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Flight crew unknowingly lost communications with ARTCC until their company contacted them to inform that ATC was unable to contact them and to call them on a new frequency from that they had last used and were still monitoring.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 531206 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200111 |
| Day | Sun |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : ztl.artcc |
| State Reference | GA |
| Altitude | msl bound lower : 33000 msl bound upper : 37000 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : ztl.artcc |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | Medium Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Navigation In Use | other |
| Flight Phase | cruise : level |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 13000 flight time type : 1000 |
| ASRS Report | 531206 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | non adherence other |
| Independent Detector | other controllera |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact other |
| Consequence | Other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Flight Crew Human Performance ATC Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | ATC Human Performance |
| Air Traffic Incident | Inter Facility Coordination Failure other |
Narrative:
While en route from dfw to roh, we lost radio contact with ATC. Although we were monitoring ATC we didn't know we had lost contact until our company called us on the other radio. We believe that we flew out of radio range without a handoff. If you fly out of radio range without a handoff it is just about impossible to know it for some time. This is because (as in our case) you can still hear other aircraft transmitting, but not always ATC. Static, interference and blocked xmissions can prevent a successful handoff and cause an out of range situation also. Apparently, as we learned from our company, we were close to being intercepted.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: FLC UNKNOWINGLY LOST COMS WITH ARTCC UNTIL THEIR COMPANY CONTACTED THEM TO INFORM THAT ATC WAS UNABLE TO CONTACT THEM AND TO CALL THEM ON A NEW FREQ FROM THAT THEY HAD LAST USED AND WERE STILL MONITORING.
Narrative: WHILE ENRTE FROM DFW TO ROH, WE LOST RADIO CONTACT WITH ATC. ALTHOUGH WE WERE MONITORING ATC WE DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD LOST CONTACT UNTIL OUR COMPANY CALLED US ON THE OTHER RADIO. WE BELIEVE THAT WE FLEW OUT OF RADIO RANGE WITHOUT A HDOF. IF YOU FLY OUT OF RADIO RANGE WITHOUT A HDOF IT IS JUST ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW IT FOR SOME TIME. THIS IS BECAUSE (AS IN OUR CASE) YOU CAN STILL HEAR OTHER ACFT XMITTING, BUT NOT ALWAYS ATC. STATIC, INTERFERENCE AND BLOCKED XMISSIONS CAN PREVENT A SUCCESSFUL HDOF AND CAUSE AN OUT OF RANGE SIT ALSO. APPARENTLY, AS WE LEARNED FROM OUR COMPANY, WE WERE CLOSE TO BEING INTERCEPTED.
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.