Narrative:

Aircraft X called me requesting flight following from flying oaks to mount pleasant. Since I didn't know exactly where either one of these airports was I asked him for the airport identifier for mount pleasant. Aircraft X told me his destination was 0SA. Since the NAS computer didn't recognize this as an identifier; I had to ask the pilot for an intermediate fix. I didn't know if he was going to mt pleasant in mi; nc; ut; ia; tx or someplace else. After I got a flight plan in for an intermediate fix; I issued the assigned beacon code. Aircraft X tagged up approximately 2 miles northeast of the nfw airport. Aircraft X had conflicting traffic in the pattern at ftw. I issued an immediate traffic alert and suggested heading to avoid collision. After had ensured the conflict was resolved I coordinated with ftw tower for a point out and a climb through their airspace. I issued a turn to the southeast and assigned 3;500 to aircraft X. At the time I issued the turn aircraft X was headed into ftw's class D; but still slightly in nfw tower's airspace. Our quality assurance office informed me this was an operator deviation. Recommendation; nothing except pilot education; this was only an event because of pilot error. I was interested in educating the pilot for his safety and the safety of all other air traffic and every controller that will work with him for the rest of his flying career. When I determined that the pilot apparently didn't know about class D airspace or at least the class D at nfw and ftw; he didn't know about class B; because he did not maintain the assigned altitude or get class B clearance; he did not know the identifier for his own destination airport (osa; not 0SA); I made the judgment that education was in the best interest of all. However; when I informed my supervisor and they decided to pursue a pilot deviation against this guy it elevated the situation to a point where I came under extreme scrutiny and I was awarded an operational deviation. I would not do anything different. I gave this guy good service. I helped him avoid a potential collision. I put him in the best possible place to ensure his safety; and I attempted to educate him to make him safer every time he flies. The quality assurance manager actually suggested that if I had told the guy 'resume own navigation' I would have been clean. I would never do that. The aircraft was in the pattern at ftw headed towards the airport. The safest place for him to be was out of the pattern headed away from the airport; and that's where I put him; and I coordinated as soon as possible. The fact that I don't run with all the tower airspace maps depicted on my scope; and I didn't coordinate with the tower that he was headed away from; does not bother me in the least.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: D10 Controller described a technical ATC deviation when assigning a VFR aircraft a Class D exit heading; the reporter noted that given the identical circumstances he/she would issue the same instructions as a learning experience for the pilot.

Narrative: Aircraft X called me requesting flight following from Flying Oaks to Mount Pleasant. Since I didn't know exactly where either one of these airports was I asked him for the airport identifier for Mount Pleasant. Aircraft X told me his destination was 0SA. Since the NAS computer didn't recognize this as an identifier; I had to ask the pilot for an intermediate fix. I didn't know if he was going to Mt Pleasant in MI; NC; UT; IA; TX or someplace else. After I got a flight plan in for an intermediate fix; I issued the assigned Beacon Code. Aircraft X tagged up approximately 2 miles northeast of the NFW Airport. Aircraft X had conflicting traffic in the pattern at FTW. I issued an immediate traffic alert and suggested heading to avoid collision. After had ensured the conflict was resolved I coordinated with FTW Tower for a point out and a climb through their airspace. I issued a turn to the southeast and assigned 3;500 to Aircraft X. At the time I issued the turn Aircraft X was headed into FTW's Class D; but still slightly in NFW Tower's airspace. Our Quality Assurance Office informed me this was an Operator Deviation. Recommendation; nothing except pilot education; this was only an event because of pilot error. I was interested in educating the pilot for his safety and the safety of all other air traffic and every Controller that will work with him for the rest of his flying career. When I determined that the pilot apparently didn't know about Class D airspace or at least the Class D at NFW and FTW; he didn't know about Class B; because he did not maintain the assigned altitude or get Class B clearance; he did not know the identifier for his own destination airport (OSA; not 0SA); I made the judgment that education was in the best interest of all. However; when I informed my Supervisor and they decided to pursue a pilot deviation against this guy it elevated the situation to a point where I came under extreme scrutiny and I was awarded an Operational Deviation. I would not do anything different. I gave this guy good service. I helped him avoid a potential collision. I put him in the best possible place to ensure his safety; and I attempted to educate him to make him safer every time he flies. The Quality Assurance Manager actually suggested that if I had told the guy 'resume own navigation' I would have been clean. I would never do that. The aircraft was in the pattern at FTW headed towards the airport. The safest place for him to be was out of the pattern headed away from the airport; and that's where I put him; and I coordinated ASAP. The fact that I don't run with all the Tower airspace maps depicted on my scope; and I didn't coordinate with the Tower that he was headed away from; does not bother me in the least.

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.