBSERVED AT 2200 FT IN THE MIDDLE OF P40 EBOUND AND DSNDING. ADVISED SUPVR. THEY ADVISED ME IT WAS A WX CHK. SEVERAL MINS LATER 3 TARGETS ON DISCRETE BEACON CODES OBSERVED ENTERING P40. CALLED IADZ AND THEY ADVISED SPC AND 2 ESCORTS WERE ENTERING P40. ADVISED SUPVR. ASKED THEM TO VERIFY R4009 WAS NOW 'HOT!' WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT BTWN THE IADZ; MIL AND ZDC THAT IN ORDER TO AVOID CONFUSION WHEN R4009 BECOMES ACTIVE THAT IADZ SHALL ADVISE ZDC THAT THE 'I' SHELT IN THE ZDC/IAD LOA IS ACTIVATED. TO MY KNOWLEDGE; PROPER PROC HAS NEVER BEEN FOLLOWED. I UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY NOTICE MUST BE MINIMAL; BUT WHEN WE OBSERVE DISCRETE CODES ENTERING P40 THERE IS A MAD SCRAMBLE OF PHONE CALLS TO THE MIL AT P40; IADZ; ETC; THAT COULD BE AVOIDED WITH 1 PHONE CALL FROM THE MIL TO US 1 MIN BEFORE SPC ENTER P40.

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