Enroute controllers described an emergency descent event that resulted in a loss of separation; one ...

Narrative:

I was working dxx/yy combined. Rzz called and advised that aircraft X was an emergency and was descending. It appeared the aircraft was turning; but when I asked if it was I was told no. I told my r-side that aircraft X was an emergency descent going straight ahead. He turned traffic to the right in an attempt to miss the emergency. Rzz called back and informed that the emergency had indeed turned and was going to a 240 heading. I advised the r-side as now the two aircraft were aimed at each other. The r-side turned the traffic back the other way. I asked if he had issued traffic because it appeared they were going to be close. I pointed the emergency out to two sectors and advised the next/receiving sector of the emergency descent.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Enroute Controllers described an emergency descent event that resulted in a loss of separation; one reporter noting a more timely frequency change may have prevented the potential conflict.

Narrative: I was working DXX/YY combined. RZZ called and advised that Aircraft X was an emergency and was descending. It appeared the aircraft was turning; but when I asked if it was I was told no. I told my R-Side that Aircraft X was an emergency descent going straight ahead. He turned traffic to the right in an attempt to miss the emergency. RZZ called back and informed that the emergency had indeed turned and was going to a 240 heading. I advised the R-Side as now the two aircraft were aimed at each other. The R-Side turned the traffic back the other way. I asked if he had issued traffic because it appeared they were going to be close. I pointed the emergency out to two sectors and advised the next/receiving sector of the Emergency Descent.

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	907372
Time
Date	201009
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Learjet 45
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Person 2
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	Conflict Airborne Conflict

Enroute controllers described an emergency descent event that resulted in a loss of separation; one reporter noting a more timely frequency change may have prevented the potential conflict.