Narrative:

Flying V5 southeast out of cha, I was unable to receive the 274 degree right from the elw VOR to put me on V5 at nello intersection as filed. I was informed by ZTL that I was not on V5 and given a heading to the arwy. Soon thereafter atl informed me I was 500' below my assigned altitude of 9000'. I was then handed off to another controller. I informed this controller that I was not receiving elw. He stated it was OTS and assigned me a heading. During the course of other xmissions, I heard other pilots were not receiving elw and at 1 point the controller stated that it was out 'for a couple of days.' in cases when controllers were asked for flight following, the response was that they had a heavy workload because of the # of navaids out of service. Chs VOR was also OTS and one my filed flight plan. My altitude drop may have been caused by turbulence, as I was over the foothills of the smokey mountains. Other aircraft had requested altitude changes for turbulence and I had experienced some at this time. But this drop could have been caused by the workload put on single pilot IFR because of the VOR that was OTS and lack of assistance by busy controllers. I think this is the significant problem. I received a duat briefing the day of the flight and departed about 2 hours after the briefing. Elw was not shown as being OTS on my route under the NOTAM listing. Chs was also OTS and this was not shown. I enclose a copy of the pertinent pages from that briefing. The full printout of the briefing is available at your request. Note that both elw and chs are shown in my route of flight. In addition, I received an in-person briefing at the bowling green, ky FSS a matter of an hour before the incident and was not informed of either outage although I did not specifically ask for NOTAMS. I then filed an IFR plan including both the elw and chs VOR's. Both were accepted as filed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MISGUIDED REPORTER WRITES TO COMPLAIN THAT DUATS PRINTOUT DOES NOT SHOW ELW VORTAC OUT OF SERVICE IN THE NOTAM SECTION, BUT COPY OF PRINTOUT CLEARLY SHOWS 'ELW VORTAC OTS.'

Narrative: FLYING V5 SE OUT OF CHA, I WAS UNABLE TO RECEIVE THE 274 DEG R FROM THE ELW VOR TO PUT ME ON V5 AT NELLO INTXN AS FILED. I WAS INFORMED BY ZTL THAT I WAS NOT ON V5 AND GIVEN A HDG TO THE ARWY. SOON THEREAFTER ATL INFORMED ME I WAS 500' BELOW MY ASSIGNED ALT OF 9000'. I WAS THEN HANDED OFF TO ANOTHER CTLR. I INFORMED THIS CTLR THAT I WAS NOT RECEIVING ELW. HE STATED IT WAS OTS AND ASSIGNED ME A HDG. DURING THE COURSE OF OTHER XMISSIONS, I HEARD OTHER PLTS WERE NOT RECEIVING ELW AND AT 1 POINT THE CTLR STATED THAT IT WAS OUT 'FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.' IN CASES WHEN CTLRS WERE ASKED FOR FLT FOLLOWING, THE RESPONSE WAS THAT THEY HAD A HVY WORKLOAD BECAUSE OF THE # OF NAVAIDS OUT OF SVC. CHS VOR WAS ALSO OTS AND ONE MY FILED FLT PLAN. MY ALT DROP MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY TURB, AS I WAS OVER THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SMOKEY MOUNTAINS. OTHER ACFT HAD REQUESTED ALT CHANGES FOR TURB AND I HAD EXPERIENCED SOME AT THIS TIME. BUT THIS DROP COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE WORKLOAD PUT ON SINGLE PLT IFR BECAUSE OF THE VOR THAT WAS OTS AND LACK OF ASSISTANCE BY BUSY CTLRS. I THINK THIS IS THE SIGNIFICANT PROB. I RECEIVED A DUAT BRIEFING THE DAY OF THE FLT AND DEPARTED ABOUT 2 HRS AFTER THE BRIEFING. ELW WAS NOT SHOWN AS BEING OTS ON MY RTE UNDER THE NOTAM LISTING. CHS WAS ALSO OTS AND THIS WAS NOT SHOWN. I ENCLOSE A COPY OF THE PERTINENT PAGES FROM THAT BRIEFING. THE FULL PRINTOUT OF THE BRIEFING IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR REQUEST. NOTE THAT BOTH ELW AND CHS ARE SHOWN IN MY RTE OF FLT. IN ADDITION, I RECEIVED AN IN-PERSON BRIEFING AT THE BOWLING GREEN, KY FSS A MATTER OF AN HR BEFORE THE INCIDENT AND WAS NOT INFORMED OF EITHER OUTAGE ALTHOUGH I DID NOT SPECIFICALLY ASK FOR NOTAMS. I THEN FILED AN IFR PLAN INCLUDING BOTH THE ELW AND CHS VOR'S. BOTH WERE ACCEPTED AS FILED.

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.