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N90 controller noted a sudden failure of mode-C information while utilizing the ewr radar site; forced to switch to jfk radar; the reporter noted this radar site limits hand off operations.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1022480 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201207 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | N90.TRACON |
| State Reference | NY |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Approach Departure |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Radar 29.8 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types |
Narrative:
I was working the empyr arrival scope for lga. I had 1 VFR eastbound at 9;500 ft and about 7 or 8 IFR arrivals; some on the STAR and some on vectors. I was using ewr radar which is typical for this position and provides the best coverage to the southwest; which is where the initial arrival fixes are located. I suddenly lost all mode C altitude readouts; both on my targets and on all other targets on the scope. After notifying the controller in charge and waiting a few minutes to see if the condition would self correct; I was forced to switch to jfk radar. The targets displayed correctly; however we cannot take hand offs as early as on the ewr radar. Recommend to analyze the technical data to see what happened and provide some kind of solution/redundancy.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: N90 Controller noted a sudden failure of Mode-C information while utilizing the EWR RADAR site; forced to switch to JFK RADAR; the reporter noted this RADAR site limits hand off operations.
Narrative: I was working the EMPYR arrival scope for LGA. I had 1 VFR Eastbound at 9;500 FT and about 7 or 8 IFR arrivals; some on the STAR and some on vectors. I was using EWR RADAR which is typical for this position and provides the best coverage to the southwest; which is where the initial arrival fixes are located. I suddenly lost all MODE C altitude readouts; both on my targets and on all other targets on the scope. After notifying the CIC and waiting a few minutes to see if the condition would self correct; I was forced to switch to JFK RADAR. The targets displayed correctly; however we cannot take hand offs as early as on the EWR RADAR. Recommend to analyze the technical data to see what happened and provide some kind of solution/redundancy.
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.