Narrative:

During training as a developmental; I was taught a technique by other controllers when departing runway 3 with IFR jet aircraft with VFR slow moving aircraft inbound to scottsdale from the north. The SID for IFR departures off runway 3 requires a left turn to heading 250; which causes the two traffic paths to cross when you have inbound arrivals from the north entering the left downwind for runway 3. Due to terrain and noise abatement procedures for the airport; we cannot have them enter a right downwind for runway 3. The technique that was taught to me was to have the VFR inbound aircraft; terrain permitting; descend to pattern altitude of 2;500 MSL. Then; with the departing IFR jet; have them fly runway heading until reaching 3;000 MSL; then continue on-course departure. This technique was shown and used many times during my training; and seemed to work perfectly; and was taught to only use with departing jet aircraft. I used this technique that with departing IFR aircraft X to separate him vertically from two VFR inbound aircraft from the north; which were a C172; and a DA20. After instructing both VFR aircraft to descend; terrain permitting; to pattern altitude 2;500 MSL; I gave the departure an instruction to fly runway heading until reaching 3;000; then on-course departure approved. The jet departed runway 3; and climbed to 3;500 by 1.5 miles off the departure end of runway 3; and then began his left turn on course for the SCOT6 departure. I came to work to find an article in the tower binder which had a narrative about a 'deal' that was given to a controller from ffz who did the same thing with a king air; however the king air ended up penetrating an MVA of 4;200 MSL at 3;000 MSL. After clarification from our manager regarding the technique used at our facility a second notification was issued to notify all controllers at sdl to no longer modify a SID; regardless of actual conditions or aircraft; as it 'voids' the SID when modified by controllers and it then becomes our responsibility to provide terrain avoidance. Recommendation; I would recommend that along with the right&I information that was provided; a discussion be held with all ojti's (on the job training instructors) at sdl to ensure this technique is not taught to future deviations; if it has the potential to lead to an operator error. Had this been brought to my attention prior; I would not have used this technique to separate the aircraft vertically and either delayed the IFR departure; or attempted to get each participating aircraft to see one another.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SDL Controller utilized a IFR departure technique; taught during training; that was subsequently cancelled by management; noting the technique shifted terrain clearance responsibility to the tower controller if used.

Narrative: During training as a Developmental; I was taught a technique by other controllers when departing Runway 3 with IFR jet aircraft with VFR slow moving aircraft inbound to Scottsdale from the north. The SID for IFR departures off Runway 3 requires a left turn to heading 250; which causes the two traffic paths to cross when you have inbound arrivals from the north entering the left downwind for Runway 3. Due to terrain and noise abatement procedures for the airport; we cannot have them enter a right downwind for Runway 3. The technique that was taught to me was to have the VFR inbound aircraft; terrain permitting; descend to pattern altitude of 2;500 MSL. Then; with the departing IFR jet; have them fly runway heading until reaching 3;000 MSL; then continue on-course departure. This technique was shown and used many times during my training; and seemed to work perfectly; and was taught to only use with departing jet aircraft. I used this technique that with departing IFR Aircraft X to separate him vertically from two VFR inbound aircraft from the north; which were a C172; and a DA20. After instructing both VFR aircraft to descend; terrain permitting; to pattern altitude 2;500 MSL; I gave the departure an instruction to fly runway heading until reaching 3;000; then on-course departure approved. The jet departed Runway 3; and climbed to 3;500 by 1.5 miles off the departure end of Runway 3; and then began his left turn on course for the SCOT6 departure. I came to work to find an article in the Tower binder which had a narrative about a 'deal' that was given to a Controller from FFZ who did the same thing with a King Air; however the King Air ended up penetrating an MVA of 4;200 MSL at 3;000 MSL. After clarification from our manager regarding the technique used at our facility a second notification was issued to notify all controllers at SDL to no longer modify a SID; regardless of actual conditions or aircraft; as it 'voids' the SID when modified by controllers and it then becomes our responsibility to provide terrain avoidance. Recommendation; I would recommend that along with the R&I information that was provided; a discussion be held with all OJTI's (On the Job Training Instructors) at SDL to ensure this technique is not taught to future deviations; if it has the potential to lead to an operator error. Had this been brought to my attention prior; I would not have used this technique to separate the aircraft vertically and either delayed the IFR departure; or attempted to get each participating aircraft to see one another.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.