N90 controller voiced concern regarding a loss of 'wake remnant' separation determination made by th...

Narrative:

I was working final at N90 jfk area. An A340 on final for runway 31R on an ILS approach and an A319 was vectored for a visual approach to runway 31L. The A319 was issued traffic about the A340. The A319 advised the A340 was in sight. I said 'maintain visual separation.' at some point I also cleared the A319 for a visual approach to runway 31L. I am not sure of exact times. Replay on the operations floor has no audio replay. I was advised of a 'wake remnant separation event on final' today. I have never been advised what 'wake remnant' is or how to identify it or how to avoid/separate from it. There is a program called 'falcon' that seems to have a wake turbulence 'cookie' or 'hoop' that may display some sort area to avoid. Why is this not on the ARTS display that we use? How can we be held responsible for something the FAA has not identified to me; the 7110.65 has no mention of; the FAA can't tell me how to avoid or separate from. Qa people are identifying controllers for 'events' on this matter.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: N90 Controller voiced concern regarding a loss of 'wake remnant' separation determination made by the QA office; the reporter noted current Orders do not cover this anomaly and ATC equipment can not identify same.

Narrative: I was working final at N90 JFK area. An A340 on final for Runway 31R on an ILS approach and an A319 was vectored for a visual approach to Runway 31L. The A319 was issued traffic about the A340. The A319 advised the A340 was in sight. I said 'maintain visual separation.' At some point I also cleared the A319 for a Visual Approach to Runway 31L. I am not sure of exact times. Replay on the operations floor has no audio replay. I was advised of a 'wake remnant separation event on final' today. I have never been advised what 'wake remnant' is or how to identify it or how to avoid/separate from it. There is a program called 'falcon' that seems to have a wake turbulence 'cookie' or 'hoop' that may display some sort area to avoid. Why is this not on the ARTS display that we use? How can we be held responsible for something the FAA has not identified to me; the 7110.65 has no mention of; the FAA can't tell me how to avoid or separate from. QA people are identifying controllers for 'events' on this matter.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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	1037891
Time
Date	201208
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	JFK.Airport
State Reference	NY
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A340
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 129
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Approach
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

N90 controller voiced concern regarding a loss of 'wake remnant' separation determination made by the qa office; the reporter noted current orders do not cover this anomaly and ATC equipment can not identify same.