<< >> NASA ASRS Report 118346, July 1989

Primary radar out of service is causing difficulty in working non transponder equipped aircraft in area.

Attributes
ACN	118346
Time
Date	198907
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : bwi
State Reference	MD
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : approach
Qualification	controller : radar
Experience	controller military : 10 controller radar : 7
ASRS Report	118346
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	other
Situations
ATC Facility	other physical facility

Narrative:

This report is on equipment. Bwi airport primary radar has been out of service for over a month. We are working secondary radar only (transponder equipped aircraft). On the dates above, balance VORTAC has been taken off the air. WX has been marginal VFR. This creates a condition where it is almost impossible to provide non radar service to any IFR aircraft without a transponder or to any aircraft that loses his transponder while en route.

Related reports:

• BE35 pilot reports difficulty obtaining clearance to enter t...
• A BE36 CFI finds difficulty in assessing the accuracy of his...

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.37000feet.com

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PRIMARY RADAR OUT OF SERVICE IS CAUSING DIFFICULTY IN WORKING NON TRANSPONDER EQUIPPED ACFT IN AREA.

Narrative: THIS REPORT IS ON EQUIPMENT. BWI ARPT PRIMARY RADAR HAS BEEN OUT OF SERVICE FOR OVER A MONTH. WE ARE WORKING SECONDARY RADAR ONLY (TRANSPONDER EQUIPPED ACFT). ON THE DATES ABOVE, BAL VORTAC HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF THE AIR. WX HAS BEEN MARGINAL VFR. THIS CREATES A CONDITION WHERE IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVIDE NON RADAR SERVICE TO ANY IFR ACFT WITHOUT A TRANSPONDER OR TO ANY ACFT THAT LOSES HIS TRANSPONDER WHILE ENRTE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 2007 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.