2007-05 · NASA ASRS report 740031
B737-700 FLT CREW EXPERIENCES TCAS RA ON A PHX SID. FEELS RECENT ACR POLICY DIRECTING 30 DEGREE BANKED TURNS DURING DEPARTURE MANEUVERING MAY CONTRIBUTE TO REPEATED INCIDENTS IN THE FUTURE.
I HAVE 2 SAFETY CONCERNS ABOUT OUR CURRENT FOM PROCS AND TCAS RA PROGRAMMING. THE EVENT WAS AN RA GENERATED IN OUR TURN TO THE N ON THE DEP FROM PHX. PRECEDING US WAS ANOTHER CARRIER. TKOF SPACING WAS MINIMAL AS ATC WAS TRYING TO DEPART AS MANY ACFT AS POSSIBLE. THE AIRBUS WAS ON A ST JOHNS DEP AND WE ARE ON A SILOW. CONCERN #1: AS AN EFFICIENCY MEASURE; COMPANY FLT STANDARDS IMPOSED A PROC WHEREBY WE USE A 30 DEG BANK TURN FOR DEP TURNS. OTHER AIRLINES DO NOT FOLLOW THIS PROC. THE AIM ONLY CALLS FOR A STANDARD RATE TURN. THE AIRBUS WAS USING WHAT I ESTIMATE TO BE A 15 DEG BANK TURN. THIS RESULTED IN OUR BEING WELL INSIDE OF HIS TURN RADIUS AS WE BOTH TURNED TO THE R. MY FO COMPENSATED BY INCREASING HIS CLB AND REDUCING HIS SPD. THIS KEPT US SAFELY INSIDE OF HIS TURN RADIUS. THE SILOW HAD US ROLLING OUT N WHILE THE AIRBUS CONTINUED HIS TURN TO THE E. WE EASILY MAINTAINED VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE AIRBUS FROM TKOF THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE EVENT. DESPITE THESE CORRECTIONS; OUR SEPARATION WAS DRAMATICALLY REDUCED; CAUSING SOME CONCERN FROM ATC. I STRONGLY FEEL THAT ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING VERBIAGE SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE FOM TO TEMPER OUR DIRECTIVE TO USE THE 30 DEG BANK. IF EVERYONE PLAYED BY OUR RULES; THERE WOULD BE NO PROB; BUT THAT IS JUST NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. CONCERN #2: DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE WERE ABOVE AND BEHIND THE AIRBUS; THE TCAS GENERATED A SHORT RA DIRECTING A DRAMATIC DSCNT. CLRLY; THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO DO. BETTER SEPARATION WAS ENSURED BY CONTINUING OUR CLB. THERE ARE 2 CONCERNS HERE: 1) THE TCAS DID NOT GENERATE THE RA UNTIL WE WERE BEHIND AND DIVERGING AWAY FROM THE AIRBUS IN OTHER WORDS; MUCH LATER THAN IT NEEDED TO BE. 2) IT DIRECTED AN ABRUPT DSCNT THAT WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY DECREASED OUR SEPARATION. THIS IS PERHAPS EVIDENCE OF A SOFTWARE PROB. EXPAND SUPPORTING VERBIAGE ON FOM 3.4.5. INVESTIGATE TCAS RA EVENTS DURING CLBS AND TURNS TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE GENERATING PROPER RA'S.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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