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Controller was being handed off two aircraft on converging headings at the same altitude. In the controller's opinion it was an imminent situation. The controller called the adjacent sector and instructed them to issue a heading to one of the aircraft to ensure lateral separation in the receiving controller's airspace. The reporter states this is a common situation between these two sectors.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1286658 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201508 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZMP.ARTCC |
| State Reference | MN |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | BAe 125 Series 800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Learjet 45 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 24 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Track / Heading All Types |
| Miss Distance | Horizontal 58080 |
Narrative:
[ARTCC sector] continues to hand us two or more aircraft on conflicting courses at the same altitude. This has been going on for over 20 years! Tonight they handed me two aircraft (aircraft X and aircraft Y) at flight level 410 that were going to lose separation at approximately 30 miles inside my airspace. Aircraft Y was behind and south and 30 knots faster than aircraft X that was converging from the north. I called [ARTCC sector] a couple time to get him to turn aircraft Y. He didn't answer at first. Finally after establishing communications with [ARTCC sector] I instructed him to turn aircraft Y 30 degrees to the left to go behind aircraft X. The aircraft passed 15 miles inside my airspace 11 miles behind. We would have definitely lost separation if I had not instructed the [ARTCC sector] controller to turn the second aircraft. It very well might have been a near miss! Aircraft Y thankfully lost about 30 knots in his airspeed as he turned north; into the wind. The wind was from the north at 60 knots. If not for the wind the aircraft would have needed an even more drastic turn to achieve separation! As I looked at the [ARTCC sector] from my radar scope it appeared that these were the only 2 aircraft in his airspace!ARTCC management needs to take immediate action to fix a safety problem that has been going on for over 20 years!
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Controller was being handed off two aircraft on converging headings at the same altitude. In the controller's opinion it was an imminent situation. The controller called the adjacent sector and instructed them to issue a heading to one of the aircraft to ensure lateral separation in the receiving controller's airspace. The reporter states this is a common situation between these two sectors.
Narrative: [ARTCC sector] continues to hand us two or more aircraft on conflicting courses at the same altitude. This has been going on for over 20 years! Tonight they handed me two aircraft (Aircraft X and Aircraft Y) at flight level 410 that were going to lose separation at approximately 30 miles inside my airspace. Aircraft Y was behind and south and 30 knots faster than Aircraft X that was converging from the north. I called [ARTCC Sector] a couple time to get him to turn Aircraft Y. He didn't answer at first. Finally after establishing communications with [ARTCC sector] I instructed him to turn Aircraft Y 30 degrees to the left to go behind Aircraft X. The aircraft passed 15 miles inside my airspace 11 miles behind. We would have definitely lost separation if I had not instructed the [ARTCC sector] controller to turn the second aircraft. It very well might have been a near miss! Aircraft Y thankfully lost about 30 knots in his airspeed as he turned north; into the wind. The wind was from the north at 60 knots. If not for the wind the aircraft would have needed an even more drastic turn to achieve separation! As I looked at the [ARTCC sector] from my radar scope it appeared that these were the Only 2 aircraft in his airspace!ARTCC management needs to take immediate action to fix a safety problem that has been going on for over 20 years!
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.