1988-05 · NASA ASRS report 87300
CTLR REPORTER TRANSPOSED ACR CALL SIGNS AND DESCENDED ACR WDB INTO ADJACENT CTLR'S AIRSPACE WITHOUT COORD.
WDB XY HVY CALLED APCH CTL INBND TO DFW FROM NW; WAS ISSUED INITIAL APCH INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEQUENCE TO ARPT. APPROX 30 SECS LATER FROM THE SW ON STAR ARR; WDB WXY HVY RPTED IN. CTLR ACKNOWLEDGED CALL AND PROCEEDED TO CAUTION BOTH WDB XY HVY AND WDB WXY HVY OF LIKE CALL SIGNS. TFC WAS HEAVY AND DURING THE STREAM OF FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS WDB XY WAS INSTRUCTED TO DSND FIRST TO 7000'; THEN TO 6000' MSL. SEVERAL XMISSIONS WERE MADE TO OTHER ACFT AND THEN THIS CTLR; INTENDING WDB XY TO DSND TO 5000' MSL AND CONTACT APCH STATED; 'WDB WXY HVY DSND AND MAINTAIN 5000 CONTACT APCH 132.1.' WDB WXY HVY ANSWERED AND COMPLIED. UPON LEAVING 11000' WDB WXY PENETRATED DEP AIRSPACE. ERROR WAS NOTICED AS WDB WXY DSNDED THROUGH 9000' ACROSS THE DEP ROUTES. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO ACFT IN DEP'S AIRSPACE AND THUS NO LOSS OF SEP OCCURRED. THIS CTLR FEELS RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT CATCHING HIS OWN SLIP OF THE TONGUE; BUT THE HDOF CTLR MISSED IT AS WELL. FURTHERMORE; WITHIN MOMENTS OF THIS INCIDENT; LGT CCH; LGT FCH AND LGT HCH ALL CHKED IN ON FREQ. WOULD THIS INCIDENT HAVE HAPPENED IF WDB WXY HAD BEEN WDB WVR? PROBABLY NOT! I CANNOT STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AWARE OF WHAT YOU SAID BUT; BUT IS IT NECESSARY FOR THE ACRS TO SCHEDULE LIKE CALL SIGNS DURING THE SAME ARR/DEP RUSH? IT MAY LOOK CUTE ON SCHEDULE MAKER'S SCHEDULE; BUT ARE WE SETTING UP NEEDLESSLY THE POTENTIAL FOR DISASTER?
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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