<< >> NASA ASRS Report 496660, January 2001

Relieving dca controller encounters loss of separation between B737 and government aircraft when incorrect altitude restr was not assigned by relieved controller.

Attributes
ACN	496660
Time
Date	200101
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	navaid : dca.vor
State Reference	DC
Altitude	msl bound lower : 5000 msl bound upper : 5500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : dca.tracon
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	climbout : intermediate altitude
Route In Use	departure : other published ifr departure
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Controlling Facilities	tracon : dca.tracon
Operator	other
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	cruise : level
Route In Use	enroute other
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : departure
Qualification	controller : radar pilot : instrument
Experience	controller non radar : 19 controller radar : 18 flight time total : 700
ASRS Report	496660
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : departure
Qualification	controller : radar
Events
Anomaly	conflict : airborne less severe non adherence : required legal separation non adherence : published procedure
Independent Detector	atc equipment : conflict alert other controllera
Resolutory Action	controller : issued new clearance
Consequence	faa : investigated
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Operational Error

Narrative:

Relieved previous controller. Air carrier flight progress strip had no altitude entry, and standard altitude should have been 5000 ft. VFR aircraft was level at 5500 ft. Conflict alert went off. Checked with previous controller about air carrier altitude assignment. Controller said 9000 ft. I stopped the air carrier at 5000 ft. Due to new scopes and ARTS overlap, was unable to discern altitude of air carrier.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: RELIEVING DCA CTLR ENCOUNTERS LOSS OF SEPARATION BTWN B737 AND GOV ACFT WHEN INCORRECT ALT RESTR WAS NOT ASSIGNED BY RELIEVED CTLR.

Narrative: RELIEVED PREVIOUS CTLR. ACR FLT PROGRESS STRIP HAD NO ALT ENTRY, AND STANDARD ALT SHOULD HAVE BEEN 5000 FT. VFR ACFT WAS LEVEL AT 5500 FT. CONFLICT ALERT WENT OFF. CHKED WITH PREVIOUS CTLR ABOUT ACR ALT ASSIGNMENT. CTLR SAID 9000 FT. I STOPPED THE ACR AT 5000 FT. DUE TO NEW SCOPES AND ARTS OVERLAP, WAS UNABLE TO DISCERN ALT OF ACR.

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.