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A center controller reported he misidentified an aircraft when the plane did not use their call sign when responding to instructions.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1491768 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201710 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZAB.ARTCC |
| State Reference | NM |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 6.0 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
I had track control of aircraft X but the aircraft was still 20 miles outside of my airspace. I was also working aircraft Y a departure who was in my airspace and climbing along the SID. Aircraft X said 'center; aircraft X'. I said 'go ahead' with no callsign. Aircraft X says 'we need to divert' with no callsign. I am looking at aircraft Y the whole time and think that is who I am talking to. I cleared aircraft Y 'via right hand turn to ZZZ...' and gave him a descent. Aircraft X read it back with no callsign. After a minute I notice aircraft Y had not made a turn which I thought was strange. I verified with aircraft Y that they were the [the aircraft in distress] and aircraft X answers 'affirmative' which further diluted the situation. Shortly after aircraft Y questions 'if they are still with me'. At this point I realized they were not the [the aircraft in distress] and scanned and saw aircraft X in a right turn and in a descent. My radar assist and I quickly coordinated with the involved sectors the emergency aircraft and what they were doing. I learned that by me saying 'go ahead' instead of using aircraft Y's callsign from the beginning may have contributed to the situation. However; when I subsequently used correct callsigns aircraft X answered for aircraft Y anyway which is an example of how workload and emergency's have a tendency to add risk.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Center Controller reported he misidentified an aircraft when the plane did not use their call sign when responding to instructions.
Narrative: I had track control of Aircraft X but the aircraft was still 20 miles outside of my airspace. I was also working Aircraft Y a departure who was in my airspace and climbing along the SID. Aircraft X said 'Center; Aircraft X'. I said 'go ahead' with no callsign. Aircraft X says 'we need to divert' with no callsign. I am looking at Aircraft Y the whole time and think that is who I am talking to. I cleared Aircraft Y 'via right hand turn to ZZZ...' and gave him a descent. Aircraft X read it back with no callsign. After a minute I notice Aircraft Y had not made a turn which I thought was strange. I verified with Aircraft Y that they were the [the aircraft in distress] and Aircraft X answers 'affirmative' which further diluted the situation. Shortly after Aircraft Y questions 'if they are still with me'. At this point I realized they were not the [the aircraft in distress] and scanned and saw Aircraft X in a right turn and in a descent. My radar Assist and I quickly coordinated with the involved sectors the emergency aircraft and what they were doing. I learned that by me saying 'go ahead' instead of using Aircraft Y's callsign from the beginning may have contributed to the situation. However; when I subsequently used correct callsigns Aircraft X answered for Aircraft Y anyway which is an example of how workload and emergency's have a tendency to add risk.
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.