ZAB controller described a near airspace incursion event when an airbus failed to turn as expected; ...

Narrative:

Air carrier X was filed vylla.J92.drk at FL380. The route on J92; northbound from vylla is a 351 heading to tus; then a left turn to a 288 heading to almon; followed by a 313 heading to tfd. The left turn from tus puts the aircraft on about a 63 degree left turn. Airbus aircraft tend to slop over. In this case air carrier X missed the tus VOR by quite a few miles. I actually saw the turn start early and asked sector 46 if the ruby MOA was active. It wasn't at the time. If it had been; air carrier X would have missed ruby by 2.8 miles; causing an operational deviation. Airbus pilots need to be aware that autopilot modes and large flight plan turns can create a hazard within the system.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZAB Controller described a near airspace incursion event when an Airbus failed to turn as expected; the reporter noting the 'fly-over' vs. 'fly-by' aircraft functionality may be the causal factor.

Narrative: Air Carrier X was filed VYLLA.J92.DRK at FL380. The route on J92; northbound from VYLLA is a 351 heading to TUS; then a left turn to a 288 heading to ALMON; followed by a 313 heading to TFD. The left turn from TUS puts the aircraft on about a 63 degree left turn. Airbus aircraft tend to slop over. In this case Air Carrier X missed the TUS VOR by quite a few miles. I actually saw the turn start early and asked Sector 46 if the RUBY MOA was active. It wasn't at the time. If it had been; Air Carrier X would have missed RUBY by 2.8 miles; causing an operational deviation. Airbus pilots need to be aware that autopilot modes and large flight plan turns can create a hazard within the system.

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.

Attributes
ACN	898029
Time
Date	201007
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZAB.ARTCC
State Reference	NM
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Other / Unknown Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

ZAB controller described a near airspace incursion event when an airbus failed to turn as expected; the reporter noting the 'fly-over' vs. 'Fly-by' aircraft functionality may be the causal factor.