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Center controller reported an aircraft descended below what the controller thought was the assigned altitude.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1752839 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202007 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 9 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Altitude Overshoot Deviation - Procedural Clearance Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
Working sectors xx/yy/zz combined with d-side. Cleared aircraft X to cross 30 miles west of ZZZ at FL310. Thought I had an accurate readback. I have not checked the recording yet. There was some frequency congestion with weather deviations and multiple frequencies. Aircraft X later descended below FL310; when I queried the pilot he thought he had been cleared to FL300; and thought that he had read that back. With the addition of a d-side; and the new requirement to wear a mask we are not able to social distance 6+ feet; I was required to in this case. I fully support the safety measures; and appreciate the effort. I don't know if wearing the mask also caused confusion in delivering the clearances (muffled sound; etc.)?staff a full time supervisor (flm) rather than a controller in charge. Open sector(s) more frequently if needed. With the new mask mandate; perhaps opening sector(s) as opposed to staffing d-sides may allow clear communication without a needed mask. On the other hand; one bad sneeze can really carry throughout the area; masks would most likely help reduce virus exposure under any of these circumstances; and a common mandate does help keep all under the same safety standard.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Center Controller reported an aircraft descended below what the Controller thought was the assigned altitude.
Narrative: Working sectors XX/YY/ZZ combined with D-side. Cleared Aircraft X to cross 30 miles west of ZZZ at FL310. Thought I had an accurate readback. I have not checked the recording yet. There was some frequency congestion with weather deviations and multiple frequencies. Aircraft X later descended below FL310; when I queried the pilot he thought he had been cleared to FL300; and thought that he had read that back. With the addition of a D-side; and the new requirement to wear a mask we are not able to social distance 6+ feet; I was required to in this case. I fully support the safety measures; and appreciate the effort. I don't know if wearing the mask also caused confusion in delivering the clearances (muffled sound; etc.)?Staff a full time Supervisor (FLM) rather than a CIC. Open sector(s) more frequently if needed. With the new mask mandate; perhaps opening sector(s) as opposed to staffing D-sides may allow clear communication without a needed mask. On the other hand; one bad sneeze can really carry throughout the area; masks would most likely help reduce virus exposure under any of these circumstances; and a common mandate does help keep all under the same safety standard.
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.