FLT CREW IS FRUSTRATED WITH ATC SVC IN ZLC'S AIRSPACE.

2003-08 · NASA ASRS report 589701

Date: 2003-08 · Aircraft: Dash 8-400

Synopsis

FLT CREW IS FRUSTRATED WITH ATC SVC IN ZLC'S AIRSPACE.

Narrative

TO CLARIFY; I REALLY HAD NO SPECIAL EVENT TO REPORT ON THIS DATE. HOWEVER; THE KIND OF DAY I HAD PROMPTS ME TO WRITE THIS RPT. I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAS MORE STRESSFUL; DEALING WITH CENTER OR DEALING WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS! I BELIEVE THAT SLC NEEDS TO ADD A HIGH ALT SECTOR IN THE MONTANA AREA. ON BAD WX DAYS; THE SECTORS COVERED BY SALT LAKE CENTER FREQUENCIES; 132.4 AND 133.4; ARE AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. I'VE BEEN FLYING OUT THERE FOR OVER 14 YRS WITH A REGIONAL CARRIER. THE RADIO CONGESTION HAS GOT TO A POINT TO WHERE IT IS OUT OF HAND. IT FREQUENTLY TAKES TWO OR THREE CALLS TO GET THE CTLRS ATTENTION. AND THEN; THEY ARE PEEVED BECAUSE THEY FREQUENTLY HAVE PLTS TALKING ON TOP AT EACH OTHER. THE PLTS TALK ON TOP OF EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY DON'T HEAR EACH OTHER DUE TO DISTANCES AND TALKING TO CENTER ON DIFFERENT ANTENNA LOCATIONS. AND LORD HELP YOU IF YOU GO MISSED; NEED AN APCH CLRNC; DEVIATION; OR LOWER ALT WHILE OTHER ACFT ARE ON THE RADIO COMPLAINING ABOUT OCCASIONAL MODERATE CHOP AT 37000! THE APCH GOING INTO MSO REQUIRES 4 MAJOR HAND OFFS BTWN SECTORS APCHING FROM THE W WITHIN 50 MILES. MSO IS NOT LAX! IT GOES SEATTLE CENTER; SLC; SPOKANE APCH; AND THE MISSOULA TWR; AND THERE IS BARELY ANY COM/COORDINATION BTWN THEM. THE SAME SIT APPLIES AT KALISPELL TO A LESSER EXTENT. MY SOLUTION WOULD BE TO MAKE A HIGH ALT SECTOR IN MONTANA SO THE LOW SECTORS CAN TAKE CARE OF AND WATCH THE FLIGHTS THAT ARE CLOSE TO THE ROCKS. EITHER EXPAND SALT LAKE BOUNDARIES TO THE W OF FCA AND MSO; OR EXPAND SEATTLE'S TO COVER FCA AND MSO. THE COORDINATION BTWN THE TWO FACILITIES IS NOT GETTING DONE IN A TIMELY MANNER DURING DSCNT AND APCH. I KNOW BUDGETS ARE TIGHT AND EVERYONE IS OUT OF MONEY; BUT THERE IS A SAFETY PROB IN MONTANA THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED BEFORE IT COSTS LIVES.

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

Loading the flight search…

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.