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Reporter is concerned that large WX balloons are being released from laramie and ATC does not provide aircraft separation from the WX balloons.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 149311 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199006 |
| Day | Mon |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001 To 0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : lar |
| State Reference | WY |
| Altitude | msl bound lower : 0 msl bound upper : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zdv |
| Route In Use | enroute airway : zdv |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : radar |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| Experience | controller military : 4 controller radar : 20 controller supervisory : 1 |
| ASRS Report | 149311 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other controllera |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : anomaly accepted |
| Consequence | Other |
| Supplementary | |
| Primary Problem | Weather |
| Air Traffic Incident | other |
Narrative:
Balloons are routinely released from laramie to 115000' and ATC does not provide any sep between these balloons and other aircraft. The balloon is about 120' tall, a load train of 300', a payload of 85 pounds, and a 250' antenna. These balloons could bring down an airliner. Pilots often report near misses with these balloons, which do not carry xponders. A ucr was written on this specific problem in 1981, and another ucr was written just yesterday, 6/xx/90. No action is expected from the FAA unless an aircraft crashes. Can you do anything to get xponders on these balloons or to get ATC to provide sep from the trajectory airspace?
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: REPORTER IS CONCERNED THAT LARGE WX BALLOONS ARE BEING RELEASED FROM LARAMIE AND ATC DOES NOT PROVIDE ACFT SEPARATION FROM THE WX BALLOONS.
Narrative: BALLOONS ARE ROUTINELY RELEASED FROM LARAMIE TO 115000' AND ATC DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY SEP BTWN THESE BALLOONS AND OTHER ACFT. THE BALLOON IS ABOUT 120' TALL, A LOAD TRAIN OF 300', A PAYLOAD OF 85 LBS, AND A 250' ANTENNA. THESE BALLOONS COULD BRING DOWN AN AIRLINER. PLTS OFTEN RPT NEAR MISSES WITH THESE BALLOONS, WHICH DO NOT CARRY XPONDERS. A UCR WAS WRITTEN ON THIS SPECIFIC PROB IN 1981, AND ANOTHER UCR WAS WRITTEN JUST YESTERDAY, 6/XX/90. NO ACTION IS EXPECTED FROM THE FAA UNLESS AN ACFT CRASHES. CAN YOU DO ANYTHING TO GET XPONDERS ON THESE BALLOONS OR TO GET ATC TO PROVIDE SEP FROM THE TRAJECTORY AIRSPACE?
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 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.