Narrative:

Aircraft X was issued beacon code; radar identified and cleared into bravo via direct ford island; direct navy marine golf course for runway 4L. After the 2nd to 4th scan; aircraft disappeared on radar display. Immediate query of aircraft on frequency was positive. I asked the adjacent controller to go to mosaic display immediately and we both observed the limited data block of the aircraft. Coordination began immediately with tower for radar handoff. The tower had to go into mosaic also to see the aircraft to receive the radar handoff. Previous similar situations have been reported; however these have been outbound aircraft on the redhill and freeway departures. Report was submitted to flm. The chaos this caused could have had negative results with conflicting traffic and other priorities that almost became overlooked while attention was diverted from the operation. All aircraft were handled appropriately; however; I believe my experience and being a subject matter expert on this equipment allowed me to overcome the handicap. The last explanation we have received is a control sheet issued within the past month advising that this is mode south related.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: HCF Controller reported situation where aircraft target disappears unless equipment is in mosaic mode.

Narrative: Aircraft X was issued beacon code; radar identified and cleared into Bravo via direct Ford Island; direct Navy Marine golf course for Runway 4L. After the 2nd to 4th scan; aircraft disappeared on radar display. Immediate query of aircraft on frequency was positive. I asked the adjacent controller to go to Mosaic display immediately and we both observed the limited data block of the aircraft. Coordination began immediately with Tower for radar handoff. The Tower had to go into Mosaic also to see the aircraft to receive the radar handoff. Previous similar situations have been reported; however these have been outbound aircraft on the Redhill and Freeway departures. Report was submitted to FLM. The chaos this caused could have had negative results with conflicting traffic and other priorities that almost became overlooked while attention was diverted from the operation. All aircraft were handled appropriately; however; I believe my experience and being a Subject Matter Expert on this equipment allowed me to overcome the handicap. The last explanation we have received is a control sheet issued within the past month advising that this is Mode S related.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.