Narrative:

I was working the bpt (R36) position at ZHU when houston approach called to hand off air carrier Y. It was not departed and I advised houston approach that it was not departed. Houston approach tried to hand off air carrier Y again several mins later. It was still not departed. I was busy trying to get the string of departures on course that houston approach had left on headings and speeds without coordinating. I hit the flight readout button again and I asked houston approach control to verify the dst and route of air carrier X. He advised that he did not know the destination or route of air carrier X. I manually departed a proposal for air carrier X and took a handoff from houston approach. Then I verified the route of air carrier X, when the pilot checked on my frequency. After researching this incident, it appears that an ARTS (computer) failure had occurred which I had no knowledge of about 15 mins prior to my taking the position. Also, I hit the flight readout button several times when I thought I was hitting the departure message button. Houston approach was not able to depart this aircraft, nor did they know where he was going. This caused air carrier Y to have to make a 360 degree turn until I had time to manually depart the aircraft and verify his route. If I had not been busy clearing departures on course and correcting their speeds, I could have helped the houston approach controller sooner and air carrier X could have continued on his routing. Also, if I had known of the computer ARTS failure, I could have sent a correction message and re-ARTS forced the aircraft.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZHU EXPERIENCED IDENT DIFFICULTY WITH I90 HDOF AFTER LATER NOTIFICATION OF AN I90 ARTS PROGRAM FAILURE.

Narrative: I WAS WORKING THE BPT (R36) POS AT ZHU WHEN HOUSTON APCH CALLED TO HAND OFF ACR Y. IT WAS NOT DEPARTED AND I ADVISED HOUSTON APCH THAT IT WAS NOT DEPARTED. HOUSTON APCH TRIED TO HAND OFF ACR Y AGAIN SEVERAL MINS LATER. IT WAS STILL NOT DEPARTED. I WAS BUSY TRYING TO GET THE STRING OF DEPS ON COURSE THAT HOUSTON APCH HAD LEFT ON HDGS AND SPDS WITHOUT COORDINATING. I HIT THE FLT READOUT BUTTON AGAIN AND I ASKED HOUSTON APCH CTL TO VERIFY THE DST AND RTE OF ACR X. HE ADVISED THAT HE DID NOT KNOW THE DEST OR RTE OF ACR X. I MANUALLY DEPARTED A PROPOSAL FOR ACR X AND TOOK A HDOF FROM HOUSTON APCH. THEN I VERIFIED THE RTE OF ACR X, WHEN THE PLT CHKED ON MY FREQ. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS INCIDENT, IT APPEARS THAT AN ARTS (COMPUTER) FAILURE HAD OCCURRED WHICH I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF ABOUT 15 MINS PRIOR TO MY TAKING THE POS. ALSO, I HIT THE FLT READOUT BUTTON SEVERAL TIMES WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS HITTING THE DEP MESSAGE BUTTON. HOUSTON APCH WAS NOT ABLE TO DEPART THIS ACFT, NOR DID THEY KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING. THIS CAUSED ACR Y TO HAVE TO MAKE A 360 DEG TURN UNTIL I HAD TIME TO MANUALLY DEPART THE ACFT AND VERIFY HIS RTE. IF I HAD NOT BEEN BUSY CLRING DEPS ON COURSE AND CORRECTING THEIR SPDS, I COULD HAVE HELPED THE HOUSTON APCH CTLR SOONER AND ACR X COULD HAVE CONTINUED ON HIS ROUTING. ALSO, IF I HAD KNOWN OF THE COMPUTER ARTS FAILURE, I COULD HAVE SENT A CORRECTION MESSAGE AND RE-ARTS FORCED THE ACFT.

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.