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Sct TRACON controller had an aircraft on an ILS approach to ont when the tower unexpectedly closed briefly due to lack of staffing.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1398881 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201611 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ONT.Airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Approach |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 3.5 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types |
Narrative:
As I vectored an aircraft onto final just outside the outer marker; the tower called and told me they were going ATC 0 [facility unable to provide ATC services] for approximately 5 minutes due to staffing. Ont is supposed to be a 24 hour facility providing class C services. The aircraft was now cleared for the ILS approach and now had to go to advisory frequency. Not sure what the tower had going on; but this could have been very dangerous and confusing. I was confused myself thinking they had an equipment malfunction. It wasn't until later I was told the tower was understaffed and they may go ATC 0 at times and that all aircraft should be held until they reopened. Make sure all TRACON personnel are briefed on ont ATC 0 procedures. Fix staffing problems at this tower.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: SCT TRACON Controller had an aircraft on an ILS approach to ONT when the Tower unexpectedly closed briefly due to lack of staffing.
Narrative: As I vectored an aircraft onto final just outside the outer marker; the Tower called and told me they were going ATC 0 [facility unable to provide ATC Services] for approximately 5 minutes due to staffing. ONT is supposed to be a 24 hour facility providing Class C services. The aircraft was now cleared for the ILS approach and now had to go to advisory frequency. Not sure what the tower had going on; but this could have been very dangerous and confusing. I was confused myself thinking they had an equipment malfunction. It wasn't until later I was told the Tower was understaffed and they may go ATC 0 at times and that all aircraft should be held until they reopened. Make sure all TRACON personnel are briefed on ONT ATC 0 procedures. Fix staffing problems at this Tower.
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.