ZFW CONTROLLER VOICED CONCERN REGARDING D10 TRACON'S FREQUENT LATE ACCEPTANCE OF HANDOFFS; CITING POSSIBLE EQUIPMENT ISSUES AND FACILITY OPERATIONAL PRACTICES.
Synopsis
ZFW CONTROLLER VOICED CONCERN REGARDING D10 TRACON'S FREQUENT LATE ACCEPTANCE OF HANDOFFS; CITING POSSIBLE EQUIPMENT ISSUES AND FACILITY OPERATIONAL PRACTICES.
Narrative
THIS ACFT WAS INBOUND ON THE DODJE 3 ARR; WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO CROSS DODJE AT AND MAINTAIN 9000 FT. THE HDOF WAS INITIATED ABOUT 5 MINS FROM THE APCH BOUNDARY; AND THE APCH CTLR WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE HDOF. FURTHERMORE; THEY WOULD NOT ANSWER THE COORD LINE. AT 1 MIN FROM THE BOUNDARY; ACTION WAS TAKEN TO TURN THE ACFT AWAY FROM DFW APCH. DURING THIS PROCESS; THEY ACCEPTED THE HDOF. THE ACFT WAS TURNED BACK ONTO THE STAR AND COMS WERE XFERRED. THIS HIGHLIGHTS PROBS WITH RADAR COVERAGE AND COORD WITH DFW APCH. IT IS COMMON FOR DFW APCH TO ACCEPT HDOFS WITH LESS THAN 1 MIN FROM THE BOUNDARY; COMPROMISING SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY TO ALL PARTIES INVOLVED. IN ORDER FOR THE CTR TO COMPLY WITH REGS; DFW APCH MUST ACCEPT HDOFS OR COMPLETE COORD IN A TIMELY MANNER THAT ALLOWS THE XFERRING CTLR TIME TO VECTOR THE ACFT AWAY FROM DFW APCH AIRSPACE. DFW APCH DOES NOT CONSIDER THAT ACFT FLYING BTWN 250 AND 300 KTS NEED 2-4 MINS TO BE VECTORED TO MISS THEIR AIRSPACE. IN ESSENCE ALL HDOFS ARE BEING ACCEPTED TOO LATE. THIS PROB IS AGGRAVATED ON THE S SIDE OF THE BOUNDARY. APCH CTLRS OFTEN HAVE TROUBLE RADAR IDENTING ACFT ON DODJE 3 ARR DUE TO EQUIP LIMITATIONS. THESE LIMITATIONS MAKE IT VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ENSURE THE 2.5 MI BOUNDARY COMPLIANCE WITH DFW APCH. FINALLY; DFW APCH HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO COORDINATE WITH AS THEY ROUTINELY IGNORE INTERPHONE XMISSIONS. THIS CREATES NEEDLESS ANXIETY THAT DIMINISHES PERFORMANCE; SAFETY; AND EFFICIENCY. CORRECTIVE ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE INCREASING DFW APCH AWARENESS; RESOLVING EQUIP LIMITATIONS; AND ADDRESSING POOR COORD.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.