Three controllers and an air carrier pilot describe the confusion after a helicopter is cleared thro...

Attributes
ACN	1129277
Time
Date	201311
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Helicopter
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Approach
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 16
Person 2
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (mon) 6 Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 1
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

An air carrier IFR; arriving from the west. Got him past all of his traffic; cleared him for a visual approach to and told him to contact tower about 8-9 miles northwest. A VFR helicopter; now 5 miles northwest of the field needed to cross over the runways enroute to the hospital. Normal route of flight would have put him over the approach end of the runway at about 1;000-1;200 ft. Called local control (local control) and coordinated; local control said that she could take the direct to the hospital. I gave local control control of the air carrier just in case she needed more room or needed to maneuver. Local control called when the air carrier was on a 3 mile final; stating that she did not have communications with that aircraft. I switched the air carrier again and this time he took the change. As I watched the situation; suddenly the helicopter took a turn toward the air carrier. This would be a turn away from the hospital and quite an unusual move for the helicopter as they need to get a patient to the hospital. I was later informed that the air carrier was filing some kind of a report; perhaps a near midair. I reviewed the tape and the air carrier had 1 mile lateral separation; VFR separation.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Three controllers and an air carrier pilot describe the confusion after a helicopter is cleared through the final approach corridor but is in conflict with the air carrier who switched frequencies late and did not hear ATC's alert.

Narrative: An air carrier IFR; arriving from the west. Got him past all of his traffic; cleared him for a visual approach to and told him to contact Tower about 8-9 miles northwest. A VFR helicopter; now 5 miles northwest of the field needed to cross over the runways enroute to the hospital. Normal route of flight would have put him over the approach end of the runway at about 1;000-1;200 FT. Called Local Control (LC) and coordinated; LC said that she could take the direct to the hospital. I gave LC control of the air carrier just in case she needed more room or needed to maneuver. LC called when the air carrier was on a 3 mile final; stating that she did not have communications with that aircraft. I switched the air carrier again and this time he took the change. As I watched the situation; suddenly the helicopter took a turn toward the air carrier. This would be a turn AWAY from the hospital and quite an unusual move for the helicopter as they need to get a patient to the hospital. I was later informed that the air carrier was filing some kind of a report; perhaps a near midair. I reviewed the tape and the air carrier had 1 mile lateral separation; VFR separation.

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.